California Legislature Passes Cow Palace Gun Show Ban

August 30, 2018

Sacramento –  Today the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 221, which would ban all gun and ammunition sales at the Cow Palace, a state-owned venue located in Daly City. The Cow Palace hosts gun shows five times a year. The gun shows have drawn opposition from the community and local governments for years, including student protests at recent shows. SB 221 passed by a 26-13 vote and now goes to the Governor for his signature.

“Our local communities have made it clear that we do not want gun shows in our cities and our neighborhoods, and I’m glad that the legislature respects this reasonable desire,” said Senator Wiener. “We’re experiencing an epidemic of mass shootings that goes unaddressed by our Federal Government. Banning these gun shows is one part of the larger movement away from having easy access to guns in our communities. Enough is enough.”  

Senator Wiener and Assemblymember Ting held a press conference with student leaders, local elected officials, and community leaders in Daly City announcing the bill, which can be viewed here: http://sd11.senate.ca.gov/news/20180521-senator-wiener-assemblymember-ting-join-students-legislators-community-leaders

“With the passage of SB 221, state lawmakers sent a message to residents near the Cow Palace that we hear them loud and clear. They don’t want gun shows in their neighborhood,” said Assemblymember Ting. “I hope the governor allows the community to have a say in what kind of events are permissible at this facility.”

SB 221 is co-authored by Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), and Assemblymembers David Chiu (D-San Francisco), Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco), and Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park.) Both the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed resolutions supporting SB 221, authored by San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa and San Francisco Supervisor Ahsha Safai.  SB 221 also has the support of Daly City Mayor Juslyn Manolo and Daly City Vice Mayor Ray Buenaventura, as well as many community leaders.  It has the support of Bay Area Student Activists (BAStA), a group of high school students from across the Bay Area advocating for stronger gun control laws. 

Previous to SB 221, both Congresswoman Jackie Speier and former Senator Mark Leno, while they were members of the California Legislature, authored legislation to ban the sales of guns at the Cow Palace. Those measures either did not pass or were vetoed by the Governor.

SB 221 will ban the sale of guns and ammunition at the Cow Palace. There is an exemption for gun buyback programs run by law enforcement, which are essential programs for removing guns from the community. If approved, SB 221 would not go into effect until January 1, 2020, so as not to impact any existing contracts that the Cow Palace currently has. 

SB 221 Language http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB221