Sen. Tries Again to Ban Gun Shows at Cow Palace

State Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris today supported another bill that would prohibit gun shows at the state-owned venue the Cow Palace because they believe the shows  are a direct cause of surrounding violence.

"It is unconscionable to allow gun shows at the Cow Palace when our young people are being gunned down right outside its doors," Leno said  in a prepared statement.

The Cow Palace is a concert and entertainment center that lies on the southern border of San Francisco and the northern border of Daly City.

Senate Bill 585, authored by Leno, would prohibit gun shows, which are exhibits with hundreds of tables providing a variety of guns.

In January, the venue held two, $10 shows hosted by Crossroads of the West, which is based in Utah. Crossroads of the West has eight more shows scheduled at the palace this year. Officials from the company were not available for immediate comment.

"Instead of encouraging gun dealers from around the country to set  up shop in San Francisco, we should be doing whatever we can to take each and every one of these guns off our streets," Leno said.

The bill is nearly identical to legislation Leno introduced as an assemblyman in 2007, which passed the Assembly but not the Senate, according to his office.

SB 585 passed the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday and  will be heard in the next Senate Appropriations Committee.