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Ky. State Fair Board bans sale of KKK, Nazi memorabilia

The Kentucky State Fair Board voted to ban items that clearly represent racist ideology after KKK and Nazi items were sold at a gun show in October.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) — Ku Klux Klan and Nazi memorabilia will no longer be sold at the Kentucky Expo Center and Fairgrounds.

The ruling comes after the Kentucky State Fair Board voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to ban "certain items that clearly represent racist ideology," which include, but are not limited to, KKK memorabilia and items with swastikas.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we don't lose vendors," Dr. Mark Lynn, Kentucky Fair Board chairman, said. "And if we lose vendors for that reason, I'm sorry we lose them, but that's the way it's got to be. People still have to feel safe walking through our doors."

One month earlier, a Courier-Journal reporter posted photos of KKK robes, Christmas ornaments with Nazi swastikas and a tank top with a swastika emblazoned on the front being sold at a gun show at the Kentucky Expo Center, prompting outrage from the community.

RELATED | Nazi memorabilia on display at gun show

Hall of Fame University of Kentucky basketball players Rex Chapman and Mike Pratt publicly called for a ban on the sale of such items at the Expo Center, which also houses plaques commemorating their athletic accomplishments.

"We've got people coming in for this [gun] show from Singapore," Lynn said. "We want them to feel welcomed. We want them to feel at home. We want them to feel safe. We've got to do what we can to be sure we're giving that. And to do that, we've got to take a stand and say this is just wrong."

According to Lynn, the State Fair Board had a policy in place prior to Thursday's vote, but that it was too broad in banning "items offensive in nature." He said the new policy does a better job at defining what will not be allowed.

While Nazi memorabilia will be banned, Lynn said there are some exceptions. The policy bans Nazi memorabilia produced after World War II, which means items with swastikas or other Nazi symbolism that were produced during the war and have collectible or historical value could be allowed. Lynn said those items will be looked at on a case-by-case basis.

"Unfortunately, I can't change history. I can't reach back in time and make some of the atrocities that happened go away. And that's a history we need to make sure we never repeat. And one of the ways to do that is to know it was there," Lynn said. "If your grandfather came back from the war with an SS emblem from some German soldier's shoulder or a patch or something that he had and it's here, I don't see throwing that out as a historical piece of actual memorabilia from that time. But if you're reproducing it just to make money and to carry that message, we don't want you here."

Lynn said fair board officials will be looking at every single vendor booth set up, which is already their policy, but they will now be looking specifically for any items that would be banned under the new rule. He said the policy is a building block and will be changed and improved on as time goes on.

►Contact reporter Dennis Ting at dting@whas11.com. Follow him on Twitter (@DennisJTing) and Facebook.

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