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[Cross-posted from the Fans of the OC Fairgrounds blog]
Students walked out of school yesterday across the nation, to protest the deaths of students and others from gun violence. Unlike Los Angeles County, Orange County allows gun shows.
The Crossroads of the West gun show takes place at the Orange County Fair and Event Center (OCFEC), also known as the OC Fairgrounds, several times a year and is a steady source of over $300,000 in annual facility use revenue in addition to parking and concessions revenues.
About a year ago, OCFEC closed for the weekend because the Make America Great Again rally announced that they would hold their unpermitted rally near Fair Drive and Fairview Road on the same weekend as the Crossroads of the West gun show, which caused the cancellation of the gun show for that weekend. The irony is the gun show caused their own cancellation because they agreed to host the Make America Great Again rally without permission to do so. The gun show was allowed to reschedule the date of the show which was cancelled due to their own actions.
A recent trip to the gun show raises questions about the conduct of the show including:
- Photography and video recording are prohibited.
- A list of of sellers is not available.
- A “pentagon AR-15 coupler” which attaches five ten-round magazines to an AR-15 was for sale. This apparently legal workaround allows up to fifty rounds to be fired in quick succession. The video linked to is for illustrative purposes only.
- Several gun show sellers specialize in AR-15
weaponry and accessories. - It is not clear if a person is able to obtain the parts needed to assembly an AR-15 from the sellers at the gun show.
- Booths do not have signs with the name of the business at each and every booth and not all booths had marketing materials or business cards with the business name and contact information.
- A number of sellers do not match to a list of Costa Mesa business licenses although a Costa Mesa business license is required to conduct business at OCFEC. See Costa Mesa Municipal Code Title 9, Chapter I to learn more about business license requirements. A Costa Mesa business license allows sales tax generated at OCFEC to be paid to the City of Costa Mesa, Orange County, and Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), among other agencies. OCTA uses the M1 and M2 OC Go sales tax increments to fund transportation improvements.
- Pawn shops which are called “second hand dealers” in statute are among the sellers. Pawn shops/ second hand dealers need permission from the Costa Mesa Police Department to operate in Costa Mesa. See Costa Mesa Municipal Code Title 9, Chapter II, Article 12 to learn more about business license requirements for pawn shops/ second hand dealers.
- A man was observed pushing a hand truck with a box of ammunition for sale throughout the show for several hours. He was holding a handwritten cardboard sign asking people to purchase items from his box. There was less product in the box later in the day than at the beginning of the day.
Reform of gun laws is outside the jurisdiction of the OCFEC Board but the Board can require changes to be made in the way all public events are conducted on the property. Shows open to the public, with free or paid admission, should publish a list of all sellers and exhibitors at the event. The list should state the business name, mailing address, phone number, and email to allow sellers and exhibitors to be contacted outside of the show. Show promoters should be required to have the list available at the show and the information should be kept on file by the OCFEC staff to be provided to the public. One simple change to enhance transparency and accountability which is within the grasp of the OC Fair Board is a step in the right direction.
Contact CEO Kathy Kramer kkramer@ocfair.com
Contact VP of Operations Ken Karns kkarns@ocfair.com
Contact VP of Business Development Michele Richards mrichards@ocfair.com
Contact the OCFEC Board (Ashleigh Aitken, 
Barbara Bagneris, Nick Berardino, Sandra Cervantes, Doug La Belle, Gerardo Mouet, Newton Pham, Robert Ruiz, Stan Tkaczyk) through Summer Angus sangus@ocfair.com because Board members choose to not have emails to allow the public to contact them.
Public Records Requests cpra@ocfair.com
The State of California could break some ground here. They could pass a law requiring that every NEW Firearm Purchase or Transfer – Mandatory Drug Testing, utilizing TSA Glove Swab Technology…the same non invasive tests used for Flight Crews, NTSB Rail Employees and Truckers – as well as certain Public Safety Officials.
