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As I said, I do NOT agree with the tactics used here to force this upon the gun show owner. I am very much for private sales, and despise the ATF.

As for the Saxet show, it was quite obvious what was going on there. As far as Saxet not being responsible for the conduct of others in there, would you say the same thing if they were openly selling cocaine from the tables every show? You really think a bar owner that allowed folks to sell/use drugs openly in his bar would stay out of trouble by saying "hey, I just let them in here and sell them booze!"

Judging from the involvement of ICE, I would say there probably have been sting operations going on there for a while due to the illegals in there (if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it's a duck...). I've been going to gun shows since I was a kid, and I was really surprised at how bad this one was. The promoter allowing this stuff to continue for so long was simply foolish and looks bad upon the rest of us. Many times I had fellows there tell me their guns were higher priced than the FFLs because they were "better". When I asked how that could be true, they'd wink and tell me that it was because I didn't have to pass a background check.

Sorry if I'm not buying the "nothing bad ever goes on" line of thought, and I truly would like to see the Austin gun shows continue unfettered, but there was a bunch of shady dealing (or the appearance thereof) that was simply begging for trouble. Personally, if I were running the show myself, I'd only allow FFLs to have tables to sell guns (none needed for the junk/beef jerky vendors of course) simply from the fact that there are folks that seem to always be "looking to sell a few guns from their collections" every show, which leads to the ATF poking around more to bust them for operating as a dealer without a license (I don't know about now, but back in the day they just gave you an ultimatum to get an FFL, or they'd make your life miserable). Note that this wouldn't stop folks walking around and selling/buying to each other, it would just cut down on the shadier folks at the shows.

First, I do disagree wholeheartedly with the tactics being used here. I also have been to the Saxet shows, and was absolutely appalled at the number of illegal aliens in there buying guns. I saw guys at tables hollering "no papers" in Spanish to groups of them. Saxet turned a really blind eye to all this going on, and was asking for this kind of treatment. It sucks that the guy who took over for Saxet seems to be the one getting bit for things that happened before he was there.