By Dan Shea
December issue of SAR- you should be getting this in early November- hopefully before the election if you are a subscriber. If so, please remember that this is your one last chance to get motivated and get out the vote!
Two new names in DC. The new Chief of NFA Branch ATF is Arthur Resnick, and the new Chief of Import Branch ATF is David Johansen. We wish them well in their new positions, and invite them to help keep open communications with the Class 3 community.
The SAR show has taken on a life of its own. Over 100,000 color flyers have been distributed, and the promoter of the show “Crossroads of the West” has pulled out all the stops on making this the best show ever.
There is a vacuum in the place of the Great Western that was held in Pomona at the LA Fairgrounds for over thirty years. That is, until a few ideologues in the LA County hierarchy decided to hammer it closed. Essentially they attempted to make it illegal to transfer a firearm on County property- the purpose? No more gun shows.
The real reason that the liberal elite in this country are against gun shows is that shows are a place where people who have a differing opinion from the average limousine liberal gather and talk, spread information and contacts, and worst of all- generally perpetuate the “Gun Culture”. We take our kids and show them all the Drillings, the Cowboy guns, the parts and accessories, the military guns. The fascinating technology and history- good Lord! Another generation of “Gun Nuts”. Gun Shows can be an inexpensive museum for the Gun Culture to attend and take the kids, and a place to do business and collect items as well.
Without subscribing to any bizarre conspiracy theories, it is virtually impossible to find a rational explanation for the fetish that modern Liberalism has for trying to crush any part of the Gun Culture. That “Gun Culture” comprises a cross section of our general culture from military to law enforcement to target shooters to hunters to veterans to collectors to industry. In all of these groups there are people who really don’t care about firearms, but far more of them are interested on many different levels.
That apparently makes us dangerous to certain types of people- who have diametrically opposed views. Since they can’t seem to get what they want through legislative devices, then they do it by “Banning the sale of firearms on LA County Property”, thus attempting to void a five-year contract by fiat. No gun sales, ergo, no gun show.
God speed on the lawsuits to all involved there, I hope they can bankrupt the County for violating the contracts. The attempt at a “Great Western” that was held in Las Vegas in April of 2000 was a good try, but Vegas doesn’t have the base that Phoenix has, and the show being split into two very separated buildings hurt it as well. We don’t know the prospects for ever recovering the wonderful times and business opportunities that were at the LA County Fairgrounds every Spring and Fall, but we do know that it will be an uphill battle to ever get the “Great Western” back where it was. We wish them well on that also.
The possibility exists that a new show, in a free state, will satisfy the present yearning to gather with like-minded people. The Phoenix December show has always been a big show, but with SAR there, two more buildings have been opened up, and the whole central promenade will now be open for re-enactors and military displays. With the radio and print advertising we have out there, and the massive amount of support in the Class 3 and general military firearms community, well, we hope for a good time to be had by all.
There are several events happening that week- first off, Dry Creek, Inc, (480-948-0175) is putting on a machine gun shoot in Yuma on Wednesday and Thursday, then Friday is setup at the SAR show in Phoenix, Saturday and Sunday are the SAR show, and it turns out that Front Sight (1-800-987-7719) is doing one of their free Submachine gun one day classes on Monday and Tuesday of the next week- Sounds like a good time to do a Southwest Triple Slam! Yuma, Phoenix, Vegas… in December.
We’ll see you there!
| This article first appeared in Small Arms Review V4N3 (December 2000) |
