According to the Austin American-Statesman, the City of Austin, Texas and Travis County are both looking at proposals to limit gun shows in their jurisdictions.
City of Austin and Travis County officials plan to take steps to ban gun shows on city- and county-owned property — and potentially even curtail them on private property within the city limits, the American-Statesman has learned.
Less than a month after the Newtown, Conn., elementary school shooting that killed 26 students and staff, Council Member Mike Martinez said he and at least two other council members are considering bringing to a vote this month their unprecedented proposal.
The measure would primarily affect several well-attended gun shows typically held at the Travis County Exposition Center as well as any other city-owned property.
The city owns the land on which the expo center is located, while the county has a long-term lease for the facility.
Travis County commissioners are set to consider a measure at their meeting Tuesday that also would no longer allow gun shows on county land or at county facilities, Commissioner Sarah Eckhardt said.
This is Texas, but Austin and Travis County are the blue dot in the red sea here. They’re more than a little out of sync with the rest of the state.
On his Facebook page, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott noted the proposed gun show bans, with a pungent promise.
Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson is skeptical that banning gun shows is the answer. To say the least.
“I can’t think of anything dumber,” Patterson, a supporter of gun rights, said of the proposals. “It’s absolutely not going to reduce gun violence.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member