Nashville board: Mayor played no role in vote to halt gun shows

NASHVILLE — Metro fair board members say Mayor Megan Barry played no role in their vote to halt gun shows at The Fairgrounds Nashville — nor had they even spoken to her about the issue, they say.

And as they deliberated for about an hour before Tuesday's vote, fair board members never once referenced the mayor or her stance on guns.

Still, Barry, sworn into office in September, has emerged as a top target of some gun rights advocates after the board's 3-0 vote on Tuesday, with one abstention, to stop holding gun shows at the Metro-owned fairgrounds until gun show operators agree to a set of new safety rules.

John Harris, the Tennessee Firearms Association's executive director, in a statement after the vote, expressed outrage, arguing that "Nashville, under its new liberal Mayor, has thumbed its nose at Nashville gun enthusiasts" by voiding a long-standing tradition.

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He likened the fair board's move to decisions of other U.S. cities to create "sanctuary cities" in regards to immigration.

"Mayor Megan Barry apparently feels compelled to join their brazen lawlessness denying lawful business from being transacted in a public space and infringing the rights of people all over Middle Tennessee to engage in lawful commerce involving firearms and ammunition," he said.

But Metro fair board chairman Ned Horton said that the vote Tuesday was a decision by the board — not one that came from Barry.

"I can flat out say I've not talked to her at all since she's been elected on any topic," Norton said. "I sent her a letter when she was elected, welcoming future discussion on the fairgrounds and that I would look forward to that conversation.

"I know she's been to the facility, but there's been no communication with me whatsoever."

All five fair board members were appointed by former Mayor Karl Dean over the past three years. Only four were present for Tuesday's vote, with the abstention coming from Caleb Hemmer, who expressed concern about rushing toward a decision.

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Commissioner Kenny Byrd, who made the motion for the board's termination of future gun shows after fulfilling existing contracts with operators, said the move was not driven by Barry at all. He said the board's discussion on gun shows goes back months.

"We would have taken the same action under any mayor," Byrd said. "We've been looking at this for months. I don't know if people understand how boards and commissions work, but they don't tell me what to do.

"What this is driven by is the lack of regulations and protections at gun shows, and the fact that we should take action before a mass shooting, not after."

The vote Tuesday was to terminate future gun shows at the fairgrounds until gun show operators agree to new standards for shows, which could include signage that states gun sales require background checks, additional police security in parking lots and liability coverage paid by vendors that protects the city.

The board plans to fulfill existing contracts with operators, meaning that Bill Goodman's Gun and Knife Shows, which has rented space in the fairgrounds since the 1970s, can hold its final gun shows at the fairgrounds this weekend. The board's decision also applies to RK Gun Shows, a separate gun show operator that rents space at the fairgrounds.

Barry's office did not issue a statement after the board's vote, nor has she used any public appearance to discuss gun shows at the fairgrounds.

Asked by The Tennessean on Tuesday for a comment on the board's vote, Barry spokesman Sean Braisted referenced a comment he gave in November regarding possible safety measures proposed for fairgrounds gun shows.

"Mayor Barry believes that our fairgrounds should be safe, secure and free from illegal activity," Braisted said last month. "She supports efforts by the fair board to ensure that happens."

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On Wednesday Braisted declined to comment further on the board's decision.

During her successful campaign, Barry, a liberal ideologically, overcame attacks from her opponent, David Fox, that she is too far to the left of Nashville's mainstream and would be driven by national social issues.

Barry has spent the bulk of her first months in office assembling her administration, while using public speeches to talk about the search for a new schools superintendent, affordable housing and public transit. Barry has talked about guns less frequently.

Barry held a news conference last month to discuss Nashville's uptick in gun violence after Metro Councilman Loniel Greene Jr. sustained gunshot injuries outside a gas station in West Nashville. She's also organized a Dec. 14 youth violence summit at Pearl-Cohn High School.

In a recent survey by Politico Magazine, Barry said that she supports congressional action to close the so-called "gun show loophole," and that local municipalities should be able to craft "reasonable restrictions" over guns and still protect Second Amendment rights. But Barry has not proposed any gun control measures, including safeguards for the gun shows at the fairgrounds, since taking office.

Helping sway the fair board's vote Tuesday was testimony from Assistant Davidson County District Attorney Jenny Charles, who highlighted three recent criminal cases that link guns purchased at the fairgrounds to felons.

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Charles was one of more than a dozen gun control activists who used a public comments period at the fair board meeting to say that gun shows have no place on city-owned property.

Horton, the fair board chairman, said he supported the move to at least temporarily halt gun shows on the city-owned property because of the "flippant attitude" and the lack of a "collaborative spirit" of David Goodman, promoter of Bill Goodman's Gun and Knife Shows, who he said has opposed safety measures for his gun shows.

"This is a serious matter of public safety," Horton said. "People have reasons to be concerned that criminals can go out there and buy guns because it's an easy place to do it."

Follow Joey Garrison on Twitter: @joeygarrison