The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is keeping up the fight against California’s ban on gun shows, which was enacted in July of this year after being passed through the legislature.
The latest move in the case comes today, in which SAF and allied groups are presenting the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with a 33-page memorandum on the ban.
The memorandum notes, “There is no evidence that California’s gun shows—already more heavily regulated than other avenues for firearm sales—pose some unique threat to public safety. And California has identified no other compelling interest that might justify its ban. Instead, the legislative history reveals the legislators’ bare desire to make a ‘value statement’ about guns and gun shows and to get California out of the business of profiting from such events. In short, California’s animus for Plaintiffs, their commerce in lawful products, and the cultural aspects of these events is the not-so-hidden motivation behind the State’s action.”
SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb stated the following in a media release issued by his organization today:
“Gun shows are gathering places for like-minded citizens with common interests rooted in their exercise of the Second Amendment.”
Gottlieb also added, “The state is essentially trying to prohibit freedom of speech and association in public forums by banning gun shows, simply because backers of this legislation have a visceral dislike of guns and the people who own them.
“It is alarming that the government of any state, including California, would attempt to legislate against the First Amendment rights of people who want to exercise their Second Amendment rights. We will pursue this case for as long as it takes to see that justice is served.”
As further noted in the release:
“Joining SAF in this action are the California Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc., Asian Pacific American Gun Owners Association, the Second Amendment Law Center, Inc., B&L Productions, Inc., d/b/a Crossroads of the West and four private citizens, Gerald Clark, Eric Johnson, Chad Littrell and Jan Steven Merson. They are represented by attorneys Anna M. Barvir, Michel & Associates, P.C., and Donald Kilmer, Law Offices of Donald Kilmer. The case is known as B & L Productions, Inc. et al v. Gavin Newsom et al .”
The ban was authored by California State Senator Dave Min, who is also a law professor at the University of California, Irvine.
Min told Stateline in August that the state should not “profit on what is essentially blood money.”
The attack on firearms in the U.S. goes against everything we hold precious. I was struck by an interview on PBS (yes, I confess to listening to the morning news there.) where an Iranian woman was interviewed. She attends the ongoing demonstrations despite risking her life or imprisonment in horrible conditions where rape and torture are expected. She said that demonstrating was what they could do because the government has the only guns. Our right to possess firearms gives us the only possibilty to respond to tyranny just as the Founding Fathers did. Kindly note I am not supporting revolution, at least now.
Mass shootings are not committed by the people who generally frequent gun shows. At gun shows, you will usually find a crowd of people who have a deep respect for the law and also realize that we can’t always rely on police to protect us from those who mean to harm us or others. And with the stringent laws concerning the sale of guns at gun shows, eliminating gun shows is unlikely to stop a single shooting.
Well, in general, 90% of Mexipornia is ridiculous.