I took a trip to Chicago and was heading back down I-65 on Saturday morning. There happened to be a gun show in Valparaiso. Since I was sort of “passing by,” I wanted to stop. With me was my non (nearly anti) gun friend. I told him I was going to the show (I was driving) and opted to drop him off at some coffee shop if he wanted. Upon pulling into the fairgrounds, he said “I guess I’ll go in and see what’s going on.” This was a surprise as he already stated that he was going to be “extremely uncomfortable” around all those guns.
I explained what he would see at the door with a gun check and that there would likely be police on hand. I paid for his admission and we went in. He asked what I was looking for and told him I had no specific thing in mind but would consider a Beretta 92FS Inox. He walked more quickly than I did through the aisles and would meet me at the end. At one point, I did show him something similar to what I wanted but not the exact gun. He seemed calm considering I had my hand on a gun.
As we were leaving, he had many gun questions for me that most of us already know. He asked about “gun sellers” being required to have some “test” to verify they can possess guns. I told him many of them were FFL’s which is a license to “possess and sell.” He asked more Q’s about owning/registering guns. I informed him there was no “registry” but he knows I have a LTCH which I further explained.
He gave me his observations:
It seems the “standard” clothing is some sort of camo or all black outfit. Yep, plenty of those guys around.
It was full of old, white, fat guys. Yep, plenty of them (we aren’t young thin guys ourselves)
Many people there seemed like they could barely pay their rent and maybe can’t afford anything. I informed him that I was just wearing simple cargo shorts, t-shirt, and inexpensive sneakers. He understood the comparison.
There seemed to be a whole lot of people looking but not a whole lot of people buying. I said people tend to be selective in what they want and many are “just looking” (I was).
The few hot, young women in there seemed to be accompanied by young men full of tattoos.
Then I asked the ultimate question: “Did you feel fear and panic inside?”
Calmly he responded “No.”
His impression that we “gun people” are all about shooting off our guns anywhere/anytime was invalidated by attending a place PACKED with guns and “gun people.”
I explained what he would see at the door with a gun check and that there would likely be police on hand. I paid for his admission and we went in. He asked what I was looking for and told him I had no specific thing in mind but would consider a Beretta 92FS Inox. He walked more quickly than I did through the aisles and would meet me at the end. At one point, I did show him something similar to what I wanted but not the exact gun. He seemed calm considering I had my hand on a gun.
As we were leaving, he had many gun questions for me that most of us already know. He asked about “gun sellers” being required to have some “test” to verify they can possess guns. I told him many of them were FFL’s which is a license to “possess and sell.” He asked more Q’s about owning/registering guns. I informed him there was no “registry” but he knows I have a LTCH which I further explained.
He gave me his observations:
It seems the “standard” clothing is some sort of camo or all black outfit. Yep, plenty of those guys around.
It was full of old, white, fat guys. Yep, plenty of them (we aren’t young thin guys ourselves)
Many people there seemed like they could barely pay their rent and maybe can’t afford anything. I informed him that I was just wearing simple cargo shorts, t-shirt, and inexpensive sneakers. He understood the comparison.
There seemed to be a whole lot of people looking but not a whole lot of people buying. I said people tend to be selective in what they want and many are “just looking” (I was).
The few hot, young women in there seemed to be accompanied by young men full of tattoos.
Then I asked the ultimate question: “Did you feel fear and panic inside?”
Calmly he responded “No.”
His impression that we “gun people” are all about shooting off our guns anywhere/anytime was invalidated by attending a place PACKED with guns and “gun people.”
. You probably would think I'm a low life tattooed idiot by looking at me, but you'd be mistaken.
