It looked like many other small weekend shows across America: folding tables covered with handguns, rifles, parts, ammunition and war mementos, including helmets, patches, pistols and even vintage Nazi memorabilia.
But no AR-15s.
Organizers halted an advertised raffle that would have awarded an AR-15 to the winner, and vendors were told they would not be allowed to sell the weapon at the monthly show.
Frank Cesare — of the Pioneer Valley Sportsman’s Association, which has hosted the show for more than 40 years — said the decision followed complaints the group received after the Parkland shooting and as gun-control advocates planned to protest.
“We did the ban to try to calm the situation down and show them we are willing to work with them,” he said, referring to the protesters.
Cesare said that the ban on AR-15s also would remain in place for April’s show and that the club is “waiting to see” what the mood is like before deciding on shows later in the year. But the move has forced the club into the gun culture war that has gained new energy across the United States since Parkland.
It may be a small gesture, and perhaps only a temporary one, but it is still more than we have seen in response to past mass shootings in this country.
And I have to say that if the Parkland students have their way this will certainly NOT be temporary, and it will only be the beginning.
My confidence in their abilities grows by the day.
Source http://ift.tt/2HbWnB7
