A fresh victory for gun rights came down the pike Monday when a federal judge blocked California’s new law prohibiting gun shows at county fairs.
U.S. District Judge Mark Holcomb ruled that the state violated the constitutional rights of both gun sellers and buyers. He declared the banning of gun shows needlessly halted transactions that could be carried out at any firearms business.
“California’s interest in stopping crimes committed with illegal weapons, as important as it is, cannot justify prohibiting the complete sale of lawful firearms at gun shows,” he wrote.
The encouraging decision ended enforcement of two state statutes, both written by state Sen. Dave Min (D). The first, enacted in Jan. 2022, prohibited the events from being held at the iconic Orange County Fair.
The other law bolstered the ban to include all county fairs held on state-owned property.
Min termed Holcomb’s ruling “shocking” and then bared his true revulsion against the Second Amendment.
In a Monday statement, Min claimed “California’s vital ban on gun shows at state properties, encompassing even our iconic fairgrounds sites, serves as a critical line of defense against the unchecked proliferation of firearms, including ‘ghost guns’ that circumvent essential background checks and traceability.”
Exactly what so-called “ghost guns” have to do with his fairground bans is anyone’s guess. Min also predicted that Holcomb’s ruling will be overturned on the inevitable appeal.
Interestingly, weapons never exchange hands at these county fairs. Due to the state’s mandatory 10-day waiting period, the final transaction must be completed after the background check and when the time expires at a licensed gun shop.
So, what exactly is the danger in permitting gun shows at county fairgrounds?
According to gun control zealots, simply having them there may make firearms enticing to young people. Forget that they are both legal and constitutionally protected when a law-abiding citizen reaches a certain age, they must be hidden from view.
Some critics also made the flimsy argument that these gun shows could be breeding grounds for “straw purchases.” These are transactions in which a person buys a weapon for another individual who is ineligible to own one.
Again, the connection between the two is anyone’s guess.
At the forefront of the legal challenge to the Golden State’s prohibition of gun shows was the California Rifle & Pistol Association. Organization President Chuck Michel explained Monday that opponents of Second Amendment rights are tirelessly attempting to destroy a way of life for many Americans.
“Anti-gun owner politicians are trying to eliminate the ‘gun culture’ for future generations by, among other things, banning folks from getting together at a gun show to learn about guns, gun safety and gun control politics.”
The state will undoubtedly appeal the ruling. Attorney General Rob Bonta asked Holcomb for a stay, but that request was denied.
There is a third state law on the issue that is not affected by Monday’s decision. Lawmakers in 2020 prohibited gun shows at Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego County.
Then there’s the Cow Palace in Daly City. This venue once hosted five gun shows every year and withstood several efforts to ban them. Legislation to wipe them out of existence was vetoed by Govs. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown.
However, the Cow Palace decided to end the events in 2020.
Barring a complete scrubbing of the Second Amendment from the Constitution, states such as California are forced to resort to a “death by paper cut” approach to gun control. They will micromanage and overreach at every possible turn until what was once a fine American tradition is worn down to a shadow of its former self.
That’s why it is critically important to resist these efforts at every turn. Kudos to gun rights organizations for fighting the good fight for millions of U.S. citizens.
