Supreme Court Justice Leaves California’s Gun Show Sales Ban in Place

Men browse as vendors sell firearms and accessories at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Convention Center in Ontario, California, on January 28, 2023. (Ap

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan has rejected a petition seeking to pause California’s prohibition on gun sales at gun shows held on public property, such as county fairgrounds.

On Friday, Kagan denied an emergency application from B&L Productions, the company that runs the “Crossroads of the West” gun shows across the country, including in San Diego and Orange Counties. She dismissed the petition just two days after it was filed, without asking for a response from the state of California or providing an explanation for her decision.

The emergency application concerns two laws, both authored by state Sen. Dave Min, a Democrat representing parts of Orange County.

The first, Senate Bill 264, barred gun shows from being held at Orange County Fair starting on Jan. 1, 2022. The second law, Senate Bill 915, effective as of Sept. 25, allows gun shows on other public properties but prohibits the sale of firearms, ammunition, and firearm parts at those events.

The showrunner’s legal challenge, filed on both First and Second Amendment grounds, accused California of violating the right of sellers and would-be buyers, alleging that the laws were part of a broader effort to suppress gun culture by limiting public spaces for its proponents to gather and engage in lawful trade.

“Although the challenged statutes do not expressly ban gun shows, that is their stated goal,” B&L told the Supreme Court, noting it had been unable to book any events at state-owned properties since 2023.

The case was initially dismissed in March 2023 by U.S. District Judge Anthony Battaglia. However, in October 2023, U.S. District Judge Mark Holcomb sided with B&L to blocked the laws in question, saying that gun shows serve not just as marketplaces for firearms, but as public forums where discussions about gun safety and political advocacy take place, granting them First Amendment protections.

In June, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously overturned Holcomb’s ruling.

Writing for the majority, Judge Richard R. Clifton concluded that Senate Bill 915 does not violate the Second Amendment, as it does not “meaningfully constrain” anyone’s ability to keep and bear arms. He further noted that the sale of firearms is not considered a form of protected “expressive conduct” under the First Amendment.

The panel also rejected B&L’s argument that the law would suppress pro-gun speech at gun shows, stating that any decision to stop hosting gun shows due to the sales restrictions would be a business choice made by the showrunner, not a direct result of the law.

Min welcomed the Ninth Circuit’s ruling, which he said was an important step in making communities safer.

“For too long, California gun shows have been complicit in the gun industry’s efforts to put profit before public safety,” he said in a Sept. 26 statement. “I hope it will also serve as an inspiration to other states to take similar action not only against gun shows, but against the undeniable connection between the unchecked legal purchase of firearms and gun-related deaths in the United States.”

Firearms sold at California gun shows do not immediately exchange hands. Under a 1996 state law, the final transaction can only be completed after a mandatory 10-day waiting period, during which the buyer must also pass a background check. The firearm is then picked up from a licensed dealer.