Is it NIMBY at gun shows?

October 5, 2:05 PMDenver Gun Rights ExaminerDan Bidstrup

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Two major gun shows alternate in the Denver market, averaging a show every month in the metro area.  Neither one allows concealed carry permit holders to carry loaded weapons.  How can strong adherents to the second amendment exclude exercising that right in their own shows?   It seemed to me to be a case of NIMBY, Not in My Back Yard.  Sure, the right to bear arms is all well and good, except around me.  Gun shows are certainly not Gun Free Zones.  I had to inquire.    

 Crossroads Gun Shows answered:

"Thanks for your inquiry.  We are strong advocates of Concealed Carry and have spent thousands of dollars over the years in lobbying and legislative efforts to expand concealed carry rights.  You should know that we developed our policy to restrict concealed carry in our shows because some folks were mindless enough to pass loaded firearms to dealers across tables or to other customers in the aisles for inspection, to fit clips or grips, etc.  The policy was developed to ensure that all of our customers and dealers in the show were not going to be endangered any more by these unthinking persons who have no regard for safe gun handling practices.  We have had several negligent discharges at our shows over the years, some resulting in serious injury to innocent persons.  This is why we have our policy in place."

 Tanner Gun Shows said:

"We have the same rule as every gun show in the country.  In a place where people are handling and showing weapons, fitting holsters, etc. if we allowed loaded weapons there would be people killed every weekend and we would have no more gun shows."

     I guess the principle is Aggregated Idiocy:  Where lots of guns are in one spot with lots of folks talking about them and handling them, the likelihood of an idiot failing to distinguish between their loaded personal carry weapon and an empty weapon increases geometrically, and somebody gets shot.  I wrestle with the premise.  People who carry concealed weapons are a sober lot.  If they don't have a very clean police record, they don't get the license.  Like John Longnecker, (Los Angeles Gun Rights Examiner) I routinely see people reflexively open the action on a gun to verify it is empty as soon as it is handed to them, and nobody goes near the trigger, even on a known empty weapon. Still, in a gun show environment, people get could get sloppy because they are around so many weapons all day long.  As David Codrea, (National Gun Rights Examiner)  has noted, familiarity with weapons and daily handling leads to some accidents even among trained law officers. 

     Even with these posted rules, accidents still happen.  At a show in Loveland, Colorado September 6th, a vendor broke the rules and combined a gun with a bullet and pulled the trigger, shooting himself in the leg. If you do a Google search for "Gun Show" and "accidental shooting" you turn up over 23,000 citations. It pains me to say it, but I guess the policy is legitimate.  Out in the world, the subject isn't guns most of the time.  We know that taking our weapon out of its holster almost anywhere could be called "brandishing a weapon" and bring down trouble, so there isn't much likelihood of a gun accident anywhere except at a gun show or a shooting range. I don't like the idea that there are gun owners and concealed carry permit holders that are fools, but in any population there are some outliers.  Be safe out there.