California already requires waiting periods, Restricted Firearms, Restricted Accessories and every transaction must go through an Federal Firearm Licensed Dealer. Adding the Drug Test results to the NCIS Request would be no problem. Additionally, with the Instant Drug Test, the transaction could be stopped before submission; if the applicant failed the drug test. Therefore no “self incrimination issues”.
Banning certain firearms or magazines or other accessories…..doesn’t stop or deter anyone from getting those things. Sadly, collectibles of all types do not kill or injure anyone. The person behind the trigger must take full responsibility for bad behavior. So, the question is: What is a Law Abiding Citizen? Is it someone on psychotropic drugs with mental impairment problems, it is someone hooked on fentanyl or other opioid derivatives? Is it someone that abuses family members and suffers from PTSD? Is it someone unable to cope with mental depression and is considered suicidal?
These are all important questions. The Las Vegas Shooter, the Sandy Hook, Newtown Kid, The West Virginia Shooter, the South Carolina Shooter, Major Hassan, The Columbine Kids, The Batman Theater shooter and of course the Parkland Shooter….all have one thing in common: Drugs!….. No number of Hugs….would have saved anyone from these folks getting the firearms they had!
I’m sorry, what exactly are we complaining about here?
RC, maybe Reggie just wants to “regulate Gun Shows out of existence in the OC!”
Think they tried that several years ago…..with little success!
Yeah, that’s kinda the impression I get.
Gun show sellers, like all sellers at the Fairgrounds, are supposed to have a Costa Mesa business license and to report sales made in Costa Mesa to allow the sales taxes earned in Costa Mesa to be distributed to Costa Mesa, Orange County, and Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), among other agencies relying on sales tax money.
It is not clear if the business licenses and sales tax paperwork are in place to allow those payments to be made to the proper agencies which hurts all residents of Orange County.
That’s a pretty significant assumption. Maybe you’re right. Maybe you’re not.
Says who?
Is this an issue with this specific event or events in general held at the venue?
It’s not clear what you mean by “pretty significant assumption” but state regulations, city regulations, and sales tax remittances, or lack thereof, support further investigation of the sales tax compliance issue. The issue appears to be for events held at the OC Fairgrounds, with the gun show being one event used as a sample.
If sales tax is not being correctly reported as being generated in Costa Mesa, OCTA has been shorted out of the M1 and M2 now called OC GO sales tax increment used to fund county-wide roadway improvements.
I think your assumption that vendors at the fairgrounds need a city issued business license may be false.
Let us know.
The Fairgrounds vendor handbook and the city municipal code state that vendors need a Costa Mesa business license to conduct business. What is your support that a Costa Mesa business license is not needed?
Read it.
No it doesn’t.
Says licence from board of equalization.
Not the same thing.
We do, Via the Board of Equalization. I have a sellers permit for the OC show with tax calculations per BOE. It seems you either have the wrong facts or in a typical Leftist manner, you are trying to mislead the public. You also need to accurately state that actual gun sellers are very small, I do not sell ANY merchandise connected with firearms. I sell items for emergency use including a possible earthquake.
Many of us are not related to the sale of the firearms you people hate. Many of us are disabled Veterans, retired Law Enforcement or just a younger generation of Entrepreneurs that are over looked in this economy. You have a large group of Latino sellers selling everything from T-shirts to leather goods. I guess people like you would rather see them on Welfare or homeless.
It is horrible Liberals like you that makes me wonder if my service to this country and associated disabilities were worth it. If you people are not trying to tell us what to do, how to live our lives, you are trying to take our rights away. You are the true Fascist of America- look long and hard in the mirror. I hope you never get the ability or in a position of power to inflict your ideals on the rest of us.
*Yeah, pretty hard to get all those Grandma’s to get a business license for their PLum Festivals, Jewerly Show and Bead Conventions…. The re-sale license from the BOE is probably the only thing required. Some of the little Fresh Food Markets, the VFW Fish
Fry and other things that sell T-Shirts and such…..all become problematic, once you go to various Business License Requirements. Another thing to consider is reciprocity for those that have Newport Beach, Fullerton, Anaheim or other business licenses. How about in
Laguna Beach….at the Sawdust Festival….what do they do?
Anti-Second Amendment propaganda.