The Del Mar Fairgrounds Board of Directors has decided to look into the future of gun shows. After around 100 people showed up at Tuesday's board meeting to speak on the issue of gun shows, the board docketed a discussion with staff for it's Sept. 11 meeting.
According to a fairgrounds spokeswoman, the discussion will be informational only and no action in regards to the future of gun shows will be taken.
Adding to that pressure, the city council's of Del Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas recently passed resolutions asking the board to stop holding gun shows at the fairgrounds.
For nearly three decades Crossroads of the West has held several gun shows per year at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
People against the shows said they do not reflect San Diego's culture.
"Not that gun shows are bad or evil," said Kara Chine, who lives in North County. "But that this San Diego beach culture is not the place for them. Because we have KAABOO and the fair and we have the races — those types of family friendly events here. But the gun show is something that doesn’t represent the beliefs of this community."
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Crossroads of the West owner Bob Templeton disagrees. He said people are using recent mass shootings to try and get rid of gun shows altogether.
"They seized on this latest tragedy in an attempt to re-energize their movement," Templeton said. "We’ll certainly listen to the board — we don’t know what their concerns are. They need to address the concerns of the local people too, but again it's a constitutionally protected event and we expect to continue doing gun shows at Del Mar.”
Templeton said the debate over gun shows has been a 20-year battle with Del Mar and other North County cities.
The next scheduled Cross Roads of the West Gun show at Del Mar is May 19-20. Templeton said his gun shows are booked through the end of the year at the fairgrounds.
