Gun Ban Possibly Unconstitutional

(Alameda County, California) The Alameda County ordinance that prohibits guns on county property was challenged in U.S. District Court on the basis that rights of free speech were being violated.

From InsideBayArea.com:

The main plaintiffs in the case are gun show owners Russell and Sallie Nordyke of Willows, who promoted gun shows at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton from 1991 to 1999, when the county passed an ordinance making illegal the possession of firearms on county property.

Through their attorney, Donald Kilmer, the Nordykes contended that having guns at gun shows is an expression of a "firmly held belief" in the right to keep and bear arms and it advocates for the NRA's interpretation of the Second Amendment.

U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins ruled that having guns at gun shows can be constitutionally protected "expressive conduct" and that the Nordykes "have sufficiently alleged that their conduct ... constitutes speech." Now it's up to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on whether the Nordykes alleged sufficiently.

In my sufficiently alleged opinion, this is an exercise in semantics. Sheesh!

Companion post at Conservative Thinking.