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Federal appeals court upholds California’s gun show ban on state property

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Federal appeals court upholds California’s gun show ban on state property


California’s ban on gun shows on state property is constitutional, a federal appeals court said on Tuesday, June 11.

In Orange County, gun shows — including the Crossroads of the West Gun Show that had been held at the  OC Fair & Event Center since 1996 — were banned in 2022 under a state law authored by Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine. The ban was later expanded to include all state properties, including state-owned fairgrounds.

In October, however, a federal judge blocked those bans, saying California was violating the rights of gun sellers and possible buyers by prohibiting purchases at the fairgrounds of weapons that could be bought legally at standard gun shops. That made it possible for the Crossroads of the West gun show to return to the  OC Fair & Event Center in January after a two-year hiatus.

The federal appeals court’s 3-0 ruling overturns that decision, effectively blocking the gun shows on state-owned fairgrounds, including the OC Fair & Event Center, yet again.

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“Today’s a big win for anyone who cares about gun safety,” said Min, who is running for Congress in California’s 47th congressional district. “If you care about gun safety, if you care about preventing gun violence … this is a big win for you.”

The California Rifle and Pistol Association, a pro-gun owners organization that challenged the bans, said it would appeal Tuesday’s decision.

“CRPA will continue to protect the despised gun culture and fight back against an overreaching government that seeks to limit disfavored fundamental rights and discriminate against certain groups of people on state property,” the association said in a statement. “CRPA looks forward to seeing this misguided decision reversed in short order.”

B&L Productions, the group that operates Crossroads of the West gun shows, had also challenged the ban on gun sales on state property, alleging a violation of gun buyers’ constitutional rights, including freedom of speech and the right to keep and bear arms.

Judge Richard Clifton, appointed to the appeals court by former President George W. Bush, wrote in Tuesday’s 25-page decision that gun sales are “nonexpressive conduct” and thus are not protected by the First Amendment.

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Min said his legislation prevents gun sellers from selling firearms on state property, not talking about them.

“If Crossroads of the West decided they wanted to do a show about how cool guns are where they spoke about guns, they can do that,” he said. “They just can’t sell them.”

In the ruling, Clifton wrote, A “celebration of America’s ‘gun culture,”’ in the words of one of B&L’s briefs, can still take place on state property, as long as that celebration does not involve contracts for the sale of guns.”

Plus, there are six licensed firearm dealers in the same ZIP code as the fairgrounds, Clifton noted in the ruling, and banning gun sales on state property won’t impair potential buyers from owning firearms.

As it was, a separate state law — not challenged in the ruling — imposes a 10-day waiting period and a background check before a firearms dealer can release the weapon to the buyer, meaning someone who purchased a gun at a show on fairgrounds would not be able to walk away with it that same day, the appeals court noted.

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“Merely eliminating one environment where individuals may purchase guns does not constitute a meaningful constraint on Second Amendment rights when they can acquire the same firearms down the street,” he said.

Tracy Olcott, president of Crossroads of West, said the gun show has always been one of the “biggest financial contributors” to the OC Fair & Event Center. (When reached Tuesday afternoon, Olcott declined to comment on the ruling.)

The total revenue for the Crossroads of the West Gun Show held at the OC Fair & Event Center in January was $226,250, said event center spokesperson Terry Moore, which included parking as well as food and beverage commissions in addition to the rental fee.

The OC Fair & Event Center is waiting to hear from its attorney on the next possible steps, said Moore.

Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom, both Democrats, applauded Tuesday’s ruling. Bonta, who defended the bans in court, said the ruling is “another victory in the battle against gun violence in our state and country.”

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“If other states followed our policies, thousands of lives would be saved — we won’t stop defending our laws from the right’s radical lawsuits,” said Newsom.

Between 2016 and 2021, the Crossroads of the West gun show brought the fairgrounds about $2.6 million in rental revenue, and according to estimates from 2021, gun shows raked in more than $7 million over the last 25 years for the fairgrounds.



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California Shelves Repeal of 1950 Housing Law That Stoked Racial Tension | KQED

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California Shelves Repeal of 1950 Housing Law That Stoked Racial Tension | KQED


“While SCA 2 was one of many efforts to help address the housing crisis, the November’s ballot will be very crowded, and reaching voters will be difficult and expensive,” Allen said in a statement. “In addition, the legislature recently passed my SB 469, which substantially addresses some of the most significant concerns about how Article 34 might be impacting housing production.”

SB 469 clarifies that the use of state affordable housing dollars does not trigger Article 34’s requirement for voter approval. Allen said his focus is on determining whether these efforts are “making a significant dent in addressing the problem,” adding that quickly building more affordable housing is a priority.

