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Gun shows go on despite court battle
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by Manju Subramanya
Staff Writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apr. 4, 2003
GAITHERSBURG -- Gun shows will continue at the Montgomery County fairgrounds in Gaithersburg until a gun show operator's protracted court battle with the county is resolved.
Silverado Promotions is advertising its two-day October gun show at the fairgrounds even as it feuds with the county over a controversial 2001 county law aimed at restricting such shows.
At issue is the law Montgomery County passed in May 2001 that cut off county aid to any agency that hosts the sale and display of firearms. The law prompted the fairgrounds owner -- the private Montgomery County Agricultural Center, which receives taxpayer money -- to temporarily deny Silverado permission that year to host a gun show. The show went on after Silverado later obtained a court injunction banning enforcement of the law.
Silverado, which had been holding gun shows twice a year at the site since 1990, sued the county in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and scored a victory in October 2001 when Judge Marvin J. Garbis declared the county law illegal.
Garbis ruled that the county could not regulate the sale of guns within the city of Gaithersburg, where the fairgrounds sit and which has its own gun control laws.
The county appealed, arguing that Silverado had no right to sue the county over a law about county money when it did not directly receive any county aid.
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Garbis had erred in deciding the merits of the case before determining if Silverado and the two other pro-gun groups suing the county have the right to challenge the law.
"A federal court may not proceed to the merits of the case before resolving whether the court has ... jurisdiction," wrote a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit in Richmond.
The Fourth Circuit vacated Garbis' 2001 ruling and sent the case back to U.S. District Court with instructions that Garbis first determine if the plaintiffs have a right to sue.
"I feel good about it," said Judson P. Garrett Jr., principal counsel for opinions and advice in the Montgomery County Attorney's Office. "The ruling sends a strong message that the court has serious concerns about standing."
Silverado's attorney, Jonathan P. Kagan, said he was disappointed that the Fourth Circuit had not looked at the merits of the case. He contends that the county law infringes on his clients' right to free speech and violates a state law that pre-empts counties from enacting most gun control laws.
As for his clients' right to sue, Kagan said, "The Agricultural Center does not sell firearms and would not challenge the law.
"This lawsuit is not about funding to the agricultural center. It's having to do with the effect of the law."
Robert Culver, head of the pro-gun Wheaton group Montgomery Citizens for a Safer Maryland, who along with Baltimore gun dealer Sanford Abrams joined Silverado in the lawsuit, agreed.
"Clearly I would be affected by the law," Culver said. "If this law is enforced, there will be no gun shows and I will have no venue to exercise my First Amendment rights."
Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz said Thursday that the city is staying out of this fight.
"We realized when this issue started that it was going to be a court issue," he said. "We have not been involved in it at all."
A call to the Agricultural Center was not returned.
If Garbis determines Silverado and the others cannot sue, the case will be dismissed. If they are allowed to proceed, Garbis may hear the arguments or send it to the Maryland Court of Appeals to address the question of state law taking precedence over county law.
While all that is being decided, the law remains in limbo.
"We think the law should not be enforced pending further action by the court," Garrett said.
Meanwhile, Silverado is promoting its October gun show on its Web site, offering 300 tables for $50 each.
Culver plans to be there, as he does in the next gun show Silverado has scheduled for January.
Gun shows go on despite court battle
E-Mail This Article
by Manju Subramanya
Staff Writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apr. 4, 2003
GAITHERSBURG -- Gun shows will continue at the Montgomery County fairgrounds in Gaithersburg until a gun show operator's protracted court battle with the county is resolved.
Silverado Promotions is advertising its two-day October gun show at the fairgrounds even as it feuds with the county over a controversial 2001 county law aimed at restricting such shows.
At issue is the law Montgomery County passed in May 2001 that cut off county aid to any agency that hosts the sale and display of firearms. The law prompted the fairgrounds owner -- the private Montgomery County Agricultural Center, which receives taxpayer money -- to temporarily deny Silverado permission that year to host a gun show. The show went on after Silverado later obtained a court injunction banning enforcement of the law.
Silverado, which had been holding gun shows twice a year at the site since 1990, sued the county in U.S. District Court in Baltimore and scored a victory in October 2001 when Judge Marvin J. Garbis declared the county law illegal.
Garbis ruled that the county could not regulate the sale of guns within the city of Gaithersburg, where the fairgrounds sit and which has its own gun control laws.
The county appealed, arguing that Silverado had no right to sue the county over a law about county money when it did not directly receive any county aid.
On Tuesday, a federal appeals court ruled that Garbis had erred in deciding the merits of the case before determining if Silverado and the two other pro-gun groups suing the county have the right to challenge the law.
"A federal court may not proceed to the merits of the case before resolving whether the court has ... jurisdiction," wrote a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit in Richmond.
The Fourth Circuit vacated Garbis' 2001 ruling and sent the case back to U.S. District Court with instructions that Garbis first determine if the plaintiffs have a right to sue.
"I feel good about it," said Judson P. Garrett Jr., principal counsel for opinions and advice in the Montgomery County Attorney's Office. "The ruling sends a strong message that the court has serious concerns about standing."
Silverado's attorney, Jonathan P. Kagan, said he was disappointed that the Fourth Circuit had not looked at the merits of the case. He contends that the county law infringes on his clients' right to free speech and violates a state law that pre-empts counties from enacting most gun control laws.
As for his clients' right to sue, Kagan said, "The Agricultural Center does not sell firearms and would not challenge the law.
"This lawsuit is not about funding to the agricultural center. It's having to do with the effect of the law."
Robert Culver, head of the pro-gun Wheaton group Montgomery Citizens for a Safer Maryland, who along with Baltimore gun dealer Sanford Abrams joined Silverado in the lawsuit, agreed.
"Clearly I would be affected by the law," Culver said. "If this law is enforced, there will be no gun shows and I will have no venue to exercise my First Amendment rights."
Gaithersburg Mayor Sidney A. Katz said Thursday that the city is staying out of this fight.
"We realized when this issue started that it was going to be a court issue," he said. "We have not been involved in it at all."
A call to the Agricultural Center was not returned.
If Garbis determines Silverado and the others cannot sue, the case will be dismissed. If they are allowed to proceed, Garbis may hear the arguments or send it to the Maryland Court of Appeals to address the question of state law taking precedence over county law.
While all that is being decided, the law remains in limbo.
"We think the law should not be enforced pending further action by the court," Garrett said.
Meanwhile, Silverado is promoting its October gun show on its Web site, offering 300 tables for $50 each.
Culver plans to be there, as he does in the next gun show Silverado has scheduled for January.
