National Rifle Association and U.S. veteran hats floated around the Prince William County Fairgrounds during the Virginia Gun Collectors Association Gun Show, on the same weekend as the March for Our Lives in Washington D.C.
The V.G.C.A is a non-profit organization that serves approximately 350 members with interests ranging from muskets to machine guns. The organization promotes gun collecting as a hobby and the education of guns and gun safety. The organization sponsors monthly presentations, two educational gun shows per year, and youth shooting programs.
Men, women and children were engulfed in a sea of Army green and the smell of dust upon walking through the doors of the commercial exhibits building. A small Vietnam-era Jeep outfitted with a machine gun was parked just inside the doors. The building was brought alive by vendors from organizations like the Remington Society and the Manassas Battlefield Trust. Inside, several vendors expressed that they did not trust the news media, and photos and videos were not allowed. A gun once used at Gettysburg sits in a display case not far from German military World War I helmets and medals Rows of handguns and AR-15s are for sale next to antique weaponry and bags of bullets going for $20.
“You should try to get every perspective, and I bet you didn’t see that downtown yesterday,” NRA member and Confederate historian, dressed in full Confederate uniform, Paul Goss said.
After being granted a charter by the state of New York, Union veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate formed the NRA in 1871, with a mission to “promote and encourage shooting on a scientific basis,” according to Church.
According to their website, in the early 1900s, the NRA took interest in promoting shooting sports among youth, and established rifle clubs at all major colleges and universities in the nation. Today, more than 1 million kids participate in NRA shooting events with groups and programs including 4-H, the Boy Scouts of America, the American Legion and others. The NRA says it is committed to training, education and marksmanship, especially when it comes to youth, hunting and law enforcement.
“A lot of people are scared to death of guns,” vendor Mike Aslop said. “Once you take them out and teach them to shoot, they’re amazed.”
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Outside of the commercial exhibits building stood a white trailer with a kitchen stove serving cheap southern comfort food. Hotdogs and hamburgers cost $3 each, while fresh lemonade and ice tea cost $2. Men sat outside, enjoying the crisp spring weather, with cigars and cigarettes hanging from their mouths and rifles in their hands. Beyond the gates sat a young firearm enthusiast campaigning for donations, supporting a youth shooting camp.
Inside, rows upon rows of cases lined with weapons were packed into neat aisles, accompanying streams of firearm enthusiasts. A grizzled man with a Stonewall Jackson-esque face stood over a case of historic weapons, encouraging education.
“I have a model 1853 infield rifle, single shot,” Goss said. “It’s an assault weapon because you can attach a bayonet to it. That is the definition of assault weapon.”
Goss and his young partner Christy Forman, two of the vendors at the event, sat behind a table and talked with guests about Confederate and Civil War history. They came prepared with living history photographs, battleground brochures and business cards.
“If they put more historians on the news, there would be a more rational discussion,” Forman said.
Unsurprisingly, event organizer and published author Rick Nahas seemed to have a strong distrust in the media. His four books all share the subject: guns.
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“Guns just get attention because it’s, I don’t know, glamorous,” Nahas said. “It’s an easy way to kill people. It gives you distance, separation. You can’t do that with a knife. You can’t do that with your fist.”
In February, President Trump stated that he is open to improving the background check system used to screen those attempting to purchase a gun. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, one percent of federally licensed firearms dealers are responsible for selling almost 60 percent of guns found at crime scenes and traced to dealers. On the day of the gun show, Virginia State Troopers arrested a 24-year-old man who falsified and failed an NCIS (National Instant Background Check System) check.
“He broke the law three times. He’s in jail now,” Nahas said.
Nahas spoke slowly and deliberately underneath his bushy white mustache. He talked extensively about the cause of gun violence, which he believes is the American culture. Connection was evident at the gun show. People made eye contact and spoke real words with each other, and the lack of technology was a startling change from the fast-paced, connected world of Washington D.C.
“Humans aren’t talking to one another anymore,” Nahas said. “Look at these guys, you see anybody on a cell phone in here? Right now.”
No matter the side, Republican or Democrat, pro-gun or anti-gun, liberal or conservative, many people believe their opposition to be spouting “dumb BS.”
“There’s not a debate really,” Aslop said. “If both sides could sit down and talk, that would be great.”