By opting not to lend his signature to a state Senate bill aimed at ending the sale of firearms at Daly City’s Cow Palace Friday, Gov. Jerry Brown may have temporarily stalled an effort to stop the Crossroads of the West’s gun show from coming to the well-used events venue some five times a year.
But for Supervisor David Canepa, whose District 5 includes the Cow Palace, the governor’s veto may not be the end of the road for Senate Bill 221. Aimed at banning the sales of guns and ammunition at the Cow Palace after the facility’s contract with Crossroads of the West ends in 2020, Canepa believes the bill proposed by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, will get another shot under the next governor Californians elect in November.
“While it’s disappointing now, I’m confident that Sen. Weiner will move this bill forward for next year and I believe the bill will be signed,” he said.
In vetoing the bill for a second time, Brown said in a letter to the state Senate the decision on what kind of shows occur at the Cow Palace rests with the facility’s board of directors, which represents a broad cross-section of the community. Brown also noted in his letter former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger previously vetoed the bill.
Though county supervisors passed a resolution in support of Weiner’s bill in June, because the Daly City facility is owned by the California Department of Agriculture’s Division of Fairs and Expositions, the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors cannot restrict gun shows there on its own. As former mayor of Daly City, Canepa said he supported a 2009 resolution adopted by the board urging state legislators to enact a ban, and emphasized the importance of sending a strong message about gun control at the Cow Palace, which has been in close proximity to instances of gun violence in both Daly City and San Francisco.
“The state should not profit off the sale of gun shows,” he said. “It’s not the right thing to do ethically, it sends the wrong message.”
With confidence Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom will prevail in November to be the state’s next governor, Canepa said given Newsom’s stances on gun control he’s optimistic the legislation would be successful if Wiener were to pursue it again.
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“There’s light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. “Although it’s been a long wait, I think we’ll have a different result.”
The proposed ban previously sparked concerns for Lori Marshall, CEO of the Cow Palace, who said if it is successful the venue would have to find a way to make up the estimated $125,000 in revenue generated by the five events Crossroads of the West hosts at the venue each year. According to Marshall, the facility does not receive any state funding and generates an average of $4.7 million in revenue annually to be able to invest in facility and equipment maintenance and upgrades.
Canepa is hopeful county and Daly City officials can collaborate with the Cow Palace to scope development opportunities to boost the venue’s revenue in the future, noting new housing and commercial housing were among the uses that stood out to him as possibilities.
“There are other alternatives, there are other ways to go about it, but the Cow Palace should not profit off the sale of guns,” he said.
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(1) comment
Young Supervisor David Canepa, needs to go back to school and study the Bill of Rights .. especially the " 2nd amendment "
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