Motion by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky

May 25, 1999

MOTION BY SUPERVISORS ZEV YAROSLAVSKY AND GLORIA MOLINA

Los Angeles County contracts with the Los Angeles County Fair Association to operate the County Fairgrounds in Pomona. The Fair Association contracts with Great Western Shows to operate four gun shows each year. At the Great Western Gun Show held at the Fairgrounds this last April 30 - May 2, the State Department of Justice (DOJ) conducted a "sting" operation to determine if illegal gun trafficking was occurring. During this event DOJ agents purchased several items that are not legal for sale within the State of California including two illegal assault weapons; five illegal machine gun conversion kits and one illegal rocket launcher with projectile. Each of these items was purchased without the completion of a background check as required by law. Finally, the firearms purchased were delivered immediately to the agents, without regard to the ten-day waiting period that is also required by law. According to the Attorney General, the only reason agents were not able to identify more illegal gun trafficking is because they ran out of time and money. And in fact, City of Pomona police arrested five additional individuals at the gun show for illegal sales.

The Board of Supervisors has previously expressed its concern about the potential for illegal activity at gun shows conducted on county-owned property. In May, 1998 the Board asked the Fair Association to amend any contracts it might make with gun show promoters to reflect these concerns, by requiring that the security plan for any gun show conducted at the Fairgrounds be reviewed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff; and by making the gun show promoter responsible for ensuring that no person sells firearms at a gun show who does not possess all required Federal, State and local gun dealer licenses. The Board also endorsed legislation then pending in the Legislature (now passed) that gave gun show promoters the right to access the State's centralized list of licensed gun dealers, thus giving the promoter a simple way to verify the status of every vendor at a show. Overall, the Board asked the Fair Association to ensure through its contract with the gun show promoter that all firearms sales at the gun shows would be conducted lawfully.

Despite this clear direction from the Board, none of the above restrictions have gone into effect. The Fair Association has not amended the terms of its agreement with the gun show promoter; the Sheriff has not been given the opportunity to review the security plan for the gun show; the gun show promoter has not required every vendor to provide a copy of his/her firearms sales licenses; nor has the promoter accessed the State's centralized list to check for himself. Exactly one year after the Board acted, nothing has changed. It thus should be no surprise to anyone - not the gun show promoter, not the Fair Association, and not the County - that the State DOJ found it so easy to uncover illegal activity at the recent gun show.

The Board's action of one year ago was a substitute for a motion submitted earlier that would have banned the use of county-owned venues for gun shows altogether. At that time there was no clear evidence of illegal activity at the County Fairgrounds, and the Board wished to take the Fair Association and the gun show promoter at their words when they indicated their agreement with the County's objectives and their willingness to better police themselves. In light of the frightening discoveries made by State DOJ; and following upon the failure of the Fair Association and the gun show promoter to take any steps whatsoever to implement the Board's wishes in this matter, the Board should act now to ensure the public health and welfare by determining whether the Fair Association has violated its lease; by negotiating alternatives to the continued operation of gun shows at Fairplex; and by implementing the strictest possible regulations on any gun shows at Fairplex.

WE, THEREFORE, MOVE that the Board instruct County Counsel to review the "Ground Lease and Operating Agreement" between the County and the Fair Association to determine whether grounds exist for finding the Fair Association in default of its covenants under the lease; and

WE FURTHER MOVE that the Board instruct the Chief Administrative Officer to negotiate alternatives to the continued operation of gun shows at the Fairgrounds, in the context of the Fair Association's request to the County to extend its lease term so as to accommodate additional development on the Fairgrounds; and

WE FURTHER MOVE that, pending the success of the above actions, the Board instruct the CAO to immediately negotiate additional security measures at gun shows held at the County Fairgrounds, and to return to the Board in 30 days with a report thereon. The additional security measures shall include at a minimum:

1. Vendors wishing to sell modern firearms must register a minimum of seven days prior to the opening of any gun show.

2. Vendors wishing to sell modern firearms must supply a copy of their applicable State, Federal and local gun dealer licenses to the promoter with their application to sell at the show.

3. The gun show promoter must check the validity of each license against the State Department of Justice's centralized list of licensed gun dealers.

4. The gun show promoter must devise and implement mechanisms to ensure that laws regarding background checks and the 10-day waiting period are strictly observed.

5. The gun show promoter must devise and implement mechanisms to ensure that private firearms are brought onto, transferred and removed from Fairplex in a safe and legal manner.

6. The gun show promoter must devise and implement mechanisms to ensure that neither illegal weapons nor kits that convert legal weapons to illegal weapons are offered for sale.

7. The gun show promoter must devise and implement mechanisms to ensure that all transactions take place in the exhibition area of Fairplex and that no transactions take place in the parking lots or neighborhoods surrounding Fairplex.

8. The gun show promoter shall prepare a security plan for each gun show which shall be reviewed and approved by the Sheriff and which shall be implemented at the promoter's expense. The security plan will involve as necessary agents of the State Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Sheriff's Department; in order to ensure that all transactions at the shows are carried out in a safe and legal manner.

May 25, 1999

MOTION BY SUPERVISOR ZEV YAROSLAVSKY

AMENDMENT TO #24

I MOVE that Item No. 24 be amended as follows:

AMEND No. 1 on page 4 as follows:

1. Vendors wishing to sell post-1898 firearms must register a minimum of seven days prior to the opening of any gun show.

AMEND No. 2 on page 4 to read as follows:

2. Vendors wishing to sell post-1898 firearms must supply a copy of a government-issued photo identification, and those of their employees to the promoter with their application to sell at the show. Dealers must provide the above information as well as a copy of their applicable state, federal and local gun dealer licenses to the promoter with their application to sell at the show. Every person offering post-1898 firearms for sale shall wear an identification tag issued by the promoter.