Why no CC at gun shows ?

Think safety. You can "carry" but they install a plastic tie to render your weapon inoperative.
I`ve never been to a GS where you could carry (in side the show) a weapon loaded with live rounds. If others have I`m sure they`ll explain.

Huh? Must be a decision that's made locally because any gun show I've been to had no such No Carry rule, sign etc. Interesting question though.

Think insurance and loaded guns......

I have personally been in two guns shows when somebody had a ND.

It really gets your attention when there is a 230 grain .45 bullet ricocheting around inside a concrete exhibition hall full of people!!

I imagine gun show promoters have a hard time getting liability insurance as it is, without allowing loaded guns in the building.

And it may in fact be a provision of the insurance policy to prohibit all loaded guns in the show the promoter has to enforce to even get liability insurance.

rc

Think theft as well as safety - you wear an empty holster in, steal a gun off the table and walk out the door

Definitely liability. Too many idiots take out their loaded carry gun to show it off and now you've got dozens of people handling loaded guns. I believe in being able to carry 100% of the time but I'm kinda glad Bubba J leaves his gun in his car.

That being said, rules are meant to be broken and if it's concealed and stays that way it's out of sight out of mind.

It's because owning a handgun doesn't impart wisdom. There are some serious chuckleheads out there- and they're armed. I was walking through a wal-mart openly carrying when one of them stopped me, complimented my firearm choice, then proceeded to pull his loaded handgun out of his fanny-pack to show me. Sheesh.

This is why the organization that does the gun shows in Washington will not allow carry in the venue; some of their members and public who attend aren't bright enough to find their way out of a paper bag, much less leave their loaded gun in the holster.

Gun shows and convention centers are not on my state's list of off-limits to carry. They are not posted as off-limits to carry. They ask that all guns be cleared and zip-tied. But I am not under any obligation to tell the staff I am carrying concealed, so I don't.

But I am not under any obligation to tell the staff I am carrying concealed, so I don't.

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But if you are discovered and you do not have proof it is yours, you may have some headaches trying to convince them you didn't steal it

oneounceload said:

But if you are discovered and you do not have proof it is yours, you may have some headaches trying to convince them you didn't steal it

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The FFLs at the gun show would have to have their inventories logged in their bound books. They claim a gun is stolen from them, they better have the bound book records to prove it. If a private party claims the gun is stolen, it's one person's words against another's - both equal credibility.

oneounceload said:

Think theft as well as safety - you wear an empty holster in, steal a gun off the table and walk out the door

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The rule is against carrying loaded guns at a gun show, not against having an empty holster. Exactly how does a no loaded guns rule prevent theft? It's more likely to create empty holsters, in fact.

Nope. My carry gun is not an item that would be easily mistaken for a gun on a table at a gun show. They would also have to explain how I stole my extra aftermarket magazine, worn Surefire 6P flashlight, the belt pouch that holds both, and precisely the correct number of rounds to fill the magazines plus one in the chamber.

I am in Walkalong's theatre of operations.

I have been present for one gun show patron being shot and a hole shot in the ceiling. (Not the same show.)
With shotguns on display that mysteriously got loaded, not pistols worn by patrons.

There was the guy who unloaded and tied off his pistol going in and shot himself somewhere in the process of reloading it and getting it back in his way kewl shoulder holster right after leaving.

I carry every time I go, and in the case of my M&P, I try to make it safe in the car, beforehand, before the guys running security ask for it to apply their Zip-ties.

The Blackhawk is much easier to make safe, push the button, remove the cylinder, cylinder in pocket with the rounds in a separate one.

I don't see how a gun show should be any different from a gun store in this regard. Yet all of the gun stores in my area allow lawful carry and the gun shows don't.

When gun shows cite "safety" and "liability" as reasons to disarm their patrons they're using the exact same arguments as anti-gun individuals and organizations.

It's always struck me as extreme hypocisy for an organization whose sole purpose is to make money off of selling guns not to trust lawful gun owners to exercise their 2A rights.

It's made me stop going to gun shows.

Tinpig

mljdeckard,

When you enter a private event that has a no loaded guns policy, and you get caught CCing, they have every right to expel you.

Are you the guy parked in the fire lane as well?

We had a idiot fire a flare gun off inside the building one year. It made a loud bang, then a pretty red flare arched to the ceiling trailing a long plume of smoke, bounced around the ceiling before landing on the tent of a group of WWII re-enactors display.

Sure was a pretty sight. Show sure got quiet in a hurry.

There was a ND at the WAC gun show here earlier in the summer...and they're gun shows with an unloaded gun policy. One of the WAC senior/life members thought the rules didn't apply to him and had an ND. I believe the unloaded gun policy was a liability agreement because WAC rents the Puyallup Fairgrounds here.

Imagine how many times people at gun shows sweep each other (aim at other people) with rifles and handguns. In order to aim at the ceiling or floor, it is nearly impossible not to aim at somebody for a fraction of a second.

Even the other guns might be unloaded (I hope). There were two gun show incidents last year where ADs took place, though I don't have the statistics.

A guy in Illinois had a loaded Mini 14 on his table: three people injured, one seriously, by the .223 bullet.
Another gent had an AD with a handgun. From what I remember reading, he tried to clear it and then a second round discharged.

In order to check a chamber and magazine and look through the bore, the plastic tie must be cut (some have no ties), but this does Not mean that both the chamber and magazine are already empty.

Csbob said:

There was a ND at the WAC gun show here earlier in the summer...and they're gun shows with an unloaded gun policy. One of the WAC senior/life members thought the rules didn't apply to him and had an ND. I believe the unloaded gun policy was a liability agreement because WAC rents the Puyallup Fairgrounds here.

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Yeah it's the one show I missed. Guys said the same thing as above, it got really quiet. Dude was booted, lost his membership and even cried. Same liability when the WAC show is here at the Evergreen Fairgrounds (Monroe, around 8 miles from my house). No ND's at this one that I know of. Two in Puyallup - bigger show I guess. Some chucklewagon was shooting air soft into the rafters in the smelly older building, even that, while quiet, seeing something fly with the corner of your eye is a bit disconcerting.

With all of the guns out in the open and people constantly showing there tied up guns in the their holsters to others at the gun shows it could be an accident waiting to happen. In my experience there are a lot of people walking around with their personnel weapons for sale. If these guns were loaded and they were trying to sell them to every other guy in the show it could get dangerous very quickly with the constant loading and unloading of the weapons.

I rarely carry my own weapons in the show unless im trying to sell it or buy something for it. If that is the case I generally have a knife on me and a there is plenty of whatever caliber of rounds on the tables. If push came to shove and a group of mass murderers came in and started shooting it would only take me and everyone else in there a few seconds with a pocket knife to have a loaded firearm.

"Do you have any loaded firearms today"
"No Sir I do not."

Great thing about my state is no obligation to disarm. If I plan to showoff what I have, well that is what pictures are for. I am not paranoid going into gun shows armed, it is just a hassle to disarm when you put it on everyday not thinking about it.

Re #17,

Then it's no different than any other business in the state. Last gun show I had to park two venues away and pay $7.

In my state, the sign means nothing. If the owner of the business sees you carrying, they can order you to leave. If you leave, that's it. If you refuse to leave, it's trespassing.

In other words, here, concealed means concealed.