Senator Dave Min’s Gun Violence Prevention Bill Advances to the Governor’s Desk
SB 264 would end gun shows at the Orange County Fairgrounds
SACRAMENTO, CA — Senator Dave Min (D-Irvine) announced his Senate Bill (SB) 264, which would end gun shows at the Orange County Fairgrounds, passed out of the California Legislature today, and will head to the Governor’s desk for his signature. SB 264 was originally written to prohibit the sale of firearms, ammunition, and ghost guns on all state-owned property, but after advancing out of the State Senate, the Assembly Appropriations Committee narrowed the scope of the bill to the 32nd District Agricultural Association (otherwise known as the OC Fair and Event Center). The amended bill advanced from the Senate Floor this morning on a 28-8 vote.
“The evidence is clear-- more guns in our communities means more gun violence,” said Min. “Gun shows are responsible for the proliferation of countless guns into our neighborhoods-- including unlicensed firearms and so-called ghost guns. I’m thankful to my colleagues for passing this important gun violence prevention law, and I am hopeful that Governor Newsom will sign this bill into law.”
“That being said, I am very concerned that this bill was limited to Orange County. The tens of thousands of firearms sold at gun shows in neighboring fairgrounds such as Long Beach, Ontario, and San Bernardino will inevitably find their way around the state. We are facing a gun violence crisis in this country, and it is not limited to Orange County or San Diego or San Francisco.
“I am proud of the fact that we are now just one signature away from ending gun shows at the Orange County Fairgrounds, and making Orange County’s families safer from gun violence. But I also want to make clear that I am not satisfied with ending gun shows at the OC Fairgrounds, and I will seek to take up this cause again next year. The State of California needs to get out of the business of selling guns.”
Min represents Costa Mesa, where the Orange County Fairgrounds are located. The site has historically hosted multiple gun shows every year.
###
Dave Min represents California State Senate District 37, which is located in Orange County and includes the communities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Foothill Ranch, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Orange, Tustin, and Villa Park.
Dave was a University of California Irvine law professor and a former economic policy staffer in the United States Senate and for the Center for American Progress. He began his legal career at the Securities and Exchange Commission to protect the retirement security of seniors, turning down high paying jobs to serve the public interest. Dave and his wife Jane live and work in Irvine, where they are raising their three young children.