CCRKBA Says California Supreme Court Ruling Defies Legal Precedents

A California State Supreme Court ruling today that allows banning of gun shows on county fairgrounds and other government property defies federal court precedent and violates the First Amendment, said Joe Waldron, executive director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA).

"Federal courts in California and elsewhere have already ruled that gun shows are a protected form of commercial free speech," Waldron stated. "The California Supreme Court, with this decision, has cavalierly decided that the First Amendment does not apply in the Golden State after all."

Waldron pointed specifically to the 9th Circuit Court decision in Nordyke v. Santa Clara County (1997) and Silverado Promotions v. Montgomery County, in which federal district courts ruled in favor of gun shows.

The California case stems from a request by a federal appeals court to the California Supreme Court, asking state justices to intervene when federal judges could not be certain how to interpret California law. The state High Court's 6-1 decision upheld a lower court ruling that allows bans on guns at flea markets in Alameda and Los Angeles counties.

"Specifically in the Nordyke case against Santa Clara County, the 9th District Court ruled that gun shows are constitutionally protected commercial free speech," Waldron stressed. "This case has everything to do with the First Amendment, and protecting the right of gun owners to freely associate with one another."

He said the ruling sets a dangerous precedent for the rights of any organization to hold gatherings on public property, especially when the gathering involves something as politically incorrect as a gun show.

"Public property is there for everyone's use," he stated, "not just individuals and organizations that are involved in activities that are politically correct. The boundary of political correctness is subject to change with public whim, but Constitutional rights must be protected to a higher standard. Sadly, California's High Court thinks otherwise."

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States.

This rotten "ruling" by the communist Cal SC sets a precedent for the destruction of the RKBA in Cal. How? Because it opens the door wide to every little podunk city and town to simply pass ordinances to completely ban the possession of firearms in that town. This corrupt court has effectively thrown out California's pre-emption of gun laws. I advise any California Freepers who were considering the purchase of firearms this year, to do it as soon as possible.

And who do we go to, to ask for relief on a gun issue? Why, the wonderful 9th Circuit Court of Appeals! Free speech? Ha! Free Association? Right, you bet! The 9th Circus Court never saw a gun law it didn't like. The RKBA has been destroyed in Cal. It is now the PKBA - the "privilege to keep and bear arms" - and what the government giveth, the government can taketh away.

You can't operate a business in a city without a business license. Suppose a city decides to label your private firearms business a "gun show" for purposes of the business license. They can use the court ruling as a means of banning the "gun show" that is your business. Poof. All the gun shops are history. The loss of the store front then gives ATF the excuse to rescind the FFL. California once had over 10,000 FFLs. It is down to around 2,500. This ruling provides a means of reducing even further. There will be a few shops left that cater to law enforcement.

The ruling didn't address the 1st Amendment issues because the Court wasn't asked to address them. This was only about local laws on the use of public property. Nordyke, however, was a bit on the strange side. The issue there was a narrowly tailored law that had the effect of outlawing only one type of activity; gun shows. While the Court says that counties are within their rights to ban certain types of uses for public venues, this approaches the same end, but by sneaky, backdoor means. The Court seems to be leaving itself wide open to reversal there on equal protection grounds. Great Western and Nordyke could still be reversed on 1st Amendment grounds. The "Freedom of assembly" argument is a compelling one, but was not at issue before the CA Supreme Court.

Your analysis is compelling. I worry about the possibility that this decision will lead to a near total loss of state pre-emption in the gun regulation arena; that each and every little commie enclave in Cal will now be able to use this ruling as an excuse to find ways not only to prohibit gun sales within their city limits, but possibly also to place rigorous bans on private gun ownership.

I don't see that happening from this ruling. Great Western was strictly about whether the County could regulate the use of their property. (Though it is odd that they may discriminate based upon their ethical values, but the owner of a residential rental property may not!) The laws in question did not touch gun shows at private venues.

Join the Gun Show Protection Union, 20,000,000 attend gun shows every year and we have no POWER! That is because we are not organized. If every gun show attendee donated one dollar everytime he went to a gun show, we would have $20,000,000 to fight these people. We could bring any city or county to there knees, but NO ONE will stick together. Nothing but TALK and no action. Join the Gun Show Protection Union and we will have the resources (money) to fight back. The Great Western can not aford to fight this alone. How much did the NRA help? ONE DOLLAR can win this war.

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