Two weeks after the closing of the New York State Fair, the fairgrounds will once again be alive with vendors and consumers. The items that will be bought and sold, however, will be drastically different than anything you could find at the fair.

For the second time in 2015, the Syracuse Gun Show will roll into town this weekend. Put on by the New York State Arms Commission, the show offers more than 1,000 tables for over 300 vendors. The largest of its kind in the state, the show acts as a venue that brings together gun vendors, consumers and enthusiasts in one setting to celebrate firearm culture.

The Syracuse Gun Show has been held at the fairgrounds since 1954 and since the 1960s, someone in the Ackerman family has managed the show. Today that person is Sandy Ackerman Klinger, who took over management after her parents died ten years ago.

“One of the things I like to promote is the passion and history in these shows,” said Klinger, who expects a very large crowd, selling out the vendor tables weeks ago. “I don’t even like to pick up the phone, because I hate to cancel on vendors.”

Since 1954, the Syracuse Gun Show has blended a mix of modern and historic firearms to provide show goers with a wide range of entertainment. The show is a place for vendors to sell firearms and ammunition, but also presents gun enthusiasts with a chance to view some incredibly historic and very expensive pieces.

Displays will come from both the United States and Canada and exhibit military relics dating from before the Revolutionary War to the present day. At the show, consumers can buy all types of weapons ranging from Colt Revolvers and high-grade double-barreled shotguns to other military items such as bowie knives and powder horns, according to nysfair.org.

Gun shows across the country are at a critical juncture as people throughout the United States debate Second Amendment rights. Just this week, a professor was shot and killed at Delta State University. This is just one in a string of recent tragedies involving gun violence that have brought the debate about who should be able to purchase and own guns to the forefront of news coverage.

“When you read and hear about all these horrible things, everyone is aware that there is a mental issue involved,” said Klinger. She said the people that buy and sell guns at gun shows should not suffer because of these events. “We are the good guys.”

In 2013, gun show operators in New York, including Klinger, agreed to new procedures required by the New York Attorney General’s Office to ensure that criminal and mental health background checks for buyers had been conducted. Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman had two undercover agents attempt to buy firearms at gun shows without the proper background checks. Schneiderman charged 10 vendors at six shows across the state of New York with a Class A misdemeanor and began enforcing stricter rules, according to the Attorney General’s Office.

The shows that Klinger manages have never been part of the problem, but she was happy to oblige the new rules anyway.

“You got to make sure people know the rules,” she said. “We have to jump through so many hoops just to put this show on, but we don’t want any issues.”

Every gun at the fairgrounds this weekend will have been checked on the way in, and every gun that leaves will be checked on the way out. If buyers do not have the appropriate tags on their purchases, they will not be able to keep them.

However, the crowd that Klinger expects should not have a problem following these rules.

“It’s not a bunch of bad guys, it’s everyday people like lawyers, doctors and businessmen,” said Klinger, who does not own a gun herself. “If there were no gun shows, where would these people buy these things legally?”

The show is $6 for adult entry, $5 for seniors and free for kids under 12 with an adult. It opens Saturday at 9 a.m. and remains open until 5 p.m. If you can’t make it on Saturday, the show reopens on Sunday from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.

joepleonar@syr.edu

Published on September 16, 2015 at 11:13 pm

Contact Joe: jpleonar@syr.edu