I had to take care of some stuff back in St. Louis today, and after I was done, I decided to take a diversion and go to my first ever real gun show, at the Belle Claire Fairgrounds in Belleville. Truly, it was a diversion, because the Fairgrouds are right along a road marked as Illinois Route 13, so after I was done, all I needed to do is follow Rte. 13 all the way to Carbondale. I had been to two other gun shows in my life, but those showed antique/collectible/inoperable firearms only.
One thing that jumped out at me as I spent a little time there is that it was exclusively a matter of local dealers, mainly small family outfits, showing off their wares. What struck me is who wasn’t there: No Wal-Mart, no Cabela’s, no Bass Pro Shops, even though all three sell firearms, both long guns and handguns.
Now I’m starting to figure out all this leftist mania about “gun shows,” and why there’s such a big push to get rid of them (what “closing the gun show loophole” would really mean). Sure, anti-gun nuts would love the chance at any new restriction, and of course support it, but I think the main energy behind getting rid of gun shows comes from the Big Box Marts of the world. This would undercut the mom-and-pop gun shops, drive them out of business, and force gun buyers to buy from the Big Box Marts.
As I have stated on this medium before, when you’re in the market for 2nd Amendment-protected items, avoid the Big Box Marts, and shop locally. Let’s keep something relatively small and non-corporate.
