Doc Holliday's opens with a bang

La Conner residents have been hearing early morning shotgun blasts announcing duck hunting season.

Even though it sounds like there are plenty of shooting enthusiasts around, town officials started hearing from people who dislike guns when a new business opened on Morris Street.

Kim Wilder says she was surprised at the reaction of a few local residents when she and her husband, Brett, opened Doc Holliday’s Mercantile and Guns.

Still, she said she expects the controversy to die down as people become more familiar with the business. Wilder said she saw a similar reaction in Grants Pass, Oregon, where their first Doc Holliday’s store opened four years ago.

But in Grants Pass, the controversy wasn’t over the gun store — people were up in arms over a strip club that opened in town, she said.

In Doc Holliday’s, the most risqué item is a sparkly bra top for sale, and that’s not why people were calling La Conner town officials.

People contacted Town Hall and the Sheriff’s Office. A contingent from the Chamber of Commerce even turned out at a Town Council meeting last month to say there were “concerns” that the store was next to the library and in walking distance from schools. Some at the council meeting advocated for a public meeting concerning the new business.

Holding such a meeting was nixed by four of the five council members.

Here’s why: State law speci-fically makes it illegal for municipalities to discriminate against businesses that sell firearms.

The State of Washington claims jurisdiction over all licensing, registration and other aspects pertaining to gun dealers and specifically preempts any municipal code that would place additional restrictions on them and does not allow gun stores to be treated differently than other commercial businesses.

Skagit County Sheriff’s Sgt. Jenny Sheahan-Lee has said she received a few calls from residents and explained the laws to them. And at the Sept. 23 Town Council meeting, the council members explained to the Chamber of Commerce representatives in attendance that Doc Holliday’s has met all legal requirements and has all its permits and licenses in order.

Councilmember Jacques Brunisholz suggested that people who don’t like the laws could join an anti-gun lobbying group and try to get them changed.

“I completely understand people’s concerns,” said Town Administrator John Doyle. People are accustomed to seeing firearms sold in places like Fred Meyer’s, Wal-Mart and in sporting goods stores, but not in little touristy towns like La Conner.

Still, he noted that hunters in the area would probably stop in for ammunition to save a trip out of town. Also, he said, law enforcement officers frequent gun stores just as often as hunters and sports shooting enthusiasts.

Doc Holliday’s has more than guns — the front of the store is full of women’s clothing tailored to lady gun enthusiasts, including the “Girls with Guns” line of apparel. There is even jewelry, and a smattering of antiques that don’t shoot and lots of antiques that do.

The gun cases hold everything from modern semi-automatic handguns to historic war relics and muzzle loaders. The shop is a place to find ammo, Thrive brand freeze dried food, all kinds of accessories and even fresh popcorn.

“I’m not ever worried about the few who say they are opposed to our business,” Wilder said. She says that often people who hate guns don’t have any reference point and many times have never even fired a gun.

To help remedy that, she’s working on her rifle instructor and pistol instructor certifications so that she’ll be able to teach people to shoot safely.

In the meantime, she plans to organize an outing to the shooting range for women to do some recreational target practice. If someone would like to try out a pistol or rifle, she said she’ll bring one to the range.