San Francisco, CA—Responding to the growing concerns of area residents, Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and District Attorney Kamala Harris came together today at the Cow Palace in South San Francisco to announce plans to introduce legislation that will ban the sale of guns and ammunition at the state-owned Cow Palace.
Assemblyman Leno, who was asked by Mayor Newsom and DA Harris to carry the measure, plans to amend AB 1668 to reflect legislation that former Senator Jackie Speier (D-Hillsborough) introduced in 2004. “It is unconscionable to allow gun shows at the Cow Palace when our young people are literally gunned down right outside its doors,” said Leno. “The residents of these communities are living in a war zone and are pleading to ban these gun shows. It is heartless to ignore voice.”
The San Francisco Cow Palace is owned and managed by the State of California’s Department of Agriculture's Division of Fairs and Expositions and is located partly in the City and County of San Francisco and partly in Daly City, County of San Mateo. It is situated directly across from the Sunnydale public housing project and close to communities plagued by violence for years.
Previously, the City and County of San Francisco and the Board of Supervisors of San Mateo County unanimously passed resolutions asking the Legislature to ban gun shows at the Cow Palace.
Gun violence is rising in San Francisco. Over the last three years, 85% of all homicides were committed with firearms, compared to only 60% in 2001. Since January 2004, there have been 142 homicides in the Bayview and Ingleside Districts, 43% of all homicides in the City.
"It is time to stop throwing up our hands and start rolling up our sleeves," said DA Harris. "There are just too many illegal firearms on our city streets."
Last month Mayor Newsom signed a measure, co-authored by District Attorney Harris that would, among other provisions, prohibit the possession and sale of firearms on city property. San Mateo County has a similar ordinance, but because the state owns the Cow Palace, state legislation is needed to address this local issue.
"Gun shows at the Cow palace threaten our most vulnerable residents," said Newsom. "Last week, when we enacted strict new gun laws, we made it clear that we will not stand by and watch as illegal guns proliferate in our city. Today we are advancing our anti-gun efforts even more with this new legislation."
Alameda, Marin and Los Angeles Counties have effectively banned gun shows on county-owned facilities through county ordinances. The US Supreme Court has upheld these county ordinances.
AB 1668 will be heard in the legislature in January of 2008.
For those joining in gay marriages today, the road from outlaw status to respectability was paved in the Legislature over three decades.
From decriminalizing sex between same-sex couples, to outlawing job discrimination against homosexuals, to adding gay members to the legislative roster, the government has been taking steps, measure-by-measure, that have led to gay couples joining hands in marriage ceremonies across the state.
