NewsMarch 5, 2018
Vendors discuss purchasing requirements, regulations at annual Gun and Knife Show
Cape Girardeau�s annual Gun and Knife Show held this weekend at the Show Me Center was a chance to buy, sell or trade firearms and knives of all varieties within the community � pending the approval of a background check for firearms. If you�re thinking about visiting the next show in your area, first do some research about your state�s requirements, even for out-of-state purchases...
Cape Girardeau�s annual Gun and Knife Show held this weekend at the Show Me Center was a chance to buy, sell or trade firearms and knives of all varieties within the community � pending the approval of a background check for firearms. If you�re thinking about visiting the next show in your area, first do some research about your state�s requirements, even for out-of-state purchases.
According to Missouri law, licensed vendors participating and selling firearms are required to process a background check at these types of events. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System is used to validate a potential buyer�s personal information, and in some instances, is returned to the vendor within minutes for approval.
Among the more than 450 tables from 135 vendors selling everything from leather goods, firearms and knives, the event attracts nearly 7,000 visitors each year, show promoter Jody Geiser said, who also partners with vendor JD King.
King was at the show Saturday and explained that each vendor, including himself, possesses his or her own unique �vendor ID� that�s sent along with the potential buyer�s information to the FBI in order to process a check. It can be an instant reply, and in Missouri, if the sale is �OK�d,� that sale can be made the same day. King explained that in states such as Illinois, however, the sale must be processed the following business day.
King added that, for example, if an individual is from Illinois, he or she is unable to purchase a pistol at the Gun and Knife Show, but can purchase long guns.
�When [the results from the background check] tell me �Do not sell the gun,� it�s over,� King said. �You�d be surprised when someone still tries to get [the gun].�
King further explained that for any purchase involving a firearm dated before 1898, it�s considered �antique,� and no background check is required.
Mike Williams, a vendor for 34 years from Villa Ridge, Missouri, said he sells only ammunition at events. In response to the recent decisions of some corporations to limit ammunition sales to anyone younger than 21, he was unsure it �makes a lot of difference,� comparing it to the age requirement of 18 to vote and to join the military.
Geiser said there is no knife regulation in Missouri, and as for laws concerning firearms, he added there are already laws in place, and �why aren�t we enforcing the laws we already got?�
Private individuals, according to Geiser, are not required by law to process background checks when that person chooses to transfer a long gun purchase to another individual � but the same isn�t true for pistols being transferred.
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�A private individual can set up and sell their own stuff,� Geiser said.
As for Gun and Knife Show security measures, Geiser said all guns are zip-tied at all times during the event.
�As soon as you walk in with a gun, it�s checked at the entrance,� Geiser said. �Under Missouri State Law, you can�t carry because of the 7,000 occupancy [of the Show Me Center].�
Saturday�s vendors included Jim Halstead, who was representing Marine Corp League Detachment No. 1081. They were selling tickets to raffle off a Remington .270 caliber-hunting rifle to help finance their next event. To attract the crowd, though, Halstead presented a 30-caliber machine gun dated 1944.
�People look at the gun, then we can sell tickets,� Halstead said.
Halstead has been attending the Gun and Knife Show since 2002. He�s involved with the local color guard and honor guard as well as participating in parades. He also assists when the Military Honor Society is present at funerals.
Reid and Cindy McMinn of East Prairie, Missouri, said they have attended the event since the early 1980s, and they �haven�t missed it yet.�
�It�s tradition,� Reid McMinn said. �It�s a fun thing. It�s not just guns. I like seeing what�s new.�
Vendor Tom Crosnoe has attended the Gun and Knife Show for 15 years, and said he was just in Louisville, Kentucky, last weekend for a show.
�It�s all traveling,� Crosnoe said.
jhartwig@semissourian.com
(573) 388-3632
Pertinent address:
1333 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.
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