Veterans Memorial hosted the Columbus Gun Show Saturday and Sunday, the second since the end of a nearly two-decade hiatus. The show’s return is the result of work by the People’s Rights Organization, a gun rights advocacy group based in Columbus.

The PRO was formed in 1989 in response to “the passage of vague and restrictive legislation in Columbus, Ohio and other large cities across the U.S.,” according to the group’s Web site.

“Our biggest enemies are people who know nothing about us,” said Steven Elliott, president of C&E Gun Shows, the company contracted to put on the show. He and his wife have 65 combined years of experience administrating gun shows across the country.

Joe Monastra, a vendor at the Columbus Gun Show, poses with an oversized replica of a shotgun. Photo by Eric Pacella.ERIC PACELLA/THE LANTERNJoe Monastra, a vendor at the Columbus Gun Show, poses with an oversized replica of a shotgun.
“It’s not just a bunch of rednecks with guns,” said Joshua Charles, a vendor from Superior Firepower in Portsmouth, Ohio. “We get a lot of collectors, people who want rare guns, stuff from [World War II], from Yugoslavia, from Afghanistan.”

At the show, there is no waiting period to buy a gun. The vendor “takes the buyers drivers license, calls it in for a background check on the spot, and then registers the gun to the buyer,” Charles said. He noted that any disqualification on the person’s record will result in a void of the sale. Buyers must be 18 to buy long guns and 21 for handguns in Ohio.

“You get the best deals at gun shows,” one buyer said. “You get people selling things all under one roof that no single store would have.” Guns are more affordable at the show because the concentration of competing vendors drives prices down.

Scott O’Rourke can be reached at [email protected].