A federal judge lifted an injunction banning gun shows on the state-owned Del Mar Fairgrounds while litigation proceeds, the California Rifle and Pistol Association (CRPA) announced Wednesday.
The U.S. District Court ruling allows gun shows to continue on the property as a lawsuit proceeds against the state’s 22nd District Agricultural Association Board of Directors, the body that oversees the venue and issued the original ban, ABC News reported.
The suit was brought against the board by B&L Productions, which produces the Crossroads of the West gun show, after it voted in September 2018 to temporarily ban sales of guns and ammunition at the fairgrounds. Crossroads of the West is one of the largest shows in southern California, according The Los Angeles Times.
A federal judge ruled that #gun shows can continue at the #DelMar Fairgrounds, at least for now, as the court considers a lawsuit against a state agency’s decision to effectively suspend the shows, @CRPAnews announced Wednesdayhttps://t.co/M1IBlpbk4W pic.twitter.com/Q3NLyZTkFC
— KPBS News (@KPBSnews) June 19, 2019
“We’re thankful Judge Bencivengo sees the constitutional problem with banning these safe, perfectly legal events and is allowing the show to go on while we continue to fight,” attorney for CRPA and B&L Productions Tiffany Cheuvront told City News Service.
“We’re confident that as this case progresses, law-abiding Americans’ civil rights will not be unjustly violated and that we will prevail.”
Residents of Solana Beach, Del Mar, and Encinitas and gun control activist groups like Never Again California rallied in 2018 to ban gun shows at the fairgrounds. They were supported by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democratic Assembly members Todd Gloria, Lorena Gonzalez, and Tasha Boerner-Horvath. (RELATED: Victor Davis Hanson Tells Tucker Why California Is ‘America’s First Third World State’)
The California Assembly passed AB 893 in April by 48-16, which bans gun and ammunition sales at the fairgrounds in 2021. A version of the bill is currently being considered in the California State Senate. The U.S. District Court’s final ruling may affect the legality of the final legislation, according to ABC.
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