Hindsight from The New Gun Week March 10, 1998
Florida End-Run; Trade-Show News
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor
Just as I was sitting down to write a column related to some observations about events at the 1998 Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show and another upcoming firearms and police trade exhibit, I received some late-breaking information about Florida's Constitutional Revision Commission (CRC). Needless to say, I will pass along what I learned about Florida first.
As Gun Week readers are aware, there is an on-going effort by the anti-gunners to revise the Florida state constitution and gut the state's firearms preemption law. An idea first advanced by Miami-Dade Mayor Alex Penelas to allow localities to write any kind of ordinances they want regarding firearms sales, including waiting periods, background checks, gun shows, transfers between private parties, and so on. Penelas made it clear that he is against the statewide right to carry law and wants to reduce the number of firearms in private possession by any means he can.
Guns are not the only problem with this proposal, because, as NRA-ILA points out, individuals would have to give up their privacy rights regarding psychiatric counseling, including grief and life-threatening illness counseling, marriage and troubled-children counseling.
A proposal to revise the state constitution to allow localities to create a crazy-quilt of gun laws was proposed on the CRC by Commission member Katherine Fernandez Rundle, who happens to also be Janet Reno's successor as Miami-Dade state's attorney. The commission has been playing with the language of her proposal for several weeks, trying to amend it in an effort to win more votes.Preliminary Vote
On Feb. 10, the CRC passed on the most recent Penelas-Rundle language, but only with a 20-vote majority. Since nine members of the commission did not vote, Rundle's team did not get the 22 votes needed to authorize placing the question before the voters of the state on the ballot this November.
The CRC had announced public hearings on the gun control proposal by the commission, including one Mar. 6 at Nova University in Davie, FL, another Mar. 9 at WFSU studios in Tallahassee, and one Mar. 12 at the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus. But then it was reported that the commission might vote on the proposal as early as the week of Feb. 23, well before any of the scheduled public hearings.
The CRC is well aware of the huge popular opposition to the anti-gun constitutional amendment (input so far has been clearly in opposition). However, they have the authority to vote when they wish, and might do so before the hearings.
If they get the 22 votes, the question would be on the November ballot. The stage would be set for another major statewide referendum on gun rights, on the order of the one that cost pro-gunners about $4 million to defeat I-676 in Washington state last year.
Whether a scandal that hit Rundle's office on Feb. 24 will have any impact on the CRC agenda remains to be seen. On the 24th, the Miami Herald published a story reporting that two secretaries in Rundle's office "have been suspended without pay over allegations they had phone sex with a key witness—a cocaine ring's hit man—and cashed money orders he sent them at their workplace."
The man in question is a federal prisoner, Jorge Ayala, who is a witness is the triple murder trial of Griselda "The Godmother" Blanco.SHOT Show
The 20th anniversary SHOT Show seemed a very upbeat affair. Admittedly, the crowds were not as great in previous years, but you've got to expect that after President Clinton has successfully driven almost 200,000 FFLs out of business. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was much more bullish than the last couple of years. Most of the manufacturers and importers I spoke with were very pleased with the business they wrote at the show. This was the 19th edition of the show I have attended and the 17th at which Gun Week and/or the Second Amendment Foundation has exhibited.
There was an even bigger representation of buyers and sellers from foreign countries than usual, even with the annual IWA show in Germany just weeks away from its March opening.
While most of the writers who have begun to report on new product offerings in this issue of Gun Week have pointed out there weren't many totally revolutionary new products. However, there were so many new products that we will be reporting on many in the next issue or two.
What was apparent though is that there are some healthy new trends that bode well not only for the firearms industry but for the gun community as a whole. After all, anything that gets new people into the shooting game or ignites new interest in old-line gunowners who haven't taken the gun out of the closet in years has to be good for the pro-gun cause.Cowboy Action Shooting
One of the most noticeable of these is Cowboy Action Shooting. I was pleased to learn that the Single Action Shooting Society, which has promoted the cowboy shoots through clubs and individual involvement, now numbers over 16,000 members. More and more gun companies are offering single-action, 19th century-style revolvers, lever action rifles and double-barrel shotguns than ever before. And ammunition companies are offering more factory loads with the dimensions and ballistics of the cowboy era. Among the ones I saw were new offerings from Black Hills Ammunition, PMC and Winchester. I'm sure there were many more from large and small companies.
In addition, there seems renewed interest in some of the old 19th century hunting, sporting and target guns, with new offerings for various budget levels from both domestic and foreign gunmakers. Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing had their booth right next door to the SAF booth and were showing their handsome collection of Sharps 1874 reproductions. While the Montana firm's production is way up from were it was a few years ago, they are still running quite a backlog.
Pedersoli was still showing their Sharps and other classic gun reproductions, and Auto-Ordnance was showing their new entry for this market.
On the Sunday before the show opened, I had the chance to join some Cowboy Action Shooting and shotgunning at the PMC-Eldorado plant in Boulder City, south of Las Vegas. But I still don't know which was more fun: shooting the three-gun Cowboy Action scenarios or firing a Shiloh Sharps 1874 with Vernier tang sight at a bear silhouette 200 yards across the desert using PMC's new .45/70 load.
There were other shoots with new products the next day, which Phil Johnston discusses in his article starting on Page 1 of this issue. And there were a number of new guns and new ideas—like the expansion of the celebrity shooting program into a possible single national circuit—but we'll return to those in Gun Week in the weeks ahead.FTE in Columbus
The Firearms Trade Expo (FTE) moves to a more central, user-friendly Columbus, OH, Convention Center May 2-3 for its third year after a somewhat disappointing turnout in Atlantic City in 1997. The old building and tawdriness of the eastern gambling Mecca, along with difficult travel access and very high drayage and convention hall costs had discouraged many exhibitors and attendees.
FTE is a trade show for firearms and sporting goods retailers and law enforcement department buyers. It is sponsored by the National Association of Federally Licensed Firearms Dealers, the National Association of Chiefs of Police (NACOP) and the Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA). About 300 manufacturer, importer and distributor exhibits are expected. In addition, trade associations and pro-gun organizations will have displays and help conduct several dealer conferences and marketing seminars as well as legislative and legal-issue panels.
Not all of the major manufacturers who exhibited at the SHOT Show will be exhibiting at FTE, but enough of them that it will make a worthwhile outing for anyone in the firearms trade. It is especially important to those retailers located toward the eastern and central part of the country who could not travel to Nevada for SHOT.
The FTE will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 2 and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, May 3. Registration and admission for the two days is $10 per outdoor trade or police attendee. For more information, booth space or registration, contact AFI Exhibitions in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, at 800-453-1643. The show promoter is moving toward transferring ownership of FTE to the exhibitors. Proceeds from the two earlier shows were distributed to pro-gun organizations.
The New Gun Week is published three times a month by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) on the 1st, 10th, and 20th. Hindsight is a commentary written by SAF President and Gun Week Executive Editor Joseph P. Tartaro. This commentary may be reprinted so long as credit is given to the author and the publication. For more information or to subscribe, write Gun Week, PO Box 488, Buffalo, NY 14209, or call 716-885-6408 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, or inquire on Compuserve to John Krull, Production manager-JohnSAF@Compuserve.com or gunweeksaf@broadviewnet.netAlso, check out the New Gun Week at http://www.GunWeek.com