Funny thing happened on my way to the Gun Show...

Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of a hoplophobe more than the words "Gun Show". Okay, that's not exactly true. Anything with the word "gun" (in it or implied) sets them off. In the wake of the passage of the so-called "Assault Weapons Ban", the next boogieman in the world of the gun-banners was the eeevil entity that is the Gun Show.

After they convinced the American people that no one needed an eeevil "assault weapon" and had their little law, they set their sights on closing the so-called "gun show loophole". According to them, gun shows are shadowy places where the twenty-some-odd-thousand gun control laws didn't apply. A place where gang-bangers and terrorists come to buy machineguns with which they would make the streets run red with the blood of kids, cops and cute little puppies.

The reality, as is typical with this subject, differs significantly from the chicken-littlian tales of doom and gloom set forth by the gun control advocates. With the exception of private citizens that show up with a rifle or a shotgun slung over their shoulders for sale, the dealers at the gun show are FFL (Federal Firearms License) holders. FFL sales are highly regulated and subject to all the laws and regulations that the dealers must hold to in their shops. NICS checks, "yellow sheets", waiting periods (when and where applicable), the works.

The only exception being, the aforementioned private citizens. Currently, it's still legal, at least federally, for private citizens to sell his or her private property to another private citizen. This does not however apply to fully-automatic firearms. These Class III weapons, and the sale (transfer actually) is covered by the NFA'34 whether sold by a dealer or a private citizen.

All in all, a gun show is a place where the consumer goes to a single location where they can peruse and purchase from numerous venders. Sort of like the thing most of us call "a mall". They just don't have Starbucks and Cinnabuns there... yet.

With the sunset of the AWB earlier this week, the hoplophobes were in a panic. Killers and terrorists and puppy-shooters were going to be able to walk into gun shows (or the equally dreaded Wal-Mart) and buy fully-automatic AK-47s and Uzis and all manner of other nasty bits of kit.

This weekend marked the first gun show in the area to take place after the AWB sunsetted. So, I'd made up my mind I was going to attend the show. Even though I was fighting the tailend of a cold, and the tailend of Hurricane Ivan, I made my way to Valley Forge. Valley Forge is one of those places that reminds you "to quit bitching and drive on troop", so "drive on" I did... literally.

Parking was, as always, a bugger. It's not for a lack of parking at the convention center, mind you. There are a lot more gun owners than the MSM would have you believe. I walked thru the rain to the door, paid my seven bucks, got my hand stamped, and made my way out onto the floor of the convention-center-turned-gun-show. I was immediately astounded at the sheer number of Crips and Bloods and cute-puppy-shooters and terrorists of all stripes that I did not find there. (Silly hoplophobes)

The same folks I've been seeing at this show (and shows like it) for years, I saw again. Men and women. Older folks and younger folks. White and black and brown. Vets and hunters and first-time shooters. Blackpowder shooters and pistol shooters. Shotgunners and riflemen. Militaria collectors and fans of the wonderment that is jerky.

I did notice that there were more folks in wheelchairs this time around. Maybe they'd been hitting the shows and I just hadn't noticed before. Folks in wheelchairs, like women, benefit highly from the right to keep and bear arms. And no, Senator Kerry, I'm not talking about duck hunting here. I'm talking about concealed carry. You know, the bearing part of the Second Amendment you claim to be a supporter of. A person in a wheelchair is at the same physical disadvantage as a woman when confronted by your average thug, if not worse. A handy snub-nosed .38 quickly turns defenseless prey into something with teeth.

But enough about that... what about the assault weapons?? They were there. They've always been there. Pre-94 "assault weapons" could be had during the ban, at a higher price. Supply and demand, baby. Post-94 "assault weapons" could also be had during the ban, just without the offending pistol-grips or flash suppressors or bayonet lugs.

Missing were those sillyass high capacity magazines that had the lower halves replaced with blocks of plastic so that instead of the originally designed fifteen rounds, they could only hold ten. As with the "assault weapons" the hi-cap magazines outlawed by the AWB were always available. They just cost more.

I didn't notice a marked drop in prices, or a whole pile of post-post-ban AR-15s, however. It's probably still too soon after the ban for things to normalize yet.

Yeah, yeah, yeah... so what did you buy, you eeevil gun owner you?

Well, I didn't come home empty handed. I picked up a sweet little number. It's got a pistol grip. It's high capacity, which allows me to shoot a lot without having to reload. It even has a nifty little fire control unit on its muzzle. It doesn't have a bayonet lug though. And since I don't have a Class III license, it's capable of semi-automatic fire only. Below is the picture of my new acquisition.

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A bottle of Break-Free CLP.

Not a whole helluva lot's changed at the gun shows post AWB sunset, but then again, I didn't expect it to. The same kinds of stuff that's always been there, was there. The same kinds of folks that always show up, showed up. Even if the faces and numbers change. They're just folks who want to exercise their Constitutionally enumerated right to keep and bears arms, pick up a new piece for their collection, or score a really sweet deal on some buffalo jerky.