The ban on modern semi-automatic rifles at the Eastern Sports & Outdoors Show doesn’t just apply to the display and sale of the actual firearms and related accessories. According to the early report from Firearms Industry Consulting Group, the new rule also says that vendors may not feature “brochures or documentation that mention or picture any ‘black rifle’ or high capacity magazine.”
This means that the Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs cannot sell tickets to their raffle for a Bushmaster XM-15E2S A3. They have posted the order form online for anyone who wants to mail in a form with payment. So, if you’re interested in a chance of winning a rifle for $10 (or 6 chances for $50) with a only 500 tickets sold, take a look.
UPDATE: PFSC provides confirmation that even their raffle ticket is banned at the ESOS under the current rules:
PFSC had planned to sell raffle tickets for a chance to win the hottest-selling firearm on the market today. It comes fully-accessorized! Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be able to mention, display or provide a picture of it at the show.
They also include in the announcement that they will no longer have an active presence at the show because of the ban on modern semi-automatic rifles.
Does the “black rifle” ban cover ones like Ruger’s “all-weather” rifles? You know, the black synthetic and stainless?
Sounds to me like there’s an opportunity for someone to set up a competing gun show that actually, you know, likes guns….
How long did it take the ES&OS to paint those targets on their shoes…?
Wow, just when you think the stupidity can’t get any worse… I mean are they TRYING to kill their show?
Just noticed Progressive and Comcast are sponsors of the show…might that have something to do with the decision? Apologies to anyone who caught that before me. All it took was a glance at the show’s website, so I’m sure I’m not the first to see that.
Sebastian has speculated that Comcast is the supposed vendor that threatened to cause problems with the media, at least according to what was reported by NSSF. But, so far, I’m not aware of anyone who actually knows or, more importantly, has said in any remotely public forum.
That would make sense, except Reed could have just as easily returned Comcast’s money and banned it from the show. They usually reserve that right.
Sure, that would have caused short term pain, but Reed killed the show to satisfy a sponsor, and now there may never be another show. Seems shortsighted and easily avoided.
Yeah its not a bad theory. But does that make sense? I guess if they don’t understand gun owners. Why would they do exactly what Comcast wanted?
I’ll guess plain old incompetence. If Reed’s is in the business of running conventions of all types, there are probably plenty of bean counters who are so focused on counting beans that the side effects are invisible. Some sponsor said something, they counted a few quick beans, saw a 5% attendee drop vs a 20% sponsor drop, easy comparison, go.
I have worked at way too many companies and seen way too much similar short-sighted blindness to think any other reason is necessary. Heads may roll, but bean counters take a while to even realize something has happened that requires removal of the blinders, let alone look around and see the ruckus, there’s a real tendency to hope the ruckus will go away, and more time involved in realizing it won’t go away, and ….
According to their first statement, Reed only thought that the decision would impact less than half a dozen exhibitors. I don’t think that they realized how many who don’t show any of these firearms would also back out or that there would be a true public backlash against them.
I will say this, if I was looking for an exhibition company right now, I wouldn’t hire Reed. It wouldn’t matter if I was pro-gun or not, I would simply look at the fact that the willfully just drove off 1/4 of their sponsors and around edging up 10% of their exhibitors less than a month before their own show. If only 70% of the people who have “liked” the boycott Facebook page were true planned attendees (we were), then they also blew nearly $85k in entry fees so far. It’s insane to choose to take that kind of economic punishment.
In fact, I have noticed that Reed is getting negative media in the exhibition world news over the backlash to this decision. Because they sought this controversy out, this could easily end up costing them other business that has nothing to do with the specific issue of their Second Amendment support.
Exactly. While gun control is the current hottest button of the progressives, let’s say you wanted to put on any type of trade show involving fossil fuels (fracking, burning them for electrical generation, whatever); once the word finishes getting out, Reed will simply not be on your list of vendors to run the show, having shown themselves to be political pushovers.
What happens if an attendee wears a Ranger Up tshirt with an AR-15 on it? Will security throw them out once they take off their fleece jacket and show their bare arms (and tshirt)?
Someone really should inform the managment of the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show that there are far easier ways to simply close down a business than ritual suicide in public.
Isn’t this the same Show that Calbelas pulled out of from sponsoring and attending?
Read the related posts. Yes, it is the same show. Dozens of businesses have pulled out.
Just some Background on Progressive Insurance, since I live about 10 miles from the World Headquarters. The guy who runs it is Peter B. Davis. He’s so tight with George Soros, that there’s speculation that he will be George’s “Heir Apparent” for all the Uber-Liberal Neo-Communism that Soros is pushing. So don’t be surprised if there’s some “Behind the Scenes” Arm Twisting going on. Oh, and didn’t Comcast BUY NBC and all it’s Networks? And yet, Corporate seems to allow the same old Crap to be Spewed from 30 Rock.
Strange Bedfellows, indeed.
Its amazing- even my local paper is covering this. They have a list of boycotters up here.
I’ve been updating the list of negative headlines about the show here. In fact, at this point, I can’t find anything positive about the show in any newspaper in the region. They seriously underestimated what a firestorm this would cause and just how much media attention would be paid to vendors pulling out.
Hmmm; that may be because there’s real money involved, but even better for the local media, there are people to talk to.
But, wow, looking at the list as of now, it’s way beyond that. You know your area better than I, but this looks BIG.
TTAG is reporting that Smith & Wesson has pulled out of the show too.
Already reported. There are many more to add today since the negotiations to convince Reed to change their mind on the ban reportedly ended badly late yesterday.