Gun show
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A gun show is a temporary exhibition or gathering where guns, gun parts, gun accessories, ammunition, and gun literature, as well as knives, jerky, and miscellaneous collectibles are displayed, bought, sold, and discussed (subject to regulations.) Gun shows also often include exhibitions related to various types of hunting and the preparation and preservation of wild game for consumption. They also may be used by gun manufacturers to demonstrate new firearm models—or by gun enthusiasts to exhibit antique or unusual guns.
[edit] Overview
Gun shows are typically held in public buildings, including hotels, malls, armories, stadiums, etc., and are open to the public with a nominal fee for admittance. While some shows have as few as 200 tables each and a very few as many as 3,700 tables, most have about 450 tables. They are almost all held on weekends by a promoter who leases the large space, provides the tables, and then allows dealers to rent those tables to show guns, knives, crafts, wares or demonstrate services they can provide. A share of tables don't sell guns or ammo at all, but instead sell accessories like scopes, ammo, holsters, and other things such as pocketknives.
As of 2005, typical dealer rent per table at most shows is in the $60 range, with some top shows charging over $80 per table. Dealers typically travel an amazingly-long circuit that often will have a Mississippi dealer in New York State for a show after one in between the week before. Consumers must typically pay $6 or $7 per person admission (plus often parking of $3-5 per vehicle).
Many consumers enjoy the culture of the gun show and come, park, and browse for a couple of hours or less, hoping to add to their collection, buy ammunition or find a rare piece. Actual buying is minimal, particularly of guns.
In recent years, gun shows have become controversial in some areas, as the scope of the right of private citizens to own firearms has become a topic of political debate. Those opposing gun shows argue that they contribute to illicit trafficking in firearms; those supporting gun shows point to 2nd Amendment rights and regulations which govern the sale of firearms at gun shows.
Since 2002, web-based "gun shows" of sorts have sprung up on the internet. Typically, they don't charge the very-high table rent that dealers at traditional shows pay, instead charging only either a low fee or a commission-on-sale to list an item, with actual transfer of any gun to be handled by a local licensed dealer for a small fee that also increasingly is becoming a major easy profit for some such dealers. Even many dealers still on the traditional show circuit are now also running extensive branches of their show business on such Web "shows" as Auction Arms or GunBroker and have many of their wares for sale there. Other dealers have totally moved to the Web to sell the inexpensive "stuff that sells" (parts, accessories, tools, books) in Web-based "shows" such as the Internet Gun Show that amount to almost an entire gun show in cyberspace that has various "tables" specializing in different things commonly sold at shows, but don't charge admission for browsing.
Gun show laws vary from state to state, and even within some states and within some metropolitan areas.
[edit] Gun show "loophole"
Gun show "loophole" is a term of art generally used to describe the sale of firearms between private individuals at gun shows. While some states do have laws that regulate such sales, under United States federal law there is no requirement for private parties to obtain a Federal Firearms License or to conduct background checks when selling personal firearms to other private parties. While such transactions between individuals not otherwise prohibited by law from firearms possesion are legal, the "loophole" lies in the preceived potential for abuse of the system. Because no background check is performed during private sales, there is potential for firearms to find their way into the hands of individuals prohibited by federal law from possessing them.
Another concern is the possibility that a gun dealer could pose as a private seller to circumvent federal law requiring dealer licensing and mandating background checks of firearms purchasers. However, the threshold (number of guns) that differentiates a dealer from a private seller has to date not been tested in U.S. courts.
[edit] See also
- Gunshows-USA.com - A directory of gun shows around the U.S.
