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Judge Rejects Montgomery Gun Show Restriction
By Jo Becker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 5, 2001; Page B01
A U.S. District Court judge yesterday derailed Montgomery County's efforts to end gun shows held for the past decade at fairgrounds in Gaithersburg, ruling that the county cannot enforce its new gun show law within that city's borders.
County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) plans to appeal the ruling, spokesman David Weaver said. "We are going to defend our right to regulate firearms," Weaver said.
In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis did not address broader issues about whether the county's law violated the right to assemble people of similar viewpoints or to engage in commercial speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.
He did, however, say the county and gun show promoter Frank Krasner had raised "serious questions" -- questions that could be taken up in the appeal.
For 10 years, Krasner's Silverado Promotions has held gun shows at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds Agricultural Center in Gaithersburg.
After an outcry from gun control advocates, the County Council passed legislation in May restricting where gun shows could be
held and imposing new regulations on gun show promoters.
But because state law prohibits the county from imposing such regulations on municipalities such as Gaithersburg, the County Council added another provision it hoped would end Krasner's shows.
The fairgrounds are privately owned but have received grants from the county. To pressure the fairgrounds' board, the council cut off county funding for any group that allows the display and sale of guns on its property.
After the new law was enacted, the fairgrounds informed Krasner it could no longer rent space to him. Krasner sued.
Yesterday, Garbis found that the county's new law was in fact a gun show regulation "in the guise of a discretionary spending provision." As such, he said, it could not be enforced within Gaithersburg's borders.
Krasner, who said he has never had a problem at his gun shows, was delighted by the ruling.
"This was nothing more than a solution looking for a problem," he said. "They did this because they are gun bigots and were looking for some cheap publicity."
Council President Blair G. Ewing (D-At Large), a supporter of the new law, said the ruling constituted an "unwarranted limitation
on the council's authority."
"I think the judge is wrong," he said. "It's clearly within our purview to decide on what organizations and under what circumstances
we will spend money."
Gun control advocates nationwide have targeted gun shows because in many states a person can purchase a weapon at a gun show without a background check. But Maryland has closed the so-called gun show loophole, which means people who purchase
handguns at gun shows must undergo the same background check and five-day waiting period that they would if they purchased
the guns at a store.
For gun control groups, yesterday's ruling shifted the focus back to Gaithersburg, which has been unwilling to adopt the county's law. Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz said yesterday that he will not hold a hearing to "determine what the public wants us to do" until the legal wrangling had come to a conclusion.
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
By Jo Becker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 5, 2001; Page B01
A U.S. District Court judge yesterday derailed Montgomery County's efforts to end gun shows held for the past decade at fairgrounds in Gaithersburg, ruling that the county cannot enforce its new gun show law within that city's borders.
County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) plans to appeal the ruling, spokesman David Weaver said. "We are going to defend our right to regulate firearms," Weaver said.
In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Marvin J. Garbis did not address broader issues about whether the county's law violated the right to assemble people of similar viewpoints or to engage in commercial speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.
He did, however, say the county and gun show promoter Frank Krasner had raised "serious questions" -- questions that could be taken up in the appeal.
For 10 years, Krasner's Silverado Promotions has held gun shows at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds Agricultural Center in Gaithersburg.
After an outcry from gun control advocates, the County Council passed legislation in May restricting where gun shows could be
held and imposing new regulations on gun show promoters.
But because state law prohibits the county from imposing such regulations on municipalities such as Gaithersburg, the County Council added another provision it hoped would end Krasner's shows.
The fairgrounds are privately owned but have received grants from the county. To pressure the fairgrounds' board, the council cut off county funding for any group that allows the display and sale of guns on its property.
After the new law was enacted, the fairgrounds informed Krasner it could no longer rent space to him. Krasner sued.
Yesterday, Garbis found that the county's new law was in fact a gun show regulation "in the guise of a discretionary spending provision." As such, he said, it could not be enforced within Gaithersburg's borders.
Krasner, who said he has never had a problem at his gun shows, was delighted by the ruling.
"This was nothing more than a solution looking for a problem," he said. "They did this because they are gun bigots and were looking for some cheap publicity."
Council President Blair G. Ewing (D-At Large), a supporter of the new law, said the ruling constituted an "unwarranted limitation
on the council's authority."
"I think the judge is wrong," he said. "It's clearly within our purview to decide on what organizations and under what circumstances
we will spend money."
Gun control advocates nationwide have targeted gun shows because in many states a person can purchase a weapon at a gun show without a background check. But Maryland has closed the so-called gun show loophole, which means people who purchase
handguns at gun shows must undergo the same background check and five-day waiting period that they would if they purchased
the guns at a store.
For gun control groups, yesterday's ruling shifted the focus back to Gaithersburg, which has been unwilling to adopt the county's law. Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz said yesterday that he will not hold a hearing to "determine what the public wants us to do" until the legal wrangling had come to a conclusion.
© 2001 The Washington Post Company