Backed by the California Real Estate Association, the forerunner to the current California Association of Realtors, Article 34 was first adopted by voters in 1950. Realtors played on voters’ fears that affordable housing would lead to greater racial integration of exclusively white neighborhoods.

CAR issued a formal apology in 2022 for its past support of Article 34, with association President Otto Catrina condemning the actions and vowing to address the legacy of its “discriminatory policies and practices.”

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The organization “remains a strong supporter of the repeal of Article 34 … which adds unnecessary hurdles and costs to the creation of affordable housing,” CAR spokesperson Sanjay Wagle said in a statement.

Wagle noted that a majority of Californians support repealing the provision but cited research showing a voter education campaign would be needed to explain the article’s effects.

“The cost of such a campaign in an election year with so many initiatives on the ballot made this campaign more costly and difficult, thus making it more logical to pursue a repeal on a future ballot,” Wagle wrote. “We thank Sen. Allen and Sen. Wiener for their efforts on this repeal effort and look forward to working [with] them and other stakeholders on this issue in the future.”





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California Quarterback Commits to Penn State’s 2026 Recruiting Class

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California Quarterback Commits to Penn State’s 2026 Recruiting Class


Though Penn State has been busily filling its 2025 recruiting class in June, the program hasn’t stopped looking ahead. The Nittany Lions on Tuesday received a commitment from 4-star California quarterback Troy Huhn, who became the second player in Penn State football’s 2026 recruiting class.

Huhn (6-4, 205 pounds) will be a junior at Mission Hills High, just north of San Diego. He threw for 1,623 yards and 16 touchdowns as a sophomore last season. Huhn quickly built a strong offer sheet that included Michigan, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Auburn and Notre Dame, among many others. Huhn took an unofficial visits to Ohio State and Penn State in June, committing to the Nittany Lions two weeks after his trip.

Huhn is the 2026 recruiting class’ 10th-rated quarterback prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite, and a top-15 player in California. On3 ranks Huhn highest among the major recruiting services, slotting him at No. 60 nationally and sixth at quarterback.

Huhn, who committed to Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien, spent time with head coach James Franklin during his unofficial visit. He told Sean Fitz of Blue-White Illustrated that Franklin made an impression.

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“Coach O’Brien was great, but really my main thing when I was getting out there was to have more time with coach Franklin. They definitely gave that to me,” Huhn said in his interview with Blue-White Illustrated. “I really felt the love from coach Franklin. He’s very business, he’s awesome, he’s a funny guy. My mom loves him, he loves my mom. That relationship with him is now a lot better and I’m glad I got to spend that time with him.”

Huhn joins Harrisburg athlete Messiah Mickens on the ground floor of Penn State’s 2026 recruiting class. Mickens committed to Penn State in August 2023. Penn State had been recruiting several 2026 quarterbacks alongside Huhn. One of their targets, Dia Bell, recently committed to Texas.

Huhn’s commitment continued a prolific stretch for the Nittany Lions. Franklin and his staff have received commitments from five players in a four-day stretch. Four of them committed to Penn State’s 2025 recruiting class.

The most recent 2025 commitment belonged to Max Granville, a 4-star prospect from Texas and first-team all-state honoree as a junior. Granville, who will be a senior at Fort Bend Christian Academy, is rated as a 4-star linebacker according to the 247Sports Composite. However, the 6-3, 220-pound Granville projects at defensive end and was recruited by Penn State defensive line coach Deion Barnes. Granville chose Penn State after making an official visit to State College earlier in June. He also visited USC, Texas A&M and Oklahoma in June and took an official visit to Baylor in April.

Penn State opens the 2024 football season Aug. 31 at West Virginia. The game is scheduled for a noon kickoff on FOX.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.





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Butte County issues evacuation orders for Apache wildfire

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Butte County issues evacuation orders for Apache wildfire


(FOX40.COM) — An evacuation order is in effect for areas of Butte County amid a wildfire, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office.

Around 8:30 p.m. on Monday, BCSO issued an evacuation order for the Apache Fire on the south side of Grubbs Road between Crossa Country Road and Alta Arosa Drive in zones 884 and 885. Shortly after, evacuation orders were also issued for all of zone 884, 865, 866, 868, and 869. For information about zone locations click or tap here.

An evacuation warning was also issued for zones 867 and 883.

At 9:45 p.m., the Apache Fire has burned through 466 acres, according to Cal Fire. By 10:30 p.m. it reached more than 650 acres.

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For more information visit www.buttecounty.net, or call (833) 512-5378.



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