Gun enthusiasts flock to Vegas
Industry under attack is resentful at trade show

By Carla Crowder
Denver Rocky Mountain News Staff Writer

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LAS VEGAS — A gun industry under attack has gathered here this week for its largest trade show.

Amid discussions of lightweight rifles, lead-free bullets and the latest in laser technology looms a sense of resentment toward politicians and the media for perceived attacks on gun makers, sellers and owners.

“Last year, we saw the most unprecedented assault on gun rights in history,” said Michael Mitchell, a lobbyist for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the gun industry’s largest trade group and sponsor of the four-day SHOT SHOW 2000.

“All of this came about primarily due to the terrible tragedy at Columbine.”

Nine months after the killings, gun-rights advocates continue to feel beleaguered.

“I’ve never seen a situation right now, like we have in the year 2000,” said Randy Scheunemann, another foundation lobbyist, speaking at a Tuesday seminar updating dealers about lawsuits and legislation that could affect their businesses.

“The stakes couldn’t be higher for anyone here who hunts or owns a gun,” Scheunemann said.

In this election year, he warned, if Democrats take control of Congress and keep the White House, massive new gun regulations will be sure to follow.

He predicted gun registrations, waiting periods for dealers, bans on .50-caliber weapons, bans on cheap guns and government design mandates such as smart guns and brightly colored weapons.

This year, the National Rifle Association is focused on fighting the slew of lawsuits being filed against gun makers alleging unsafe manufacturing and marketing practices.

“The best and highest thing we can do for the industry in light of these lawsuits is to go from legislature to legislature and pass pre-emption legislation,” NRA lobbyist James Baker told the seminar.

Fourteen states passed laws last year banning the suits. No Colorado city has filed such a suit, and a bill before the legislature seeks to ban them.

Baker urged his audience to vote Republican and to encourage others to do so.

SHOT SHOW has drawn 1,420 product exhibitors and at least 35,000 gun dealers, distributors, collectors and others interested in the latest merchandise available for the shooting sports and law enforcement.

Tuesday also featured a question-and-answer session with the people responsible for enforcing often controversial laws regulating this industry — the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

ATF representatives encouraged federally licensed dealers to cooperate with law enforcement to keep guns away from criminals. Most dealers do.

But there have been problems.

“We are having problems with dealers who don’t keep track of their inventory,” ATF Assistant Director Wally Nelson said. “I’m talking about people who are missing scores of guns, hundreds of guns, 500 guns.”