Utah company asks to bring back gun shows to Ventura County Fairgrounds

A Utah company wants to bring back gun shows to the Ventura County Fairgrounds and cites a federal ruling that blocks two California laws banning the events on state property.

Rob Templeton, vice president of  Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, said the group has made formal requests to the Ventura fairgrounds with the hope of leasing space for three of the controversial shows next year. He said if the request is rejected, legal action will come.

“If they did vote against it, it wouldn’t (bring) a message from me. It would be a message from our attorney,” he said.

The gun shows had been held at the fairgrounds since at least 2011, triggering impassioned debates about gun rights and gun violence.

A halt of gun shows on state-owned land across California went into effect Jan. 1. A separate law from Assemblymember Steve Bennett, D-Ventura, and State Sen. Monique Limon, D-Santa Barbara, specifically banned the shows at the Ventura fairgrounds.

U.S. District Judge John Holcomb fired up the debate anew by issuing a preliminary injunction on the ban of gun shows on state-property. Holcomb's ruling in the federal district for Central California also blocked a state law that banned gun shows at the Orange County Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa and said the site's leaders were legally compelled to allow the shows.

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In the ruling, Holcomb supported the argument that the bans infringe on Constitutional rights to freedom of speech and to keep and bear arms. He said the goal of stopping crimes committed with illegal weapons does not justify banning shows that sell legal guns already available at stores.

Templeton said requests for shows were made for Orange County, Ventura County and other sites immediately after the ruling.

But lawyers said the ban at the state-owned Ventura County Fairgrounds remains intact at least for now because the law from Bennett and Limon that earmarked the Ventura site was not part of the court ruling. Fairgrounds CEO Jen McGuire forwarded The Star an email from a state legal team asserting the fairgrounds likely remains exempt and the ban still holds.

“We’ll abide by the guidance,” said Leah Lacayo, fairgrounds board president. “We’ll follow the law.”

Lacayo said she wasn't sure if or when the Crossroads request would come before the board in a vote.

Crossroads of the West's lawyer Tiffany Cheuvront acknowledged the federal ruling does not block the ban at the Ventura fairgrounds. But that measure was modeled on the two laws that were blocked, she said, suggesting it could face a similar fate if challenged in court.

“It would be reasonable for the Ventura (County) Fair Board to not to continue to defend a law that is enjoined because of its unconstitutionality,” she said in an email.

Holcomb's ruling could leave the fairgrounds board in a hard place, said state Sen. Dave Min. The Democrat from Orange County authored the two bans blocked in the ruling and was a sponsor of the ban at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

If the fair board continues to prohibit the gun shows, it will likely be sued by Crossroads. But if the fair board allows gun shows, it could face legal action from gun control advocates or even the state, Min said.

“Either way, someone will probably take them to court,” he said.

The state attorney general's office has not indicated whether the ruling will be appealed but Min said he expects that challenge to come. He said the bans were a line of defense against the proliferation of guns, arguing the "reckless" ruling could establish dangerous precedents.

“All of the gun laws in California would be challenged, I think,” he said.

Alan Garner, a gun rights supporter from Camarillo, wants the shows to come back, noting that they give people a chance to shop but don’t offer a way around existing laws. People still have to go through background checks and a waiting period to purchase guns, he said, challenging claims that the shows increase access to weapons or contribute to violent crime.

“Where are the facts? Where is the data?” he said.

Karen Peters of Thousand Oaks is a leader of the Ventura County chapter of the Brady gun violence prevention group and helped lead the drive for an end to gun shows at the Ventura fairgrounds. She wants the ban to continue.

“Guns are too easily available in our society, and you have to start somewhere,” she said, reflecting on the drive to stop the shows. “That’s what we were trying to do.”

Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.

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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Company asks to bring back gun shows to Ventura County Fairgrounds