SAN DIEGO — The Crossroads of the West gun show, banned at the Del Mar Fairgrounds since the beginning of the year, will return in September and December, officials said.
Whether the shows will continue after that depends on a lawsuit now in the federal courts, said Richard Valdez, president of the 22nd District Agricultural Association that runs the state-owned fairgrounds.
The fall and winter events were added after a federal judge temporarily blocked a moratorium on gun shows at a Southern California fairground in June.
The judge issued a preliminary injunction barring the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego County from prohibiting shows while a lawsuit filed by organizers of the well-known Crossroads of the West gun show makes its way through the courts.
The board that controls the state-owned fairgrounds voted last fall to not consider contracts with gun show producers for up to a year beginning Jan. 1 while it formulates clearer policy on the events.
Some lawmakers and gun control activists have opposed gun shows and sales at state-owned fairgrounds in the wake of mass shootings.
An Assembly bill introduced this year would ban gun and ammo sales at the fairground beginning in 2021.