Moderators John317 Posted January 30, 2011 Moderators Posted January 30, 2011 Thousands flock to O.C. gun show By JEFF OVERLEY COSTA MESA – Frank Kerr, standing in a quarter-mile-long line Saturday to enter the Crossroads of the West Gun Show, sighed when asked for his thoughts on the recent mass shooting in Arizona. "I know," he said, "they're going to come after my guns when stuff like that happens." The parking lot at the gun show was heavy on Chevy Silverado trucks and Ford F-150s, as well as political bumper stickers.JEFF OVERLEY, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER MORE PHOTOS »ADVERTISEMENT More from Costa Mesa-Newport Beach •Body dumped at Costa Mesa high school •Vehicle hits, injures two pedestrians •El Pollo Loco adding fish tacos to menu todayAmid thousands of firearm aficionados who showed up for the two-day event at the O.C. Fair and Event Center, few seemed to disagree. "I've never seen it this busy before," said attendee Jim Rose, who learned to hunt on his family farm in Missouri. "What we're seeing here is a lot of people are nervous." (CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS FROM THE SHOW, INCLUDING COMMENTS FROM ATTENDEES.) Turnout has always been strong during the show's two decades in Orange County, especially after news-making acts of violence or the election of a Democratic president, said Bob Templeton, Crossroads president. That trend appeared to hold Saturday despite victories for gun owners at the federal level, including President Barack Obama's signing of a law allowing loaded firearms in national parks. Besides the Tucson killings, which reportedly have the White House considering entering the gun-control debate, worries centered on state legislation that, had it not been struck down this month, would have further restricted ammunition sales. "Politics and the dialog and the debate about gun control always play heavily on the size of the crowd," Templeton said. Tracy Olcott, vice president of Crossroads, said 15,000 people could pass through the gates, breaking the attendance record. "We've got a great crowd here," she said. Among them was Fountain Valley resident Roger Hewson, sporting a T-shirt depicting a well-armed Benjamin Franklin. "They're making it so difficult," he said of California gun laws, which mandate a background check and 10-day waiting period. "I think it's going to get worse and worse from here." Jeffrey Belanger of Long Beach concurred: "I just think it'll get to the point here in California where we can't carry guns." For all the pessimism, the overwhelmingly male gathering also had light moments. Tony Gregg, who ensured that no loaded guns came inside, laughed when seeing a man waiting to have heavy artillery screened. "Just the cannon? You're good," Gregg told him. "I can't do anything with that." By 10 a.m., cash registers were clinging with sales of bullets and Bud Light. Customers perused weapons of all sizes, from pocket pistols to an M-60 machine gun, reputedly one of three legal for sale in the state. Merchandise ran the gamut from pepper spray and "emergency response knives" to Egyptian cotton sheets, porcelain tea pots, rabbit skins and DVDs with such titles as "Blunt Force Trauma First Aid" and "Rock 'N' Roll: Sexy Girls and Sexy Guns!" "Palin-Limbaugh 2012" shirts were easy to find, as were "Liberal Hunting Permit" bumper stickers. Most guests said they weren't in need of anything in particular, but came anyway, just in case something caught their eye. Better safe than sorry. "The turnout has never been like this," said Ken Downs of Costa Mesa. "Never." Contact the writer: 714-796-7952 or joverley@ocregister.com Quote John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. [17] For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
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