U.S. gun enthusiasts pack shows to buy assault weapons

ALLENTOWN, PENN./KANSAS CITY—U.S. gun enthusiasts thronged to shows around the country on Saturday to buy assault weapons they fear will soon be outlawed after a massacre of schoolchildren in Connecticut prompted calls for tighter controls on firearms.

At gun shows in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Texas there were long lines to get in the door, crowds around the dealer booths, a rush to buy assault weapons even at higher prices and some dealers selling out.

The busiest table at the R.K. Gun & Knife show at an exposition centre near the Kansas City, Mo. airport was offering assault weapons near the entrance.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s pro-gun stance causing concern

The gun lobby that Stephen Harper nurtured keeps coming back to bite.

Two weeks ago, the prime minister was forced to overrule a scheme hatched up by his Conservative government’s hand-picked firearms advisory committee that would have legalized a host of banned assault rifles and handguns.

Now, thanks in part to that same committee, the federal government has quietly axed any attempt to regulate gun shows.

Toews an ill-timed Johnny-on-the-spot justifying imposition of U.S.-style gun-show anarchy

What a perfect way to throw a little red meat to your gun-nut money machine!

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's so-called Conservatives -- of whom it cannot be said too many times are radicals bent on remaking Canada in the image of the worst aspects of the United States -- managed to hit on a moment of worldwide horror at the slaughter of 20 small children and six grownups in the United States to further weaken our country's gun laws, which are already crumbling thanks to this government's avarice and cynicism, by allowing more chaos to reign at Canadian "gun shows."

Gun Show Regulations In Canada: Conservatives Repeal Rules Aimed At Sponsors

OTTAWA - Public Safety Minister Vic Toews has put a bullet in long-deferred regulations that would have tightened sponsorship rules for gun shows.

Toews says the Conservative government will repeal the 1998 regulations, which were set to come into force this November after being deferred on 10 separate occasions by Liberal and Conservative ministers.