SACRAMENTO, CA — Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) announced the introduction of his Senate Bill (SB) 915, which would prohibit the sale of firearms or ammunition on state property, effectively ending gun shows on all public properties, including 73 state fairgrounds, across the State of California. The introduction of this bill follows the implementation of Senator Min’s SB 264, which prohibited the sale of firearms and ammunition at the Orange County Fair and Event Center.
“I am grateful for the support of my colleagues and the Governor last year in ending the sales of firearms at the Orange County Fair and Event Center. Our fight to close the ‘gun show loophole’ is not over,” Min said. “SB 915 will eliminate ghost guns and straw party sales from occurring on state property.”
“County fairgrounds are supposed to be family-friendly venues and have long been associated with events like county fairs, 4-H events, rodeos and music festivals. However, they have become most well-known for gun shows. This needs to change, and this bill will finally get California out of the business of government-sponsored gun shows. While the Second Amendment allows for the well-regulated sales and purchase of firearms, the Constitution does not require that taxpayer-owned properties be used to facilitate those transactions.”
Senate Bill 915 has already amassed strong local support, including in Senator Min’s home district (Senate District 37), which encompasses the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.
“The California gun show loophole allows people who can’t pass background checks to buy unserialized and untraceable ghost guns – guns which are flooding our communities and fueling our gun violence epidemic. Ghost guns are increasingly recovered from crime scenes – a growing problem for law-enforcement and the weapon of choice for criminals. This gun violence is a serious drain on our state’s economy, costing California taxpayers $18.3 billion a year. We should treat gun-shows as we would any other failing business and recognize the massive human and fiscal price to our state far outweighs the profits. California taxpayers cannot afford to continue subsidizing the massive costs of gun violence in our communities — we must end gun shows on state-owned land.” Noted Piper Benom, Co-Chair, Gun Safety Working Action Group, Women for American Values and Ethics.
“Our state has a vested interest in protecting its citizens and its assets,” said Brady Orange County Board Member Mary Leigh Blek. “The security concerns and legal liabilities created by gun shows on state-owned properties creates unnecessary risk for the state and has shown to contribute to unsafe gun sales that are used in crimes across California. Senator Min’s bill demonstrates a common-sense recognition that state properties and our taxpayer dollars would be better spent preventing gun violence than tacitly permitting its spread. We are proud to support this bill.”
Senator Min’s bill is complemented by the introduction of AB 1769 that would ban gun shows at the Ventura County Fairgrounds. Representing Ventura, this legislation is being authored by Senator Monique Limón (SD – 19) and Assemblymember Steve Bennet (AD – 37) and builds on SB 264 (Min) that was signed into law by Governor Newsom last year to prohibit gun sales at the Orange county Fairground.
“State property does not need to be in the business of facilitating the sale of dangerous firearms,” said Senator Limón, “this legislation is an important step forward to enhance public safety and reflects the direction that the County of Ventura, City of Ventura, and City Oxnard have asked the state to take.”
“Unfortunately, the United States experiences far more gun violence per person than virtually every other modern industrialized country in the world,” said Assemblymember Steve Bennett who represents parts of Ventura County, “and what accounts for this? The United States has one of the most pervasive gun cultures in the world supported by a powerful gun lobby. Gun shows at the Fairgrounds enhance this and it is time for each of us to play a role in changing this culture.”
