L.A. Makes Gun History

Los Angeles County supervisors passed a law that could end the nation's largest gun show by banning the sale of weapons and ammunition on county-owned property.

The ordinance, approved Tuesday in a 3-2 final vote, will be challenged in court by the Great Western Gun Show on numerous fronts, including breach of contract and constitutional violations, said Chad Seger, the show's manager.

"This ordinance is putting the Great Western as it exists today out of business," Seger said.

	GUNS in AMERICA I N T E R A C T I V E Arm Yourself With The Facts

Irvine-based Great Western also will seek a temporary restraining order to allow shows planned for October and December, Seger said. The show convenes four times a year at the Los Angeles County fairgrounds in Pomona.

The board's action was the second of two votes reuired to adopt the ordinance, which will take effect after 30 days.

Moments after Tuesday's vote, organizers said they planned to file a lawsuit as early as Wednesday seeking to overturn the ban.

"We are prepared to take immediate legal action not only on our own behalf, but on behalf of the 2,000 exhibitors at our show who would be damaged by this ordinance," Seger said.

The planned suit, according to Seger, would contend the county has violated the federal civil rights of the gun show's promoters and does not have jurisdiction over the event taking place within Pomona's city limits. Organizers also claim the ban is akin to a violation of free speech.

Federal authorities claim that gun shows have been the source for weapons used in notorious Southern California shootings, including the 1997 North Hollywood bank shootout. Federal prosecutors last month also charged a Newport Beach man for allegedly selling machine guns and machine gun parts to undercover officers he met in July at a Great Western show.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who sponsored the measure, said it should withstand any court challenge.

"This is a historic day for Los Angeles County and for other counties and jurisdictions around the country that want to do something about the proliferation of illegal weaponry," Yaroslavsky said.

The county tentatively approved the ordinance Aug. 24, two weeks after five people were wounded in a shooting rampage at a Jewish community center in Granada Hills and the related slaying of a letter carrier. Admitted white supremacist Buford O. Furrow Jr. has been charged with the killing.

More than 100,000 people attend the four Great Western shows each year at the fairgrounds. The shows contribute an estimated $9 million to the county's economy and support about 2,000 exhibitors, Seger said.

Supervisor Don Knabe voted against the ordinance, which will take effect in 30 days.

"What we have is a situation where because of one-tenth of one percent, we are going to penalize 99.9 percent of these people who do not break the law," Knabe said.