Like everyone else, you’ve probably had the (mis)fortune to see a lot of the coverage in the media lately about “gun shows”, and “illegal guns”, or whatever buzzword is getting tossed around. For a multitude of reasons, anti-gun groups have decided to again lay their attacks at the feet of gun shows, to create this entirely fictional bogeyman which can then be propped and used to win talking points against the uneducated.
The problem is that it’s all lies. If you want to know the Truth about gun shows, check out last night’s Gun Nuts Radio which is embedded in the above link. It’s also available in .mp3 format or for download on 
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Actually, I have seen a few items that at least appear to be illegal at gun shows. I’m sure there’s probably some case law or fine point in the law of which I’m unaware that means they are legal, but it does sometimes make me a bit nervous. (ex: Why isn’t a WASR-10 receiver a functioning replica of an AK-47 receiver? If it is, it would seem to be illegal under a plain reading of the NY AWB.) Every time I ask anybody about it they just tell me the ban is BS.
Unfortunately, I’m stuck in Rochester, NY, where I have to contend with two distinct AWB’s. NY has one that roughly mirrors the Clinton Federal AWB and the City of Rochester has one that’s simultaneously more and less restrictive. We get a maximum capacity of 6 rounds (5+1) in semi-auto center fire long guns (fewer than the 10+1 restriction in State law), but a 17 round limit on pistol mags (more than the 10 round limit under State law, which would be enforced in Rochester anyway).
I definitely have to agree about not talking to crazy people, though it can sometimes be tough to tell who’s whom. There was a guy I once met who was staffing a SCOPE (Shooter’s Committee On Political Education) fund raising table who told me that when people ask him why he always carries two guns, he replies, “because I got two hands and two eyes.”
Probably the most interesting thing I’ve seen (two things sold separately to be precise) are a belt buckle and derringer combination. To look at somebody wearing one, it just looks like a belt buckle with a derringer design on it. You wouldn’t suspect that the gun is real and can be detached with the press of a button! Of course, here in NY, you darn well better wear a long, untucked t-shirt or it’s a straight line to jail, do not pass go. (Concealed means concealed, no ifs ands or buts.)
Definitely more gun show shows would be great.
One of these weeks, I’m going to have to borrow a cell phone with extra minutes available so I can call into the show.