Gun show numbers down, and poor turnout at BOF process meeting

I spent the weekend working the McKinley Mountain Men table at the gun show held at Raven Hall, but, for a while, we weren’t sure we’d even have a table. Due to a miscommunication between the Mat Valley Sportsman’s group, who sponsored the show, and the blackpowder group, no reservation of tables for the McKinley Mountain Men was made.

I arrived at 6 pm to help set up our normal three tables. I met with the officers of the blackpowder group and one other man who had also offered to help set up. I was told that we didn’t have any tables reserved and, if we were willing to wait a couple of hours, maybe a table might become available. Needless to say, we were not happy!

Sometime after 8 pm, the guy organizing the show told us we could have one table and he showed us where it was located. Instead of our usual three tables, two for display of muzzleloading related items and one for club member sale items, we had the one table, allowing four feet for display and four feet for member sales. With the much-reduced space we had available, setting up took five minutes!

As the weekend progressed, I thought public attendance was considerably lower than previous shows and I didn’t see a lot of buying and selling going on. I commented on that to the other guys working at the table and one of the speculative comments I heard back was that nobody had extra money to spend because of the economy. I asked a few other vendors how the show was going for them, and nobody said things were going great!

I’m not saying that folks weren’t buying and selling stuff, but my observed volume of sales just seemed to be less than previous shows I have attended. I had brought a couple of items to try and sell. One was a pair of “Mickey Mouse” boots in good condition that no longer fit me because of surgeries. The second was a pistol I could no longer properly operate due to weakened hand strength. A few people looked at the handgun, but nobody even asked about the boots.

That surprised me because I figured the boots would sell for sure, given the price I had placed on them. Go figure! I didn’t sell a single item at the show.

A couple of days after the show was over, I spoke to a man who participated in the show’s operations. I asked him what his thoughts were on the show. He commented that, in past years, this gun show typically drew around 1400 people on Saturday and another 1000 people on Sunday. He said this year’s show was lucky to draw 1400 people for the entire weekend! My observations were correct.

I received an email the other day from the National Rifle Association (NRA) alerting me to the fact that on Wednesday, February 14th, HYPERLINK "https://legiscan.com/AK/bill/SB229/2023" \t "_blank"Senate Bill 229, a Red Flag bill “relating to gun violence protective orders” was introduced in the Alaska State Senate.

The email stated that “HYPERLINK "https://www.akleg.gov/PDF/33/Bills/SB0229A.PDF" \t "_blank"SB 229 would implement “Red Flag” laws in Alaska that permit the government to seize firearms based on weak and nebulous standards of evidence. If passed, this bill would implement ex-parte hearings that would suspend an individual's Second Amendment rights without due process. In addition to violating due process, this bill would also require individuals to petition the court for the return of their property once the order has been vacated.”

The bill is sponsored by Loki Tobin, a Democrat from Anchorage and co-sponsored by Elvi Gray-Jackson, also a Democrat from Anchorage and known for her “progressive” political views.

If you have concerns about this type of unconstitutional legislation, the NRA urges you to contact your legislators and advise them of your views on this legislation. The bill has been referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee.

Taking yet another turn, the Mat-Su Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission held an informational/educational public meeting this past Monday evening to explain how the Alaska Board of Fish (BOF) operates and how folks can become involved in influencing how fisheries regulations are made.

Three commission members, two of whom were former BOF members, and the Director of Sport Fish Division, who also is a former BOF member, were present along with our Mat-Su Borough liaison, who presented an excellent PowerPoint slide show explaining the board process. We had a total of four members of the public attend. Sad!