County supervisors on Tuesday decided to ask the Ventura County fair board to stop contracting for new gun shows.

“We have to play a part in countering the influence of this gun culture and gun lobby,” county Supervisor Steve Bennett said as he called for an end to the shows at the state-owned fairgrounds in Ventura.

Ventura County mass shootings:

He said the nation has experienced 300 mass shootings this year. Locally, the issue struck home in November when 12 people were shot and killed at the Borderline Bar & Grill in Thousand Oaks.

Bennett along with Supervisors John Zaragoza and Linda Parks voted to make the request to the fair board. Last week, the fair board voted 5-2 to allow two gun shows next year and work on a policy that governs the shows.

Supervisors Peter Foy and Kelly Long opposed the request, but the motion required only a simple majority and passed.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors, which oversees unincorporated areas of the county, directed County Executive Officer Mike Powers to approach mayors of the 10 cities in the county to ask that those jurisdictions adopt the same position. Powers was also directed to communicate the county’s position to legislators and Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom. As governor, Newsom will have the power to appoint members of the fair board.

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About 40 people turned out for Tuesday afternoon’s hearing on the proposal in Ventura. Most of them supported Bennett’s position, many of them wearing orange buttons that said “Enough.”

About a dozen people spoke, all but two of them seeking to end gun shows at the fairgrounds.

Suz Montgomery, of Ventura, said the issue was not about mental health.

“This is a completely separate issue,” she said. “This is about profit. We live in violent times, but this is something we can do as a community and stop it at a local level.”

Camarillo resident David Spady said his 23-year-old son survived the Nov. 7 shooting at the Borderline. But he said that event had nothing to do with gun shows. The handgun used by gunman Ian David Long was purchased legally, he said, and the high-capacity magazine he used is prohibited by California law.

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Bennett said he realizes the problem requires a national solution, but that “we need an equally strong local voice in opposition.”

Earlier in the day, the Board of Supervisors directed Powers to convene a task force of experts to address ways to prevent future shootings.

Parks, who represents the Thousand Oaks area, proposed the idea. She said experts could look into how to protect deputies better through body armor, the design of buildings and access to guns for people with mental illness, among other subjects.

No date was set for Powers to return with the findings of the task force.