FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN CALIFORNIA GUN SHOW BAN

2025 Update!

California’s petty attempt to undercut the so-called “gun culture” by eliminating gun shows ignores serious conflicts with both the First and Second Amendments, justified by spurious claims of “protecting public safety”. The California Rifle & Pistol Association has joined Crossroads of the West Gun Shows in fighting these unconstitutional bans every step of the way.

“Our Crossroads of the West and CRPA plaintiffs had no choice but to ask the Supreme Court to correct the Ninth Circuit’s misguided decision to ignore the law of what speech is constitutionally protected and completely ignore the Supreme Court’s directive in the Bruen case”, CRPA President & General Counsel Chuck Michel said. “We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will see the merit of our positions and agree tohear the case and protect the rights of tens of thousands of lawful gun owners in California to assemble and enjoy the comradery and benefits of gun shows.”

CRPA has filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Supreme Court requesting their consideration of the case of B&L Productions, Inc. v. Newsom.  The lead plaintiff in the case, B&L Productions, more commonly known as Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, has been barred from producing shows on state-owned properties such as fairgrounds for several years.  Governor Gavin Newsom has falsely claimed that firearms acquired at gun shows are disproportionately used in crimes as the motivation for the ban.

Crossroads of the West and CRPA immediately challenged the law in court and the case has followed a circuitous, and often confusing, path ever since.  In June, a ruling by the Ninth Circuit upholding the ban employed some curious logic to skirt right around the fact that the law even confronted the First and Second Amendments.  They held that an offer to sell a firearm was an “expressive” act covered by the First Amendment, but that the act of agreeing to purchase it was NOT an expressive act.

The Ninth Circuit court went on to dismiss the Second Amendment challenge by, ironically, quoting the Bruen decision as requiring a finding that the law in question relates to conduct covered by the Second Amendment.  The court then explains that while the Constitution conveys the right to “keep and bear arms”, it does not speak to protecting one’s right to actually purchase them.  And with that, the U. S. Ninth Circuit Court dispensed with the first two articles of the Bill of Rights. With the Courts decision, the California law that prohibits the exercise of fundamental Constitutional rights was upheld.

The CRPA and Crossroads of the West Gun Shows have worked alongside the Asian Pacific American Gun Owners Association, the Second Amendment Law Center, and Second Amendment Foundation in this case. As it has been noted many times, cases that impact the way the Supreme Court decision in the Bruen case is applied is critical to the future of the Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms.

The U. S. Supreme Court is expected to make a decision on whether to hear the case by March 20, 2025.

You can donate to CRPA and held fund their effort to protect your rights by clicking the link below.

Donate to help save the California shows

2024 News

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows won their lawsuit against Gavin Newsom and
the State of California, temporarily invalidating the law which prohibited the sale
of firearms or ammunition at the Orange County Fairgrounds gun show or on any
other state-owned property in California.

Crossroads of the West Gun Shows had been conducting gun shows throughout
California for over forty years at various state and county owned Fairgrounds.
Crossroads, whose corporate name is B&L Productions, Inc., was joined in the
lawsuit by The California Rifle and Pistol Association and The Second
Amendment Foundation.

U.S. District Court Judge Mark Holcomb ruled on October 30 that the State ban on
gun shows on state-owned properties violated the First and Second Amendments to
the Constitution, and that the State must lift the gun show ban and make the
Orange County Fairgrounds and other state- owned properties available to
Crossroads to resume their lawful and Constitutionally-protected events.

Tracy Olcott, President of Crossroads of the West, said that “Judge Holcomb’s
decision was a further affirmation that those who would deny law-abiding citizens
the right to assemble and the right to keep and bear arms are in violation of the
protections offered by our Constitution.” She said that Crossroads gun shows
would resume at state-owned fairgrounds as soon as dates for the shows became
available on the facility’s calendar.

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