San Francisco Puts Cow Palace Illegal Gun Sales in Crosshairs
Open bazaar sales of military assault weapons, scatter-bullet ammunition, and rocket launchers traditionally unfettered in the parking lot outside Cow Palace gun shows will be saturated with police Saturday.
Undercover officers also will mingle among the August 11 crowd inside the Cow Palace alert for routinely available illegal weaponry, conversion kits, and cash-only transactions free of pesky sales tax, credit card record, and personal check paper trail.
Sitting on State property and directly across the street from San Francisco public housing projects, Cow Palace activities many years ago transmuted from your grandfather’s County Fair Ground.
On Thusday, the San Francisco elected leadership said enough is enough to indifferent laissez-faire slaughter of innocents allowed by State officials to metasticize through ineptitude and acquiescence before bullying gun advocate big bucks.
Indeed, California Assemblyman Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) is leading the charge to ban sale of guns and ammunition at the Cow Palace altogether.
Leno, backed by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris, San Francisco Police Chief Heather Fong, and community activists, stood before the Cow Palace yesterday detailing history of at-risk youth pleas to end Cow Palace gun shows ignored by State officials.
“I just want to share a little history… A Latino group of youth in the Mission — the Central American Resource Center — was simultaneously meeting while Brothers Against Guns through their counselors going door-to-door with a survey asking youth in these plagued neighborhoods their ideas as to how to end the gun violence,” recalled Leno, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
“The number one suggestion from the youth themselves, the very youth who are at most risk for this gun violence, was to end the gun show at Gun Palace,” he continued.
“Senator (Jackie) Spierer (D-San Mateo) heard of this at a town hall meeting and volunteered to author a bill in 2004. This is grass roots activism and policy making at its best.”
Other California counties have banned gun shows on county property, Leno noted.
“Other counties have already taken the lead — Los Angeles County, Alameda County, Marin County, San Mateo County — now San Francisco County have all passed local ordinances banning the possession and sale of guns and ammunition on county owned property.
“But we are in this uncommon situation where, though the property is half in San Mateo County and half in San Francisco County, the Cow Palace is owned and operated by the State of Californnia.
“So with both counties passing resolutions urging the State of California to do just that which AB-1668 will do, both counties having done everything in their power to pass local ordinances to prohibit the sale, possession of ammunition and guns on county property, there is nothing more that the local electeds and the community activists can do.”
Meanwhile, San Francisco has the Saturday gun show in crosshairs, Newsom said.
“You’re going to get nailed,” the mayor pledged.
“You’re going to get arrested.
“You’re going to end up in jail and with a big fine and a record if you come out here, buy a gun legally, and try to sell in this parking lot — or have the audacity to sell it across the county line in our housing projects here.
“We’re going to be out in force.”
