Maggie_T
03-09-2001, 03:20 PM
WarLady1
Owner/Op/Moderator
posts: 718
(1/24/01 11:29:12 am)
Reply
Montgomery Targets Hosts of Gun Shows!!!!
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washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...Jan23.html
Montgomery Targets Hosts of Gun Shows
Bill Would Cut Organizations' Funds
By Jo Becker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 24, 2001; Page B01
The Montgomery County Council moved yesterday to cut off funding for any organization that allows the display or sale of guns on its property as a way to shut down gun shows at the fairgrounds in Gaithersburg.
Public tax money should not be going to a place that holds gun shows," said Leah Barrett, a Chevy Chase resident who attended yesterday's council meeting to support the bill. "It's morally objectionable."
For the last 50 years, the Montgomery County Fairgrounds has been home to the popular county fair held in August. The nonprofit group that owns the fairgrounds, Montgomery County Agricultural Center Inc., rents the property to other groups, ranging from craft shows to college fairs. Silverado Promotions, which runs guns shows across Maryland during hunting season, has been a tenant for the last decade; it puts on two shows each year in Gaithersburg.
Until now, fairgrounds officials have defended Silverado Promotions and refused to bend to political pressure that began in earnest this past fall to put an end to the gun shows. But a fairgrounds spokeswoman said yesterday that that could change if the budget is jeopardized.
The fairgrounds has received nearly $500,000 in county funds since 1998. That's more money than it has collected in rent from Silverado Promotions in the last 10 years, according to Heather Hull, information director for Montgomery County Agricultural Center Inc.
"It would affect our bottom line," she said. "Our lawyer and our board of directors will have to review this."
The county has a law banning the sale, transfer, possession or transportation of certain weapons within 100 yards of a "place of public assembly." The legislation introduced yesterday would expand that definition to include exhibition facilities, "such as a fairgrounds or conference center."
But neither the old nor the proposed new version of the law applies in Gaithersburg, which is a municipality and must therefore vote separately to adopt the gun show provisions. County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) asked Gaithersburg to do just that in a letter he sent this past fall. But to date, the city has done nothing.
That has been a source of frustration for County Council President Blair G. Ewing (D-At Large), who came up with the idea of using the county's purse strings to try to put an end to the Gaithersburg shows.
"We need to reduce the easy availability of guns," Ewing said.
Frank Krasner, the owner of Silverado Promotions, called Ewing a "gun bigot" who is trying to "blackmail the fairgrounds."
In his 10 years of operating area gun shows, Krasner said, not one of his dealers has been cited for illegal activity.
Unlike some states, Maryland has tightened its laws to close the so-called gun loophole, ensuring that people who purchase guns at shows must undergo the same waiting period and background checks as do those who purchase a gun at a store.
"All the same rules apply -- my question over and over again has been, 'What is the problem?,' " Krasner said. "The people that come to my shows aren't criminals -- they are doctors and lawyers and ditch diggers."
Krasner said he believes Ewing's bill is unconstitutionally discriminatory because federal courts have held that gun shows are a protected form of speech. He said he will review his legal options if the bill passes.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers from Montgomery County are pushing legislation that would ban gun shows at property owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. That would effectively close down another gun show run by Silverado Promotions at Show Place Arena, a Park and Planning Commission-owned property in Prince George's County.
A public hearing on the county bill will be held Feb. 15.
"I believe in grace, because I have seen it; in peace, because I have felt it; in forgiveness, because I have needed it." -- George W. Bush in his acceptance speech in Philadelphia.
AtomicLibSmasher
TaskMaster
posts: 182
(1/24/01 1:14:58 pm)
Reply
Re: Montgomery Targets Hosts of Gun Shows!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What a pile of wallowing sissies. How gutless can you be to thwart people defending themselves. The local thugs will be happy to hear the good news.
“Americans are so enamored with equality they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.” -Alexis de Tocqueville
BEST45CAL
Gold Star Member
posts: 105
(1/31/01 3:23:14 am)
Reply
Re: Montgomery Targets Hosts of Gun Shows!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sounds like they're cutting off their noses to spite their faces. They may also have taken a page out of the Alameda County, California playbook.
