The Tulsa Gun Show made it into a Washington Post story!
See:[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30940-2001Oct21.html[/url]
[size=4]At Tulsa Gun Show, Searching for Safety
U.S. Sales on the Rise Since Sept. 11 Attacks[/size=4]
[i]By Lois Romano
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 22, 2001; Page A03[/i]
TULSA, Oct. 21 -- Here, at what is billed as the largest gun show in the world, amid the antique Colts and John Wayne memorabilia, Bryce Howe searches for the perfect little handgun for his wife and teenage daughter. He has already signed them up for shooting lessons, and now he is canvassing 11 acres of display tables for something trim and light -- perhaps a .38 caliber -- that will fit nicely into their palms.
Call this phase two of Howe's home protection plan. Shortly after four hijacked jets forever shattered the nation's sense of complacency, this systems engineer who never before thought of owning a gun went out and laid down $800 for an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
"I am not panicked, but I am concerned that things are going to get out of hand in time," said Howe, who lives in Edmond, just north of Oklahoma City.
"I'm a little embarrassed talking about it, but in case I have to move quickly and defend my family, I want to be ready. I told my wife, 'I hope this turns out to be a big waste of money.' None of us want to do this, but we see the need to be prepared."
It was indeed a very busy weekend at the annual Wanenmacher's Tulsa Arms Show, where 3,800 vendors came to peddle their guns and knives and ammunition, and thousands more packed the cavernous flea market of weaponry at the Tulsa fairgrounds. They came for hunting rifles and target-range pistols. They came to collect and to trade, and simply to show their young sons around.
And they came to buy security and safety because today, more than ever, they believe there is a need -- and an absolute right -- to do so.
"The police cannot protect us," said an angry man from Kansas who refused to give his name, but who indicated he and his family are well armed for any terrorist attack. "If someone comes to blow up my block, sure, the police will be there to clean up. Well, that's a little too late. What are we supposed to do -- sit back and relax?"
Both government and industry figures indicate a significant rise in gun sales following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which conducts federally required background checks on those who buy from licensed gun dealers, reports that in the month following the attack, requests for checks increased about 20 percent over the same period last year.
*See remainder of story at website!
Eric The(Yeah,ButIsThisJustAFad?)Hun[>]:)]