New bill by Mark Leno would ban gun shows at Cow Palace

San Mateo County Times ^ | 4/17/9 | Christine Morente

[SmithL]

DALY CITY — Every other minute, the Cow Palace marquee flashes, "Gun Show Coming, Gun Show Coming."

That's a message that must stop, state Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said Friday in a news conference announcing the reintroduction of a bill intended to end gun shows at the venue.

"It's astounding a state-owned property is being used to promote weapons of death," Leno said. "We know they're used legally, but in a neighborhood that experiences unconscionable rates of gun violence, it's just maddening."

Crossroads of the West Gun Show is scheduled to take place at the Cow Palace on May 2 and May 3.

Joined by San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and many community members, including Daly City Councilman David Canepa, Leno said Senate Bill 585 follows the desires of nearby neighborhoods.

"Local voices should be respected," he said.

"We want peace on our streets," added Sharen Hewitt, executive director of the Community Leadership Academy and Emergency Response project.

The bill was first introduced in 2007 when Leno was an assemblyman. It passed the Assembly but failed in the Senate by a few votes, Leno said.

On Tuesday, the Senate Public Safety Committee passed the current version of the legislation, which now heads to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The Cow Palace property straddles San Francisco and Daly City. The Sunnydale public housing project is across the street, while Visitacion Valley, Bayview-Hunters Point and the Mission District are nearby.

Since 2005, 44 percent of the homicides and more than 30 percent of the guns seized in the city and county of San Francisco have occurred in those communities, according to law enforcement officials.

On Monday, a 16-year-old boy was shot eight times at the Sunnydale project. He lay there dead for four hours until emergency responders arrived, said Shawn Richard, founder of Brothers Against Guns.

The San Francisco resident said he will do whatever it takes to convince lawmakers to pass Leno's bill.

Richard said he has seen young people buy weapons at the Cow Palace during gun shows and then illegally sell them in surrounding neighborhoods.

"I know them personally," Richard said. "You have people working illegally (at the shows); individuals that play a part in getting those guns through.

"I lost two brothers to gun violence," he added. "I will push this bill so there are no more gun shows at the Cow Palace."

[HiTech RedNeck]

Did Richard turn these alleged straw purchasers in? (nope I don’t think so)

Nobody seems to want to talk about how these are weapons of LIFE when, without a shot fired, they frighten off intruders bent on killing.

[Talisker]

I wonder if anti-gun groups could be sued for sedition if they can’t show an intrinsic effect on criminals. After all, the 2A protects gun ownership, so arguing for the criminalization of people declared by the Constitution to be law-abiding definitely crosses a legal boundary. I’m just wondering if sedition is that boundary.

[Devils Avocado]

The Cow Palace isn’t even in his district! The Cow Palace is in Daly City, just south of San Francisco. From the Wikipedia article on Daly City:

“In the state legislature Daly City is located in the 8th Senate District, represented by Democrat Leland Yee,” NOT Mark Leno (District 3).

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daly_City#Politics)

[rockinqsranch]

“.....”We know they’re used legally, but in a neighborhood that experiences unconscionable rates of gun violence,...”

So.......round ‘em up and get ‘em outta the neighborhood.

[Cuttnhorse]

I hope they don’t close them down in CA...just got back from the Big Reno Show and half the parking lot was filled with CA plates. The ammo booths were packed as usual.

[OneWingedShark]

>”We know they’re used legally, but in a neighborhood that experiences unconscionable rates of gun violence, it’s just maddening.”

“We know they’re used legally” — He admits that the uses are legal... and then goes on to appeal to emotions.

There is NO logic here.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

Where do you think we go to get our high capacity magazines? Nobody has every asked my for an ID for a magazine in Reno or Medford.

That said, I hope they don’t shut us down at the Cow Palace. It’s a fun show and the only reason I ever go to that part of town. It’s also one of the few reasons why I voluntarily contribute to my local tax base (I buy my groceries in DC and my cloths in South SF.)

The real reason they want to shut it down is, of course, the fact that it’s a gathering spot for Bay Area Right Wing Extremists.

[InABunkerUnderSF]

There is NO logic here.

Leftist, logic, what am I missing here???

:o)

[InABunkerUnderSF]

(Of course I would never purchase anything other than a California legal 10 round magazine for any of my weapons, none of which will hold such a magazine in the first place.)

[appleseed]

When I lived out there many years ago I went to every gun and knife show they had. In fact I attended the first Sharks game they ever played right there in the Cow Palace. I have a souvenir puck to prove it. Memories...

[2nd amendment mama]

Using these statistics from the CDC for 2005 (the last year available), they should ban cars then because the death rate from automobiles is greater than from guns!!!

2005, California
Firearm Deaths and Rates per 100,000
All Races, Both Sexes, All Ages

Number of Deaths	Population	Crude Rate	Age-Adjusted Rate**
3,453	35,990,312	9.59	9.48

2005, California
Overall Motor Vehicle Deaths and Rates per 100,000
All Races, Both Sexes, All Ages

Number of Deaths	Population	Crude Rate	Age-Adjusted Rate**
4,454	35,990,312	12.38	12.32

[ridesthemiles]

The state owned property called the COW PALACE doesn’t allow cows or horses anymore.....

[skimbell]

"...promote weapons of death..."

I've never really thought about this but, are there "weapons of life?"

[Amerigomag]

This has little to do with guns. This has everything to do with giving state property to a private party/campaign contributor for the self enrichment of that private party.

For several years a connected developer has been leaning on his crony Assemblyman Yee to close the Cow Palace, allowing the developer to buy the property from the state, at a depressed price, and convert it into commercial and residential space. Daily City is on the band wagon because of the property tax revenue the project will generate.

The politcal class has, on several occasions attempted to repatriate the Cow Palace property through local initiative but the project has been consistently opposed by the local electorate. Now Yee and his cronies are trying to choke off the property's revenue stream by banning its most lucrative events; gun and sporting goods shows.

Again, not about the 2nd Amendment but about personally enriching a connected developer/campaign contributer and substantially increasing the tax base of a municipality.

[paul51]

The San Francisco resident said he will do whatever it takes to convince lawmakers to pass Leno's bill. Richard said he has seen young people buy weapons at the Cow Palace during gun shows and then illegally sell them in surrounding neighborhoods. "I know them personally," Richard said. "You have people working illegally (at the shows); individuals that play a part in getting those guns through. "I lost two brothers to gun violence," he added. "I will push this bill so there are no more gun shows at the Cow Palace."

Bull caca

[nothingnew]

"A Nation Of Cowards"

FMCDH(BITS)

[Cuttnhorse]

After reading the infuriating Napolitano “Assessment”, it seems that there are a heck of a lot of Rightwing Extremists...in fact, I rather suspect we are in the majority.