Sunday: Tulsa gun show may set record attendance
By DAVID HARPER, World Staff Writer on Apr 6, 2013, at 7:04 PM
Shoppers walk the aisles at the Wanenmacher Gun Show at Expo Square in Tulsa on Saturday. MATT BARNARD/Tulsa World
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Anyone who has any doubt about how much people love firearms wasn’t trying to find a parking spot anywhere near Expo Center on Saturday.
Individuals from all over the United States and even some foreign countries were at the Fairgrounds to attend the Wanenmacher’s Tulsa Arms Show, an event that continues on Sunday with a session from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Show manager Joe Wanenmacher said the biannual event usually draws between 35,000 to 40,000 people over the course of a weekend. He said he wouldn’t be surprised if attendance reached 50,000 by closing time on Sunday.
Wanenmacher said he believes concerns over proposed measures like universal background checks are leading people to make purchases while they can.
He said while the concept might seem like a good idea to some, there is concern among many that it’s the first step towards eventual confiscation of firearms from the general public.
“Universal background checks won’t prevent crime,” Wanenmacher said.
Wanenmacher said President Obama is the “most anti-gun president we’ve ever had.”
Many who attended last November’s edition of the show expressed their concerns that Obama would attempt to get more restrictive gun laws on the books during his second term because he no longer had to worry about re-election. That was before the December massacre in Newtown, Conn., made gun control an even hotter topic.
Show attendee Steve Smith said on Saturday that he sensed a feeling among those in attendance that they better make their gun and ammunition purchases now.
“People are panicked,” said the 50-year-old Independence, Kan., resident.
A self-described “constitutionalist,” Smith said the various gun control efforts on the federal and state levels “are another reach by big government to take away a fundamental right of the people.”
Read more in Sunday's World.
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The convenience store chain was the sole distributor of the 50-cent stickers residents were required to place on bags of extra yard waste.
The plaintiff alleged in a lawsuit that he was made to perform pushups to avoid a ticket or jail.
CONTACT THE REPORTER
918-581-8359
Email
