In a 3-0 decision, a federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a California law banning gun shows at county fairs and other public venues.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the two measures do not infringe on the rights of firearms sellers or buyers. Tuesday’s ruling overturned a federal judge’s October ruling blocking enforcement of the law.
State Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat, introduced both bills. The first would have gone into effect in January 2022 and would have banned gun shows at the Orange County Fair. The other, which went into effect last year, would have expanded the ban to include county fair grounds on state land.
In a ruling last year, U.S. District Judge Mark Holcomb wrote that the state violated the rights of gun dealers and prospective buyers by banning the purchase of firearms that can be purchased at any gun store, and that legal firearms sales are commercial expression protected by the First Amendment.
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Sen. Dave Min, D-Calif., authored both bills challenged in the lawsuit. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File)
But the appeals court ruled that these laws only prohibit sales contracts on public lands and do not restrict discussion, advertising or other speech about firearms.
Judge Richard Clifton wrote that the ban “does not directly or necessarily restrict any expressive activity.”
Clifton said another state law, not at issue in the case, stipulates that actual firearm purchases at gun shows must be completed at a licensed gun store after a 10-day waiting period and background check.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised Tuesday’s ruling after defending the law in court.
“No guns should be sold on state property. That’s it,” Bonta said in a statement. “This is another victory in the fight against gun violence in our state and country.”
Gun control groups argue that gun shows pose an ongoing danger by making firearms more attractive to children and allowing for “dummy purchases” by people who are not eligible to own firearms.
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California Attorney General Rob Bonta praised the appeals court’s decision after defending the law in court. (Lauren Elliott/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The lawsuit was filed by gun show company B&L Productions, which argued that the ban on sales at the fairgrounds violates the Second Amendment right to bear arms. But the appeals court disagreed, ruling that there are six licensed firearms dealers in the same zip code as the Orange County Fairgrounds, where gun sales are banned under the 2022 law.
Chuck Michel, an attorney and president of the California Rifle & Pistol Association, the state chapter of the National Rifle Association, said he would appeal the ruling.
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“CRPA will fight back against government overreach that continues to protect a despised gun culture, restricts harmful fundamental rights, and seeks to discriminate against certain groups on public lands,” Michel said in a statement. San Francisco Chronicle.
Minh applauded Tuesday’s ruling and said in a statement that Californians will be safer if the appeals court upholds the law.
“I hope that in my lifetime we will see a return to a society where human lives are valued above guns and where gun violence is rare and shocking rather than the everyday occurrence it is today,” Minh said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
