Yes, we went to the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Cow Palace this weekend. Why? Aren't we supposed to be virulently anti-gun? Shouldn't we hate not just guns but people who like guns? Well, maybe. But we actually thought going was a no-brainer. After all, we live in a city in which watching somebody leading another person in their bondage slave gear is considered normal but a guy in pickup truck with "Vegetarian is an Indian Word For Lazy" isn't and there's a lot more of the later than the former in this country. We like checking out things that we don't normally get to check out and a gun show definitely fits into that category. Let's put it another way, any event that has to go out of it's way to make everyone aware that paraphernalia glorifying Nazism isn't allowed has to be seen to be believed.
Now, we were going to feature a collection of our usual amateur photos but we can't this time around. Why? Because the moment we pulled out a camera to take a picture inside the gun show, two security guard types immediately came out of nowhere to tell us that no pictures would be allowed. And not only that, they would have to ask that any picture we had taken be deleted.
Now, you might say that the ban against photo taking is a little-- what's the word-- ironic considering all the signs proclaiming the importance of following Constitutional amendments. You might also think it slightly ironic that a place full of pictures, posters, bumper stickers, and patches stating that any government interference is bad interference is a little skittish about someone taking pictures.