There Ought to Be a Law
It’s not just smoking and Santa — Montgomery County doesn’t like guns, either.

n the past few days, Montgomery County, Md., has gotten hoards of attention after its town council made it illegal for residents to smoke even within their own homes (they later backed off). Matt Drudge further reports that the Maryland town banned Santa Claus from public display, fearful that some town residents might be "uncomfortable" with jolly ol' Nick. But liberal shenanigans like these are nothing new for Montgomery: Earlier this year, the council also passed a ban on gun shows.

When Frank Krasner decided to organize 60 vendors for his twice-annual Silverado Show in Montgomery County, he thought he was doing the town a service, by fulfilling an unmet demand. Charging a modest admission fee, Krasner earns about $20,000 in a two-day period — a clear indication of the show's popularity.

But Council President Blair Ewing — the same one who recently expressed disappointment over the smoking ban's reversal — wouldn't have it, and led local antigun zealots to ban the event outright. Ewing did not return repeated requests for an interview, but he is quoted at length in the local paper. There, he makes his own position clear: "I'm not happy to see the sale of guns promoted in the county at all."

Because the private fairgrounds which host Krasner's show receive government subsidies, Maryland politicians were able to ban the event by simply threatening to revoke further financial aid. The heavily Democratic town council gave the fairgrounds an ultimatum: If you continue to permit events where guns are both exhibited and sold, you will lose $500,000.

One member of the state legislature justified the action this way: "There is no reason to allow gun shows in Montgomery County parks, period. Otherwise, we're giving the government's imprimatur to gun shows." Of course, one could say the same about the annual gay rodeo also held on those fairgrounds — but the council has had no qualms about giving the government's imprimatur to that.

Because some states exempt vendors like Krasner from completing the background checks required in stores, gun shows have become a common target for Democrats. Krasner notes, however, that this does not imply in his own case, as there is no gun-show loophole in Maryland.

In response to the Montgomery council's actions, Krasner is suing for damages and attorney's fees. He alleges that the law violates commercial free speech, defined by his attorney Jonathan Kagan as "speech that does no more than propose a commercial transaction." The way the law was written, the fairgrounds may either display guns or sell them, but not both. It seems unlikely that customers will pay a $5 admission fee when attending a show amounts to little more than flipping through a bunch of catalogs. As Krasner puts it, "Do you go to an art show and not see art?"

Regardless of how the court rules, Krasner's business has already sustained losses. Media reports, he said, have "caused untold havoc" to his business. Many regular attendees, having read of the cancellation of his gun show, in Montgomery, "think the shows all over the place [have been] cancelled."

In any case, the media storm Ewing & co. have stirred up with their smoking ban undoubtedly comes as no surprise to Krasner. We can only hope their latest controversy will embarrass Montgomery's residents at least enough to elect more sensible politicians.