February 10, 2021
“I don’t see freedom…when I arrive at the county fair and am given free tickets to take my family to a gun show,” the 37-year-old UC Irvine law professor said in a statement that August, announcing his ambition to stop the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the fairgrounds, according to the Los Angeles Times.
As an Irvine Democrat campaigning to represent residents of California’s 37th District back in 2019, Dave Min made it his life’s mission to end the decades-long tradition of hosting gun shows at the state-owned Orange County fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.
After defeating incumbent John Moorlach on November 3, Min is broadening his target. He recently introduced a bill, SB 264, into the state Senate that would ban gun sales and shows on all state-owned properties in California.
The move comes as statewide gun sales hit peak levels in 2020 immediately following pandemic shutdowns last spring, with as many as 110,000 new firearms purchased statewide by mid-July, according to a UC Davis survey reported by the LA Times.
One SB 264 supporter who wishes to remain anonymous stated, “I feel [Asians] are about to lose control over the rash of attacks against their community and black lives are about to be lost. That doesn’t sit right with me. We need to take proactive measures to prevent elements of the Asian community’s ability to wage war against another race.”
If passed, SB 264 would prohibit any state officer or employee, as well as anyone licensed to use any state-held property from allowing or contracting for the sale of any firearm or ammunition on that property.
Min’s SB 264 has been referred to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Public Safety and may be acted upon at the end of the month. Meanwhile, gun control advocates are expressing their support for the senator’s proposal, according to the LA Times.
“The state of California should not be associated with the selling and promotion of firearms and ammunition,” Sandy Wilder, president of Brady Orange County, said in Min’s statement. “Let’s not forget that state-owned properties are supported by taxpayer dollars, so they also must pay for the trauma of firearm violence in our communities.”
Feature Image via Wave 4 All