Its not my first gun show, but I haven't been to one in years. I was looking for gun cleaning supplies and a scabbard for my sword (there are often fine leather craftsmen selling their wares at gun shows).

They have changed. Gun shows used to be really neat places, you could pick up supplies your local gun shop didn't carry, and see all sorts of cool hobbyist and collector stuff, over and above firearm-related merchandise. And, of course, it was a place to look for bargains--in ammo, firearms, and accessories.

But this was different. As soon as I walked in the door I was struck by the long arms--military-type combat weapons, what are referred to in the current vernacular as "assault rifles". They were everywhere,
hundreds of them, high capacity magazine-fed, automatic (or easily convertible), military caliber, ugly killing machines. No polished walnut or blued steel here, no tooled leather slings; these were no-nonsense, uncompromising killing machines; matte black or camouflage metal and plastic, angular and machine like. It looked like the armory of the Imperial Storm Troopers. There were enough assault weapons there to arm a battalion of infantry, not to mention the accessories, the paramilitary uniforms, the multiple clip ammo pouches, the "tactical" knives, body armor and all the other costume details needed to convert some fat-assed middle aged Rambo into a Defender of Freedom. Anybody that stupid is sooner or later going to get himself into trouble, and he'll probably take some of the rest of us with him.

You can buy this sort of weapon at any gun store, but at the gun show it appeared that displays for assault rifles dominated the vendor space. Oh sure, you could always pick up a Kalashnikov or an M-16 at a show, but now they have become a major item (by unit) and probably THE major item by dollar sales. The purely commercial aspect becomes obvious. There is a big business selling assault weapons to civilians, in a sport, hobby, and self-defense market saturated with guns, here is a whole new set of customers, fresh consumers, limitless demand. This is all about money, and fear.

I saw a lot of white guys buying military weaponry, mostly Bubbas and Bunkers. And you know who they're arming themselves against, this isn't an aroused citizenry arming themselves to defend their constitutional rights. These are scared people who sense chaos is just another Ferguson away. The funny thing is that the other side was at the gun show too, a lot of black folks with disposable cash were wandering up and down those aisles, talking knowledgeably with the vendors, and handling the merchandise with evident skill and expertise. They probably got their training in the Middle East, in real combat conditions.

The weapons merchants love an arms race. And they haven't changed their business model one bit. They're still selling repeating rifles to the Sioux.