"Wise men learn more from fools than fools learn from the wise."
Owner/Op/Moderator
posts: 718
(1/24/01 11:29:12 am)
Reply
Montgomery Targets Hosts of Gun Shows!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...Jan23.html
Montgomery Targets Hosts of Gun Shows
Bill Would Cut Organizations' Funds
By Jo Becker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 24, 2001; Page B01
The Montgomery County Council moved yesterday to cut off funding for any organization that allows the display or sale of guns on its property as a way to shut down gun shows at the fairgrounds in Gaithersburg.
Public tax money should not be going to a place that holds gun shows," said Leah Barrett, a Chevy Chase resident who attended yesterday's council meeting to support the bill. "It's morally objectionable."
For the last 50 years, the Montgomery County Fairgrounds has been home to the popular county fair held in August. The nonprofit group that owns the fairgrounds, Montgomery County Agricultural Center Inc., rents the property to other groups, ranging from craft shows to college fairs. Silverado Promotions, which runs guns shows across Maryland during hunting season, has been a tenant for the last decade; it puts on two shows each year in Gaithersburg.
Until now, fairgrounds officials have defended Silverado Promotions and refused to bend to political pressure that began in earnest this past fall to put an end to the gun shows. But a fairgrounds spokeswoman said yesterday that that could change if the budget is jeopardized.
The fairgrounds has received nearly $500,000 in county funds since 1998. That's more money than it has collected in rent from Silverado Promotions in the last 10 years, according to Heather Hull, information director for Montgomery County Agricultural Center Inc.
"It would affect our bottom line," she said. "Our lawyer and our board of directors will have to review this."
The county has a law banning the sale, transfer, possession or transportation of certain weapons within 100 yards of a "place of public assembly." The legislation introduced yesterday would expand that definition to include exhibition facilities, "such as a fairgrounds or conference center."
But neither the old nor the proposed new version of the law applies in Gaithersburg, which is a municipality and must therefore vote separately to adopt the gun show provisions. County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) asked Gaithersburg to do just that in a letter he sent this past fall. But to date, the city has done nothing.
That has been a source of frustration for County Council President Blair G. Ewing (D-At Large), who came up with the idea of using the county's purse strings to try to put an end to the Gaithersburg shows.
"We need to reduce the easy availability of guns," Ewing said.
Frank Krasner, the owner of Silverado Promotions, called Ewing a "gun bigot" who is trying to "blackmail the fairgrounds."
In his 10 years of operating area gun shows, Krasner said, not one of his dealers has been cited for illegal activity.
Unlike some states, Maryland has tightened its laws to close the so-called gun loophole, ensuring that people who purchase guns at shows must undergo the same waiting period and background checks as do those who purchase a gun at a store.
"All the same rules apply -- my question over and over again has been, 'What is the problem?,' " Krasner said. "The people that come to my shows aren't criminals -- they are doctors and lawyers and ditch diggers."
Krasner said he believes Ewing's bill is unconstitutionally discriminatory because federal courts have held that gun shows are a protected form of speech. He said he will review his legal options if the bill passes.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers from Montgomery County are pushing legislation that would ban gun shows at property owned by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. That would effectively close down another gun show run by Silverado Promotions at Show Place Arena, a Park and Planning Commission-owned property in Prince George's County.
A public hearing on the county bill will be held Feb. 15.
"I believe in grace, because I have seen it; in peace, because I have felt it; in forgiveness, because I have needed it." -- George W. Bush in his acceptance speech in Philadelphia.
AtomicLibSmasher
TaskMaster
posts: 182
(1/24/01 1:14:58 pm)
Reply
Re: Montgomery Targets Hosts of Gun Shows!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What a pile of wallowing sissies. How gutless can you be to thwart people defending themselves. The local thugs will be happy to hear the good news.
“Americans are so enamored with equality they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.” -Alexis de Tocqueville
BEST45CAL
Gold Star Member
posts: 105
(1/31/01 3:23:14 am)
Reply
Re: Montgomery Targets Hosts of Gun Shows!!!!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sounds like they're cutting off their noses to spite their faces. They may also have taken a page out of the Alameda County, California playbook.
"Wise men learn more from fools than fools learn from the wise."