Nordyke v. King

Opinion

MORENO, J. We granted the request of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, for certification pursuant to California Rules of Court, rule 29.5 to address the following question: Does state' law regulating the possession of firearms and gun shows preempt a municipal ordinance prohibiting gun possession on county property? We conclude that the municipal ordinance in question, insofar as it concerns gun shows, is not preempted. Other aspects of the ordinance may be partially preempted, but we need not address these aspects in this case.

I. Statement of Facts

The facts, as set forth by the Ninth Circuit and from our own review of the record, are as follows:

Plaintiffs Russell Allen Nordyke and Sallie Nordyke (doing business as TS Trade Shows) (the Nordykes) have been promoting gun shows at the Alameda County Fairgrounds (Fairgrounds) since 1991. The Fairgrounds are located on unincorporated county land in the City of Pleasanton and are managed by an independent nonprofit corporation, the Alameda County Fair Association (Fair Association), under an operating agreement with Alameda County. The exhibitors at the show include sellers of antique (pre-1898) firearms, modem firearms, ammunition, Old West memorabilia, and outdoor clothing. In addition, the show hosts educational workshops, issue groups, and political organizations. The remaining plaintiffs are exhibitors and patrons of the show.

Alameda County passed in August 1999 and amended in September 1999 an ordinance (Ordinance) making it a misdemeanor to “bring[] onto or [881]possessQ on county property a firearm, loaded or unloaded, or ammunition for a firearm . . . (Alameda County, Gen. Ord. Code, ch. 9.12, § 9.12.120, subd. B.) The Ordinance recited as justification the epidemic of gunshot fatalities or injuries in the county—in the first five years of the 1990’s, 879 homicides were committed using firearms and 1,647 additional victims were hospitalized with gunshot injuries. The Ordinance also recited a July 4, 1998, shooting incident on the Fairgrounds, resulting in several gunshot wounds and other injuries.

The Ordinance was subject to certain limitations and exceptions. County property did not include any “ local public building’ ” as defined in Penal Code section 171b, subdivision (c). (Alameda County Gen. Ord. Code, ch. 9.12, § 9.12.120, subd. C.) It exempted from the prohibition various classes of persons, including peace officers, various types of security guards, persons holding valid firearms licenses pursuant to Penal Code section 12050, and authorized participants “in a motion picture, television, video, dance, or theatrical production or event” under certain circumstances. (Alameda County Gen. Ord. Code, ch. 9.12, § 9.12.120, subd. F.) The Ordinance would have, as one of its chief consequences, the effect of forbidding the presence of firearms at gun shows, such as the Nordykes’, thereby making such shows impractical.