Del Mar Gun Show To Return Following Legal Victory

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File

Local officials wanted to kill the Del Mar Gun Show.

Despite no documented cases of anyone doing anything illegal at the show so far as I’ve been able to find, local lawmakers wanted to shut down the popular gun show for one simple reason. They find guns icky.

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Oh, that’s not how the phrased it, mind you, but that’s what it all boiled down to. Guns made them feel uncomfortable, so they had to shut down the gun show.

That led to a court case and guess who lost that one? Spoiler: It wasn’t the gun show.

Now, the show is back on the schedule.

Gun shows will be back at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in September and December following a judge’s order that a ban on the shows be lifted until a final ruling is made in a federal lawsuit.

The fair board voted last year to stop the shows until it could develop a policy that would allow displays without sales of firearms or ammunition. The action was in response to outcry following the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. in February of 2018.

The owners of the shows, Crossroads of The West, sued the board, arguing that the shows are protected by the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment. Several gun rights groups joined the suit.

In June, U.S. District Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo ordered that the state must allow the shows to continue while the court rules on the legality of the suspension. This week, Crossroads of The West announced shows scheduled for Sept. 28 and 29, and Dec. 14 and 15.

Further bookings will depend on the final ruling, though often rulings like Bencivengo’s suggests that Crossroads of The West has a good chance of winning.

That’s not surprising, really. After all, there was no evidence that Crossroads of The West did anything wrong or were arming criminals in any way. All the venders complied with state and federal law, too. There was literally no reason to shut the show down.

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Well, no reason except for the political bias among the fair board, that is. As noted earlier, they think guns are icky and so they want to ban their sale on fair property.

Were the property privately held, then sure. I’m a huge proponent of property rights and if you don’t want to rent your property out for something you disagree with, then don’t. Unfortunately for them, the property isn’t privately held. It’s public property, which means equal access to all. That’s why the injunction was issued and why Crossroads of The West is likely to win the court case.

Anti-gunners often think they can do whatever they want when it comes to guns. They’ve embraced the outlook that the Second Amendment is a second-class right. They’ve embraced it, internalized it, and are shocked to discover that not everyone agrees with that interpretation. While that makes me smile, I’d rather they just come to terms that it’s a God-given right protected by the United States Constitution and, as such, cannot be shuffled off to the side because your sensibilities are offended.

A guy can dream, right?

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