No shooting - or not

Gun control – or not – has been a topic for the ages. In the late 1960s the East Kern area of the Mojave Desert was an area subjected to illegal shooting.

Earlier in the decade was a period when some residents of the Los Angeles area would drive up to the desert to practice "quick draw" with their handguns holstered on their hips – and shoot themselves in the thigh or foot. (Thank you "Gun Smoke", "Have Gun Will Travel", etc.)

Once they figured out that guns can cause pain – or even death – they turned to shooting up inanimate objects, especially signs that read "No Shooting".

According to an article written by my mother Marion Deaver in March of 1967, discharge of firearms was prohibited within a 322-square mile area of East Kern by a Kern County ordinance.

The area ranged from the Los Angeles County line south, north to Silver Queen Road near Mojave, 36 miles west of Edwards AFB, and is bordered by the military base to the east.

But the signs were just a suggestion, right? The entire area contained "No Shooting" signs which were peppered with bullet holes.

Lt. Tom Sheull, then in charge of the Mojave substation of the Kern County Sheriff's Department, had units regularly patrolling the entire area, but noted there was just not enough manpower to cover the entire area.

Sheull noted that calls about people injuring themselves with accidental discharge of guns had decreased some. But they were just shooting at other things.

"The better the weather, the more reports of shootings that come in," he said.

State highway signs were shot on a regular basis, according to C.R. Wilson, the state highway superintendent in 1967. He noted that the further away from populated areas the worse the damage.

Some signs which couldn't be patched and had to be replaced could cost as much as $500 of taxpayer money in 1967.

Some signs were shot with .22 caliber rifles and the bullets could go through the sign and continue for a mile, which could cause injuries or even death, he added.

While people may still shoot up signs out in the desert, there is not much publicity about that now. Residents complain about motorcycles crossing their land, tearing up the terra firma. Those areas are posted as well, but it appears that people seem not to be able to read in 2017 either...