Gun enthusiasts pack shows to buy assault weapons
| ALLENTOWN, Penn. and KANSAS CITY, Mo.
Gun聽enthusiasts聽thronged to shows around the country on Saturday to buy assault weapons they fear will soon be outlawed after a massacre of school children in聽Connecticut聽prompted calls for tighter controls on firearms.
Reuters reporters went to聽gun聽shows in聽Pennsylvania,听惭颈蝉蝉辞耻谤颈听补苍诲听Texas, and found long lines to get in the door, crowds around the dealer booths, a rush to buy assault weapons even at higher prices and some dealers selling out.
The busiest table at the R.K.聽Gun聽& Knife show at an exposition center near聽the Kansas City,聽Missouri airport聽was offering assault weapons near the entrance.
West Plains,聽Missouri聽dealer Keith's Guns sold out of about 20 AR-15 style assault rifles in a little over an hour, owner聽Keith Gray聽said.
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An AR-15 type assault weapon was among the guns authorities believe suspect聽Adam Lanza聽stole from his mother to use in the massacre of 20 school children and six adults at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown,聽Connecticut Dec. 14.
The killing of innocent children at the school shocked the nation and prompted a number of politicians including President聽Barack Obama聽to call for a ban on assault weapons and ammunition clips that allow the rapid firing of multiple bullets.
Rather than tighten聽gun聽ownership restrictions, the powerful lobby for聽gun聽rights, the聽National Rifle Association, on Friday called for armed guards at every school.
D.R. Woody聽was one of those able to purchase an assault weapon at聽the Kansas City聽show on Saturday. He bought the聽gun聽for target practice because he is concerned they soon will be banned. "I didn't expect to find one. No聽gun聽stores have them," said Woody of the AR-15 type of聽gun.
The story was the same in聽Allentown,聽Pennsylvania, where聽Shirley Donley, a聽gun聽shop owner from nearby聽Quakertown, had an endless stream of customers. "Everybody wants assault weapons," she said, adding that she had sold more than 100 of that type of聽gun聽since the聽Connecticut聽tragedy. "I'm sold out."
Assault weapon is a broad term commonly used to refer to semi-automatic or automatic weapons that can fire multiple bullets rapidly. From 1994 to 2004 certain assault weapons and ammunition clips of more than 10 bullets were illegal.
The ban was allowed to expire when Republican George W. Bush was in the聽White House.
Prices for assault weapons have surged since the聽Connecticut聽shooting. At聽the Kansas City聽show, Jerome Ratliff聽bought an AR-15 on Saturday for target practice, paying $925. The same model would have cost only about $400 a year ago, he said. Most models were selling for $1,500 or more.
Bob Hofmeister, whose wife owns Xtreme Sports, a聽gun聽dealer with a table at聽the Kansas City聽show, said the business sold 15 to 20 AR-15s in the past week.
"Some of these people just want to show their rights to own guns," Hofmeister said.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms, and most聽gun enthusiasts聽at the shows on Saturday said more restrictions on guns would not stop mass killings such as聽Connecticut.
Adam Ouart聽of Mansfield,聽Texas聽stood in a line with about another dozen people at the Lone Star show in Forth Worth,聽Texas, in hopes of buying a聽gun.
"The answer is not to limit people having guns. If someone wants to hurt somebody they are going to find a way to do it," Ouart said.
Several dealers and buyers interviewed at the shows supported the NRA proposal to put armed guards in schools.
More than 200 people lined up at each of three entrances on Saturday morning to pay the $8 entrance fee to the Will Rogers Memorial Center in聽Fort Worth, which has an exhibit hall spanning 25 acres. They crowded the aisles of the show and stood two-deep at booths for assault weapons and ammunition clips.
At all three shows the attendees were overwhelmingly white men, with some women and very few ethnic minorities.
Thousands of guns shows are held in the聽United States聽every year. Under federal law, licensed dealers must conduct a background check before selling to a buyer at a聽gun聽show.
But in what critics call a "loophole," which some聽gun聽control advocates hope to close, unlicensed collectors and other private sales do not require a background check.
A 2009 undercover investigation at seven聽gun聽shows by the聽city聽of New York found that 63 percent of sellers failed an "integrity" test by selling a weapon to a buyer who admitted he probably could not pass a background check.
Pennsylvania聽dealer Donley said on Saturday that since the聽Connecticut聽shooting the telephone wait for dealers to get through to the聽State Police unit聽that provides background checks has increased from 15 minutes up to 45 minutes.
While most people interviewed at the shows were not in favor of聽gun聽controls, not everyone opposed some regulation.
Bruce Abernathy聽walked away with an assault rifle after sitting through a 30-minute background check at the聽Texas聽show.
"There should be more strict background checks," said Abernathy, a聽Dallas聽resident. He said there should be a 30-day waiting period to buy weapons and a thorough background check that includes five references.
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