Why a convention center in Wilmington was Ohio's safest place last weekend

By Chad D. Baus

Regular readers of this website will recall that the last time a member of the media from Cincinnati went to a gun show, the results were atrocious.

A November 2007 hatchet-job by NBC Cincinnati's Eric Flack contained ridiculous references to everything from 90-round SKS rifles to the Columbine school massacre, all in an effort to aid his gun ban lobby friends in their efforts to ban all private sales of firearms at gun shows.

Recently, another member of the Cincinnati media attended a gun show. Only this time, the coverage was far different.

In a Cincinnati Enquirer op-ed borrowing a title from Dr. John Lott's popular book, Peter Bronson's 'More Guns, Less Crime' begins by describing a gun show for people who have never been to one:

It looked sort of like a craft show. There were leather belts, German helmets from World War II, polished stones, wood carvings and special handbags for women who carry guns.

It looked sort of like an Army surplus store, with bayonets, canteens, Samurai swords and even a box of disarmed grenades that could make panic-inducing paperweights.

It looked sort of like a convention of hunters, with lots of bright orange and camouflage.

But mostly it looked like a gun show.

After describing the large variety of products on display, Bronson continued:

...The gun owners I've met are among the nicest, most helpful, most law-abiding people anywhere. They're no scarier than collectors who hoard coins, baseball cards or Beanie Babies. In fact, gun shows are probably safer. Even the world's dumbest criminal is not stupid enough to hold up a gun show packed with armed NRA members.

The rules are stricter, too.

Private gun owners can sell guns to anyone of legal age (18 for long guns, 21 for handguns), without federal regulations or paperwork. The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence wants to close that "gun-show loophole."

But the so-called loophole applies anywhere. You don't need paperwork to sell a gun to your neighbor. And you don't need a gun show to buy a "nine" in Over-The-Rhine.

The notion that gun-control laws can disarm law-breakers is so irrational there's no place to even begin that conversation. And when I see media stories about outlawing "assault weapons," I just wince.

I'm not a gun expert. But I'm not that ignorant. Yes, there were guns made to look like military M-16s at the gun show. But they're not automatic. Real automatics are regulated almost to extinction. The ones on sale at the show are no more deadly than any semi-automatic varmint gun. They might look scary. But a pellet gun in the wrong hands is scary enough.

The truth is, there's probably no way to keep mentally ill or dangerous people from getting a gun. But gun shows do their best.

Peter Bronson's article provides a stark comparison to NBC CIncinnati's late 2007 Flack-hack, and a much more accurate picture of what gun shows are like for readers who have never attended one.

Compliments may be sent to [email protected].

Click here for the entire op-ed in the Cincinnati Enquirer.