Law proposed to ban gun shows on state property

San Joaquin County supe opposed to proposed legislation

A Southern California Democrat hopes Gov. Gavin Newsom will ban all guns and ammo sales on all state property, a move that would effectively end firearms shows at dozens of local fairs across the state.

Newly-elected California State Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, introduced SB 264, which would prohibit a state employee or operator of “state-owned property, from contracting for, authorizing, or allowing the sale of any firearm or ammunition.” The bill makes an exception for gun buy-back programs.

“The evidence is overwhelmingly clear — more guns lead to more violence,” the senator’s office said in a statement. “Gun violence splinters families and communities, and I am hopeful my colleagues will see taxpayers’ dollars have no place in funding the proliferation of gun sales and heartbreak.”

The legislation would make California the first state in the nation to prohibit gun shows at state-owned fairgrounds, and it sets the stage for yet another high-profile fight over gun regulations in a state that has over the years passed some of the most stringent gun control laws in the country, including some of the toughest regulations at gun shows.

“If you restrict state fairgrounds, what’s next?” asked San Joaquin County Supervisor Chuck Winn, who represents the Lodi area. “It’s a slippery slope we don’t want to get on.

“California probably has the most restrictions in regards to gun sales and this would just add another layer of bureaucracy into restricting opportunities to purchase guns.”

Min’s bill follows previous legislative efforts to prohibit gun shows at individual fairgrounds, including at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego County and the Cow Palace in San Mateo County.

Gun rights activists and conservative local government leaders are gearing up for a fight in the legislature and in the courts, should Min’s bill pass.

The gun shows provide desperately needed revenue to fairground operators during challenging times, Winn said, noting that most events scheduled in the past year have been canceled due to the pandemic.

It’s more than just a Second Amendment issue, he argued, noting not only the economic impact of the shows but the social aspect as well.

“Some people just go for the enjoyment. They want to go and look around, talk to people and share stories,” Winn said.

There’s no clearinghouse for how many fairs across the state host or have hosted gun shows, nor are there any official estimates for how much money gun shows generate for local fairs. The bill applies to the 52 District Agricultural Associations that have fairgrounds across California.

State restrictions on crowd-sizes because of the COVID-19 pandemic have shuttered fairgrounds over the last year, making it even more difficult to come up with a tally. Meanwhile, one of the largest venues for gun shows, Cal Expo in Sacramento, hasn’t hosted a gun show at the state fairgrounds in at least three years, officials said.

The San Joaquin County Fairgrounds has held gun shows in the past, but an internet search doesn’t reveal any upcoming shows. A call to the fairgrounds was not returned before deadline.

The Lodi Grape Festival regularly hosts

gun shows and has one slated for this weekend, but the fairgrounds are county operated and would not be subject to the proposed legislation.

In one of the previous bills that sought to prohibit gun shows at the Cow Palace, opponents said canceling the shows would cut revenues by more than $730,000, and the annual loss in sales tax revenue would top $600,000. Gun shows at a fairground Orange County account for $715,000 in revenue.

Min’s bill would likely prove illegal if it passes both legislative chambers and Gov. Newsom signs it, said Sam Paredes, the executive director of Gun Owners of California.

“You can’t ban legal activities at publicly-owned facilities,” he said.

SB 264 may be the first legislative effort to ban gun shows at fairs statewide, but other efforts focused on prohibiting the shows at individual fairs have been a regular point of contention in the California legislature since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s term.

In 2009, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill that would have eventually prohibited gun shows at the Cow Palace.

In his veto message, Schwarzenegger argued that the bill banning guns at one facility but not at dozens of others around California “set a confusing precedent” and “would result in decreased state and local tax revenues by restricting events at the Cow Palace.”

Four years later, Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed another bill that sought to have supervisors of both San Mateo County and neighboring San Francisco County approve gun shows at the Cow Palace.

In his veto message, Brown argued the bill “pre-empts the Board of Directors of the Cow Palace from exercising its contracting authority whenever a gun show is involved. I prefer to leave these decisions to the sound discretion of the Board.” Brown vetoed a similar bill in 2018, citing similar arguments. Local fair board directors are gubernatorial appointees.

The Cow Palace board of directors later decided to stop hosting the gun shows in 2020.