San Francisco leaders ask governor to halt Cow Palace gun shows
SAN FRANCISCO—City leaders asked Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday to stop gun shows from being held at the state-owned Cow Palace, saying the events are fueling the rise of gun violence in San Francisco.
In a letter to the governor, Mayor Gavin Newsom and District Attorney Kamala Harris said the gun shows contribute to the flow of illegal firearms in San Francisco, noting that neighborhoods around the Cow Palace have the city's highest concentration of illegal guns, gun violence and homicide.
"Public safety demands that we confront this source of illegal firearms in our community," they wrote.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office received the letter Friday and was reviewing the request, said spokesman Aaron McLear.
Newsom and Harris announced Thursday they were working with Assemblyman Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, on state legislation to ban sales and ammunition at the Cow Palace.
Last week, the mayor signed legislation banning gun shows on city and county property, but San Francisco doesn't have jurisdiction over the Cow Palace, which is located on state-owned land outside city limits.
Newsom said Schwarzenegger has agreed to send undercover law enforcement officers to this weekend's Crossroads of the West Gun Show to arrest people selling guns illegally.
