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Conflicting reactions to recent mass shootings
Josh Cascio reports
TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Gun Show is taking place this weekend at the Florida State Fairgrounds.
"It is a one-stop-shop for everything from guns, ammo, holster anything you can think of gun-related," said Shoot Straight general manager Robert Geisler.
In other words, it is a gun-lovers paradise or a problematic promoter of gun culture, depending on where you stand.
According to gunviolencearchive.org, there have been 233 mass shootings this year, meaning four or more victims. That includes Buffalo, the Uvalde school shooting and the latest event in Tulsa.
Still, Fox 13 has learned are no plans to either move or cancel Tampa's big gun show in the wake of those events.
"In the wake of the shootings, it’s important that people exercise their Second Amendment," Geisler said.
The wave of shootings is raising new calls for gun-control measures including potential bans on assault-style weapons, often the type used in these mass shootings.
"We need to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and if we can't ban assault weapons, then we should raise the age to purchase them from 18 to 21," President Biden said.
"It is a fun sporting rifle. People use them for hunting. I use them for hunting. A lot of my friends use them for hunting. A lot of people use them for home protection," Geisler said.
They're sure to be a popular item at this weekend's show. Geisler doesn't believe bans are the answer.
"I just think protecting the kids in schools should be the number one thing, it’s not the guns. It is the people using them," he said.
LINK: For more information on the gun show, visit https://www.floridagunshows.com/events/tampa-gun-show/.