Wisconsin Gun Club Seeks To Host Annual Gun Show At A Local Elementary School

[DonViejo]

Source: ThinkProgress

A small Wisconsin town school board will vote Monday night on whether or not to grant the Indianhead Rifle and Pistol Club access to the local elementary school this April for its annual gun show. Spooner Elementary School has hosted the show without much objection for the last two decades. But less than a month after the mass shooting at Newtown elementary school that claimed the lives of 20 first graders and 7 others, some community members are raising objections to the idea of welcoming hundreds of guns and gun owners into a public elementary school.

Tim Brabec, a member of the club and organizer of their annual gun show, told ThinkProgress that the decision to use the elementary school is one of convenience. “Who doesn’t have sympathy with the families in [Connecticut]?” said Brabec when asked about whether the visual of a gun show at an elementary school was appropriate so soon after the deadly shooting in Newtown. “But we don’t associate one with the other. We don’t go there for the shock value.” Shock was but one reaction to the news that the town was considering granting the show permission to use the school. “I do not agree with it at all,” said one commenter online. “I was shocked to hear about it last year, and can’t believe they would even consider it this year after the shooting in CT.”

Also a point of contention is that the Indianhead Rifle and Pistol Club stands to make a handsome profit off of the sale of guns at this event by exploiting the gun show loophole that has become one focal point of the renewed debate over gun control. “Gun Shows are a major opportunity for people who would fail the background check to obtain their guns,” argued another commenter. “Do we really think a school has any business (even thought it is a source of income for them) offering the public buildings for this possible loophole?”

State law forbids people from bringing guns within 1000 feet of public schools, but it does make exceptions for guns shows by licensed gun manufacturers and dealers. Brabec said that he expects a close vote at tonight’s meeting, with three board members opposed to the show, three who support it and one undecided in his estimation.

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Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/14/1443141/wisconsin-gun-club-seeks-to-host-annual-gun-show-at-a-local-elementary-school/

[pipoman]

1. They really do hurt their position with such tripe..

Also a point of contention is that the Indianhead Rifle and Pistol Club stands to make a handsome profit off of the sale of guns at this event by exploiting the gun show loophole that has become one focal point of the renewed debate over gun control.

Complete fabrication..

A school probably isn't the most desirable location for a gun show in the wake of Sandy Hook, that case stand on it's own...no need to make stuff up..

[hlthe2b]

2. Yet more evidence that the extremists among the "gunners" just don't give a shit...

about anyone or anything beyond their beloved guns.

[heaven05]

3. wtf?

shouldn't even come to a vote. flat out no. this 'gun club' just doesn't care about our recent tragedy. this is sick.

[madrchsod]

4. "well i never....talk about bad taste!"

boy oh boy are these guy totally clueless.....

[Javaman]

5. never mind, very poor analogy on my part. nt

[reteachinwi]

6. Dystopia

This is commonplace.
http://chippewa.com/news/local/in-wisconsin-gun-show-at-school-no-big-deal/article_46f139e8-5b70-11e2-887d-001a4bcf887a.html

[PatrynXX]

10. that doesn't surprise me

this is pure hunting territory

I'm not knee jerking over hunting territory. This would be like gawking at kids running large tractors out on the farm. If we start causing a stir about something like this then we'd be a bit extreme. I don't think we wanna be causing this sort of panic ridden ruccus.

[reteachinwi]

11. We have a cabin north of there

and it is the culture for many. Schools will close during deer season. Kinda tone deaf though.

[rickford66]

7. identify the attendees

Take photos of all those exiting with weapon purchases.

[onehandle]

13. Yep. nt

[BVictor1]

8. Could these people be more ignorant if they tried?

Rhetorically speaking of course.

[PatrynXX]

9. Thats getting close to Indian territory though

getting a bit north there. used to go thru spooner on the way to Hayward.. and the cabin there I think was on Indian land.. Built in 1910 if I remember right. Haven't been there since 1999 because the actual owner, dad was friends with her son for decades. did not want a dog in the cabin and that was the 2nd time we'd been there with the beagle So wasn't entirely a vacation then. Like oh sure can have the local dogs come play until well it wasn't there anymore. (great beautiful grey and white dog. Very nice but to actually have on in the cabin was an issue. ie , she said all dogs belong outside. Went there from 1983 or so to 1999 The son didn't have a problem with the dog but she did. She owned 2 cabins next to each other. One was eventually made into a cabin that might work in the winter. But for a good chunk when we were there it was a Summer only cabin.

Thats a hunter area once your getting up near Spooner. I'm not sure if I'd be totally surprised about this. Timing bad. Thoughtless? as long as the kids aren't there..

[samsingh]

12. they continue to show anti-social tendencies

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

14. It's different up there...

Nowhere is the concept of "Two America's" more evident that when it comes to firearms. Up North (as we call it in Milwaukee) people grow up around guns the same way other people grow up around small household appliances. There just isn't the same trepidation among the residents in rural areas as their is among urbanites.

A gun show at the local school? It makes sense if you consider that there isn't a "convention center" or even a medium-sized hotel anywhere within a hundred miles. As a practical matter, the local school is simply the most convenient place to hold any large public gathering, whether it's a gun show or a cow-tipping competition. Among the locals, mass shootings are something that happens elsewhere (even though it can -- and has -- occurred Up North, as well).

I don't care for gun shows under any circumstances, at any venue, and I would like to see them become nothing more than expositions with nothing AT ALL for sale to the public. But holding the event on the weekend is not a terribly big deal. I know it sounds wrong, but not to the people in Spooner, WI.

[crim son]

15. The article indicates it is in fact a problem

for some of the people there. Hence the debate.

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

16. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn't be...

There's a heightened awareness of the issue, and because the internet has picked up the story, there's probably a certain degree of self-awareness. Anywhere else (like here in my Milwaukee suburb) the idea of a gun show at a school would be horrifying. But up there, the Board seems evenly divided on the subject -- and I can pretty much gaurantee you that the three who are opposed are probably thinking of the public perception.

I say again, I'm no fan of gun shows. I've been to a few and frankly, the people who attend them creep me out a little.

[Tx4obama]

17. Anyone hear what the result of the vote was?

[Tx4obama]

18. Here's an UPDATE

-snip-
UPDATE

On Monday night, the Spooner school board delayed their vote on whether or not to block the club from using the town’s elementary school for their annual gun show. According to the local NBC affiliate, board members questioned the show’s organizers on whether everyone in attendance at the show would be required to hold valid licenses, and if they could move the show to a different venue. Opponents of the plan told the board that it is not the show itself they have a problem with, just the location.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/01/14/1443141/wisconsin-gun-club-seeks-to-host-annual-gun-show-at-a-local-elementary-school/

[kelliekat44]

19. What nasty slap in the face to the parents of murdered children in Sandy Hook...and elsewhere! nt

[Doctor_J]

20. I have to hand one thing to the RWNJ's

they will go to ANY length to get their base's motors running.Every day they're staging a new gun rally, or floating impeachment, or threatening secession, or issuing warnings about internment camps. It's too bad the Dems don't go to great lengths to engage leftists.