Montgomery County Gun Show Ban--Law Suit Update

For your information, here are some statements made at a hearing July 20, 2001 between Federal Judge Marvin Garbis, the Montgomery County lawyer Mr. Garrett and the lawyers on behalf of Frank Krasner, Silverado to protect your gun shows. There is a very big "hang-up" over the issue of what constitutes the business and definition of the "sale" at gun shows. For example the judge began questioning on the issue, "And so now we get to the question of what does sell mean..." Questions arose about the ability to "Display" firearms without sale, or to "offer to sell" without displaying firearms, or to contract to sell with delayed delivery, and so on.

One thing is clear, in this case and in dealing with legislators who propose such laws, and I have seen it many times; THEY DON"T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO REGULATE. As an example of this consider the following response of Mr. Garrett to the Judge.

Mr. Garrett: "Right, I am not an expert in this area. I am getting up to speed on it, but my understanding is there are regulated guns and unregulated guns. The rifle and shotgun basically are the unregulated. But even as to those there has to be something that I think is called an instant spot check because federal law and some state laws prohibit some people, like convicted felons, from even possessing those kind of guns."

Now, I may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but; Every single gun person at any gun show is more knowledgeable than this Lawyer!

It is also clear that the County wants to prohibit the sale of firearms. Prohibit them now at gun shows, and then at all locations tomorrow? Witness this exchange; Stick with me here, this is a bit difficult to follow but the County shows its true intent here. (MCSM comments in brackets)


Mr. Garrett; (regarding the "sale" of firearms) "...And that is where Montgomery County is drawing the line (the sale). As the court indicated--

The Court; That is true, but there can't be a sale without an offer and acceptance and we know the offer is protected speech.

Mr. Garrett: And we don't prohibit an offer of (sic [or?]) display by itself.

The Court: You do prohibit certain offers?

Mr. Garrett: We prohibit a consummated sale which is an offer and acceptance. We would prohibit a unilateral agreement. I mean - of a binding offer in effect without an acceptance on the premises. What we prohibit is a sale, prohibit is the wrong word, but let me use that --

The Court: Cut through the underbrush. You are prohibiting, yes.

Mr. Garrett: We don't want sales to take place and we have targeted sales and we have targeted sales because we recognize that everything up to a consummated sale may well be protected commercial speech, but we think and these two cases agree with us that the sale itself is not , it is conduct that free speech does not protect and so we never even get to Central Hudson or any of that discussion.

The Court: How about the argument or perhaps the fact that if there is not going to be any sale, there is not going to be any gun show.

Mr. Garrett: Your Honor, Constitutionally that should not be a problem. Commercially that may be a problem, but constitutionally it is not....
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So, Constitutionally Montgomery County has NO PROBLEM prohibiting the sale AND YOUR PURCHASE of firearms. You can look and talk all you want, you just can't touch. While they are arguing over these First Amendment issues, they have just trashed the Second Amendment and have Infringed your rights to keep and bear arms.

And they haven't even gotten to the issue of protected Political action Free Speech, the type of Free Speech activity you are engaged in right now. Speech that is TOTALLY protected by the Constitution. The MCSM gun show staff discusses items such as this law, politics and other matters with attendees like you. This is the most fundamental type of Free Speech. This is individuals on their soap boxes, talking to a natural gathering of like minded individuals, about issues of common interest. What could be more natural Free Speech than for us to discuss these issues, for you to be able to act on the information you gain and to effect political decisions including to register and VOTE. So the County won't prohibit you from speaking, that's protected, they will just eliminate the audience to who you and MCSM speak by eliminating the event of the gun show, the motivation for them to gather. But it is still OK to speak in a vacuum, to shout to the wind.

To illustrate the painful torturous logic the County is attempting consider this. Following this hearing, the first step in the suit process, various documents with claims and counter claims have been exchanged. One obvious act was that the County wanted to step back from their previous and documented agreements regarding how the case would be conducted. The County wants the "rules" changed in mid-game. That attempt to shift the rules has gone to such wild extremes as to claim that Frank Krasner is NOT QUALIFIED to testify on the business of gun shows! If this is all confusing to you, perhaps it is meant to be that way! The object may not be to resolve a question of law but instead to attempt to retroactively shore-up a bad law that will survive this legal challenge and even to modify the faulty law after the fact so that it would be a better BAN.

Stay politically active and exercise your First Amendment Free Speech by following the items posted on the MCSM web site. Contact us by e-mail through the site at www.mcsm.org with any questions or comments you may have.

You can contribute to the legal expenses of fighting this case by sending donations to;


Silverado Gun Shows Legal Defense Fund (SGSLDF)
13017 Wisteria Drive, #307
Germantown, Md. 20874