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Thousands peruse merchandise at Suncoast Gun Show
By JAY CRIDLIN TAMPA -- The national terror alert level is back down to yellow, but at Saturday's Suncoast Gun Show, the shade of the day was camouflage green. Dealers at the show at the Florida State Fairgrounds said Iraq wasn't a concern to their gun-buying public. "They're not talking about the war, the bombing, any of that stuff," said John Porter, a firearms dealer from Anne's Attic antique store in Tampa. "This is a group of people that just love guns." Thousands attended the event, held just a week after the Pinellas Gun Show in Pinellas Park. But most were just there for the knives and handguns, not gas masks and chemical protection suits. "No one's worried about that," said Curtis Ferrell, a firearms dealer from Indian River Collectibles in Port Orange. "What they're protecting themselves against is getting robbed in the middle of the night." This didn't stop some dealers from offering water purifying supplies, military food rations and emergency medical kits. Some even offered duct tape for $9 a roll. "When they jacked the warning up from a yellow to an orange a couple of weeks ago, there were a few people that came out to the shows that were looking to buy," said Robert Gateley, owner of Drop Zone Military Surplus & Survival. "But it's not the big rush that it was after 9/11. People have kind of gotten a little bit used to it." Randy Los of Melbourne has had to close his supply business since Sept. 11, 2001, and was at the show trying to sell off the remainder of his inventory. "Last week, I sold a ton of these -- I sold 22, which is a lot for one particular show," he said, holding up a surplus Israeli gas mask priced at $40. Next to the masks was a sign stating: "It is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it." Gateley said people came up to ask him what he thought they should do in the event of an emergency. He said he has been recommending MREs -- military "meals, ready to eat" -- and other supplies for a disaster aftermath. "Given the nature of the way things are today, they're probably good items to have around. Am I saying that you need to carry it with you 24/7? No. Pay attention to what the Office of Homeland Security is indicating, and just pay attention to your environment."
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