Many at Last Gun Show Lament Its Move

Whether they gathered at racks of historic frontier rifles or displays of modern carbines, their conversations kept returning to the reality that this weekend would mark the end of 31 years in Los Angeles County--the last 22 at the Fairplex in Pomona--for the gun show.

Over bins of ammo magazines and tables of telescopic sights, they talked about what they see as the unfairness of a new ordinance banning firearm sales on county property. It is a shame, they said, that the law is forcing the Great Western Show to move.

“You know what the safest place in Los Angeles County is?” one man who refused to give his name asked as he made his way down an aisle. “Right here.”

It is not just a gun show, organizers and visitors insisted Friday, saying that fewer than one in 10 exhibitors displays guns. It is the world’s largest show featuring antique and modern firearms, Western Americana, collectibles and military memorabilia, organizers said.

“This is a show for collectors and families,” said Karl Amelang, president of Great Western Shows Inc. “A lot of veterans come here. World War II vets can maybe find an Ike jacket here.”

Near a refreshment stand where he sipped beer with friends, retired naval officer John Thornsley, 69, said he has “no interest in guns, and I don’t own a gun. We just enjoy coming here. It’s a nice day and there are interesting things to see.”

If Thornsley and his buddies want to see those “interesting things” next year, they will have to go to Las Vegas.

No longer will the Fairplex be home to tables piled high with camouflage gear, black powder, swords, hunting knives, binoculars, camping stoves, silver jewelry and African masks.

Gone too will be the books for history buffs, conspiracy theorists and gun collectors. Among them are titles such as “Bad Girls Do It: An Encyclopedia of Female Murderers,” “Evil Agenda of the Secret Government,” “Message to the Black Movement,” “The Black Book of Revenge” and “Gun Control in Germany: 1928-1945.”

And its move from Pomona will drain $8 million that visitors bring to the area each year, not to mention the $600,000 that organizers pay Fairplex, show officials said.

County officials have said the new ordinance does not prohibit Great Western from having a gun show. It prohibits it from selling guns. An injunction has been issued against the ordinance pending the outcome of a suit that Great Western has filed against the county.

Still, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who led the drive for the new law, has said he is not sorry “that we won’t have guns and ammo at our fairgrounds.”

Amelang said officials in Las Vegas have given show organizers “a very positive reception.” He said their attitude is one of asking how they can be of help, knowing that the show puts guests in the city’s hotels.

For the most part, exhibitors in Pomona appear to be ready for the move to Las Vegas, and actor Logan Clark of Phelan, Calif., said he will go there for at least the first Great Western Show next spring.

“But this is the place,” he said of Pomona. “Hollywood is nearby.”

Clark sells and rents Italian-made replicas of Western rifles as well as clothing and artifacts to film companies and reenactors of historical events.

He could barely contain his indignation over a California law that limits the capacity of magazines to 10 rounds--a law he said makes his 19th century frontier models illegal.

“This is now considered an assault rifle,” he said, pointing to a replica of an 1860 model Henry rifle that would sell for about $1,000. “This gun, which was an assault rifle in 1860, is an assault weapon again.”

The Henry can hold 14 cartridges, four above the state limit, he said.

“It’s a shame that honest, law-abiding citizens have to be penalized,” he said. “This is something in our culture, in the history of the United States, that is in jeopardy because of someone’s misconception. It’s a harbinger of things to come.”

Richard Coakes, owner of Rich’s Arms in Whittier, said he probably won’t go to Las Vegas next year because it will be too expensive.

“Here, I’m 15 minutes from home,” he said. “In Las Vegas, I have to rent a room.”

Coakes, an electrician, said he has been doing the Pomona show for 20 years, adding that the only reason it’s moving is “all politics.”

“Every year they take away more of our rights,” he said.

While so many exhibitors and visitors decried what they see as the show’s forced move, Frank Briscoe, a gun dealer from Nevada, Mo., saw opportunity.

“This is my first time here in eight years,” he said. “I came because I figured this would be the last one here. All the media coverage will be good for sales. That’s what I gambled on.”