SANTA ANA, California – A federal judge on Monday blocked California’s ban on gun shows at county fairs, ruling that the state violates the rights of sellers and would-be buyers by prohibiting transactions for firearms that can be purchased at any gun store.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Mark Holcomb halts enforcement of two state laws, both authored by Democratic state Sen. Dave Min, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The first, which took effect in January 2022, banned gun shows at the Orange County Fair, and the other, which took effect this year, extended the ban to county fairgrounds on state land.
“California’s interest in stopping crimes committed with illegal guns, important as it is, cannot justify a complete ban on the sale of lawful firearms at gun shows,” Holcomb wrote.
Min called Holcomb’s order “shocking” and predicted it would be overturned on appeal.
“California’s vital ban on gun shows on state property, including our iconic fairgrounds, serves as a critical line of defence against the unchecked proliferation of firearms, including ‘ghost guns’ that evade essential background checks and traceability,” Min said in a statement Monday.
Gun shows draw thousands of potential buyers to local fairgrounds. Under a separate state law not affected by the ruling, the actual purchase of the firearm is completed at a licensed gun store after a 10-day waiting period and a background check, the Chronicle said.
But gun control groups insist the shows pose dangers, make the weapons attractive to children and allow “straw purchases” by people ineligible to own firearms.
Another state law, also unaffected by Monday’s decision, bans gun shows at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego County starting in 2020. The Cow Palace in Daly City, which used to host five gun shows a year, ended them in 2020 after several legislative measures to ban them were vetoed by governors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown.
Challengers to the statewide ban on county fair gun shows included the California Rifle & Pistol Association, an affiliate of the National Rifle Association.
“Anti-gun politicians are trying to eliminate the ‘gun culture’ for future generations by, among other things, prohibiting people from gathering at a gun show to learn about guns, gun safety and gun control policy,” Chuck Michel, the Rifle & Pistol Association’s president, said Monday.
Since the Orange County Fair had previously hosted gun shows for three decades, Holcomb said there was “no historical basis” for the state’s ban in 2022.
Attorney General Rob Bonta, who defended the laws in court, could appeal Holcomb’s ruling to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals. Bonta’s office asked Holcomb for a stay that would keep the law in effect for at least 10 days, according to the Chronicle. But the judge refused, saying state officials had not shown a likelihood of either a successful appeal or an interim danger to the public from gun shows that would take many months to schedule.