Daly City – Today Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco) joined students, elected officials, and gun violence prevention advocates to announce a new effort to ban gun and ammunition sales at the Cow Palace, a state-owned venue located in Daly City. The Cow Palace hosts gun shows a few times a year, most recently in April of this year. At that event, a group of high school students protested the gun show in hopes of ending gun sales in their community. Student leaders from that protest joined the announcement today, which took place at the Bayshore Community Center in Daly City.
Senate Bill 221 will ban the sale of guns and ammunition at the Cow Palace. There is an exemption for gun buyback programs run by law enforcement, which are essential programs for removing guns from the community. Gun shows are only a small number of the events held at the Cow Palace, and the speakers at today’s press conference expressed their support for the Cow Palace and their hopes that the event space will continue to serve as a vital part of the local and Bay Area community.
“Our country is awash in guns, and schoolchildren are dying,” said Senator Wiener. “We need fewer guns, and we need to stop the proliferation of guns whose only purpose is to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. We should not have gun shows in the heart of the Bay Area. The Cow Palace gun shows should have ended a long time ago. Better late than never.”
“Residents here have said over and over again that they don’t want gun shows in their neighborhood,” said Assemblymember Phil Ting, principal co-author of SB 221. “Their message is loud and clear. We should respect local values and pass legislation that allows the community to have a say about what goes on at the Cow Palace.”
The announcement of SB 221 comes in the wake of another school shooting on Friday in Houston, where at least eight people died, including students. SB 221 is also co-authored by Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), and Assemblymembers David Chiu (D-San Francisco), Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco), and Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park) who, along with Senator Wiener and Assemblymember Ting, comprise the entire state delegation representing San Mateo County and San Francisco.
“More people have been killed at schools this year than have been killed while serving in the military,” said Senator Jerry Hill, who attended the announcement at the Bayshore Community Center. “This must stop. I stand with our community and our youth in co-authoring SB 221. We need to ensure the state is not profiting off gun sales.”
Previous to SB 221, both Congresswoman Jackie Speier and former Senator Mark Leno, while they were members of the California Legislature, authored legislation to ban the sales of guns at the Cow Palace. Both are supporting Senator Wiener and Assemblymember Ting’s efforts.
“I stand with our students to do everything in our power to prevent gun violence,” said Congresswoman Jackie Speier. “On Friday, at least another eight people lost their lives in a massacre at a Texas high school. We said enough after Parkland. We say enough after Santa Fe. I support the students’ and Senator Wiener’s call to end gun shows at the Cow Palace. Let’s eliminate the possibility that a gun sold here could harm anyone in our community.”
“For years, residents, community organizations and elected leaders from the neighborhoods surrounding Cow Palace have asked to have a voice in the decision to hold gun shows in their backyards, but they have been ignored,” said former Senator Mark Leno. “Meanwhile, firearms related crimes persist in these communities, tearing apart the lives of innocent families who reside in the surrounding area. We must give local communities a say in determining whether they want gun shows in their neighborhoods, especially when they live in daily fear of gun violence.”
SB 221 also has strong support from local elected officials and leaders. Joining Senator Wiener at the press conference were San Mateo County Supervisor David Canepa, Daly City Mayor Juslyn Manolo, Daly City Councilmember Ray Buenaventura, Daly City Manager Pat Martel, Jefferson Union High School District Board Members Kalimah Salahuddin and Rosie Tejada, Jefferson Elementary School District Board Member Clayton Koo and others.
“I cannot believe it has been more than a decade that the Legislature first considered this ban. It’s unconscionable that our state lawmakers have been unable to see that the Cow Palace, which is owned by the state, is not a suitable venue for gun shows,” said Supervisor David J. Canepa. “I stood with Mark Leno in 2009 when he called for such a ban and I stand with state Senator Scott Wiener and Assemblymember Ting today in calling for this ban again. The state should not profit off the sales of guns.”
“SB 221 will prohibit firearm and ammunition sales so close to our communities,” said Daly City Mayor Juslyn Manalo. “Gun possession in the wrong hands has proved too many precious lives lost. We are working together to keep our community safe. It is imperative to pass this legislation.”
In addition to the Jefferson High School students, representatives were in attendance from the San Mateo, San Francisco, and San Francisco State chapters of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, as were members of Moms Demand Action.
If approved, SB 221 would not go into effect until January 1, 2020, so as not to impact any existing contracts that the Cow Palace currently has. Bill language can be found here.
Contact: Jeff Cretan, (415) 308-6782, jeff.cretan@sen.ca.gov