In latest back-and-forth over CA gun show ban, operators petition U.S. Supreme Court

A federal appeals court last week demanded immediate enforcement of a law banning the sale of firearms and ammunition on any state-owned properties — including the Orange County fairgrounds, where a Nov. 30 gun show is already on the books.

But the operators of that scheduled show are hoping the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn that ruling.

In a Sept. 25 bulletin California Atty. General Rob Bonta notified law enforcement agencies throughout California that the mandates of Senate Bill 915, authored by state Sen. Dave Min (D-Irvine) and challenged by gun rights advocates, is now in effect.

“Gun shows may lawfully occur on state property, as long as no firearms, firearm precursor parts, or ammunition are sold,” it reads, citing the penal code associated with the legislation.

The bulletin follows a unanimous decision from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in June to reverse an earlier ruling from U.S. District Court Judge John W. Holcomb, who found the ban unconstitutional because it prohibited public forums where people assemble to learn more about gun safety.

Min, who was inspired to draft the law after learning that gun shows had been held on the Orange County fairgrounds for decades, called the judicial affirmation of SB 915 “a new day that will make our communities safer.”

“For too long, California gun shows have been complicit in the gun industry’s efforts to put profit before public safety,” he said in a Sept. 25 release.

“I applaud Attorney General Rob Bonta’s efforts to quickly notify law enforcement agencies that this ban will be fully enforced,” Min said. “I hope it will also serve as an inspiration to other states to take similar action not only against gun shows, but against the undeniable connection between the unchecked legal purchase of firearms and gun-related deaths in the United States.”

Proprietors of Utah-based B&L Productions, doing business as Crossroads of the West — who have booked gun shows at fairgrounds throughout the nation and in Orange County for decades, and who led the legal fight against Min’s bill — did not respond to questions about plans for the Nov. 30 gun show at the county fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

OC Fair & Event Center spokeswoman Terry Moore confirmed Friday the show was still slated to go on and had not been canceled by Crossroads but clarified the sale of guns, ammunition or firearm precursor parts could not take place on the state-owned land, operating as the California 32nd District Agricultural Assn.

“It would be up to the promoters whether or not they’re going to have an event on the 30th,” Moore said. “They can still have an informational show with exhibits or safety demonstrations. [But] the old show, in its former format, cannot exist. If they’re a contractor on our property, they have to follow the law.”

However, it appears the saga is far from over. Courthouse News Service, which covers matters of civil litigation, reported Wednesday B&L Productions had just filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to block the 9th Circuit Court’s upholding of SB 915, claiming the state of California and members of the appeals court were attempting to “demonize gun culture.”

“[They] were prepared to cut deeply, not just into constitutional doctrine, but into the foundations of Anglo-American contract law, to prevent the people of the gun culture from congregating and conducting commerce on public land that is expressly set aside for congregating and engaging in commerce in lawful products,” petitioners claimed.

Gun show operators further maintained overturning Holcomb’s ruling would deny thousands of Californians their rights under the 1st and 2nd amendments.

“This unquestionably constitutes an irreparable injury,” they wrote.