Font ResizeDALY CITY — Legislation that could ban the sale of guns and ammunition at the Cow Palace has passed the state Assembly, and is expected to reach the Senate appropriations committee in the next few weeks.
Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said he authored Assembly Bill 2948 to address the increasing gun violence in San Francisco and the Bay Area.
He said Friday he is confident the legislation will pass in the Senate despite a strong gun lobby in Sacramento.
The legislation is to the benefit of the Bayshore community, which is where the Cow Palace is based, Leno said.
"The community doesn't want to see flashing neon signs that says, 'guns, guns, guns,'" he said. "And when you have children who are too fearful to sleep in their own beds at night because of stray bullets going through windows, that they have to sleep on their floor, I suggest we respect the fear endemic in their neighborhoods, and not have guns sold on state property."
This week, AB2948 passed the Senate public safety committee 3-2.
Leno's challenge is to hold onto enough of the moderate Democrats to warrant a simple majority vote on the floor.
Bob Templeton has taken his Crossroads of the West Gun Show to the state-owned Cow Palace for the past 23 years.
The August show has been cancelled because attendance is slow in the summer and it has nothing to do with the legislation, Templeton said Friday.
But so far, there are no plans
"We've looked at several alternatives, but we're waiting to see what happens," he said.
Typically, an average of 4,000 to 5,000 people visit the two-day show each year.
According to Templeton, people can't buy guns at the show, but they can order them through licensed dealers during the event.
Buyers who have passed a background check and gone through a 10-day waiting period will then get the firearm they ordered, he said.
He added that the show at the Cow Palace is compliant with all state and federal laws.
"If they take away our ability to have gun shows there, it will affect our freedom of assembly and our freedom of speech," Templeton said. "The Supreme Court's (Thursday) decision on the right to bear arms should work for us, and we're cautiously optimistic we'll prevail."
Kay Holmen, president of the California chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said the problem isn't the licensed dealers — it's the gun collectors.
Collectors do not have the same rules and restrictions associated with licensed dealers.
Sting operations of different gun shows prove hundreds of illegal transactions happen, Holmen said.
"When you've got 200 or however many dealers at those gun shows, including private collectors, things fall through the cracks," she said. "Then you have a lot of people who live in that community who probably shouldn't buy guns."
Templeton said there hasn't been any issues with illegal gun sales during the show.
Daly City police and undercover officers from the state Department of Justice patrol the event.
Another problem is not every state has the same rules about gun ownership and responsibilities.
There are no limitations to how many guns can be bought in Nevada and Arizona. In California, a person can buy one gun a month.
Alameda, Marin and Los Angeles counties have banned gun shows on county-owned facilities through county ordinances.
In 2006, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signed a measure to prohibit the possession and sale of firearms on city property.
Last year, 616 guns were seized in the city, according to the San Francisco Police Department's Crime Analysis Unit.
Meanwhile, San Mateo County has a similar ordinance.
"The reality is, we have good gun controls in California to the best of our ability, but because we are adjacent to two states that have very weak gun control, we are at the mercy of that situation," Holmen said. "There is a lot of money in selling guns. The best way to limit the problem is to end those gun shows."
Christine Morente covers faith, families and North County. She can be reached at 650-348-4333 or cmorente@bayareanewsgroup.com.
