Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show Postponed After Mass Boycott
After a massive boycott by dozens of exhibitors and sponsors, including the NRA and Cabela’s, British-owned Reed Exhibitions has “postponed” 2013 Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show (ESOS). The Show, one of the largest Outdoor Expos on the East Coast, was originally slated to open February 2, 2013 at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The reason for the mass boycott was Reed’s decision to ban the display of AR-platform and similar semi-automatic, magazine-fed rifle systems at ESOS. The announced ban was confusing to many exhibitors because Reed also runs the SHOT Show (for the NSSF) and there was no such ban on ARs in Las Vegas last week. In fact, at SHOT Show, you couldn’t turn your head in the Sands Expo Center without seeing ARs and AR-related hardware on display.
The NSSF stated that it: “is in no way affiliated with, nor does it participate in or exhibit at this show in any way. Reed Exhibitions does, however, manage the NSSF-owned SHOT Show.” Because of Reed’s actions, “NSSF is considering all options regarding the management of future SHOT Shows.”
The NRA declared: “Due to Reed Exhibitions’ refusal to reconsider their decision to ban Modern Sporting Rifles from the February 2-10 Eastern Sports Show in Harrisburg, PA, the National Rifle Association has decided to withdraw from the show. The NRA’s future participation in the Eastern Sports & Outdoor Show will be determined by Reed Exhibitions’ actions in response to the concerns raised by the NRA, the outdoor industry, and America’s law-abiding gun owners.”
Read Related Story from The Patriot-News (PennLive.com).
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Tags: Boycott, Eastern Sports Outdoor Show, ESOS, Harrisburg, NRA, Reed Exhibitions, SHOT Show
The gunindustry turning on itself. What’s next.
Why would you ban ARs from a gun show?
Great news!! Let them change there policy’s or move alone. Very happy to see this. Also Midway that cut NY off is back on board after a rash of complaints there. Lead, follow or get out of the way.
Reeds is a multi-national corporation that manages Expos for all kinds of businesses.
They aren’t in the “gun industry”, they simply manage the show; facilities, logistics etc.
NSSF will surely use a different one moving forward.
Reeds is British owned, they don’t believe us yanks should have firearms.
This is a start,we need to fight back at anyone that does not support the 2ND Amendment as written.These people can go back to England and stay there,with their gun laws.Lets see how many gun shows they have in England.
USA 2 ENGLAND 0
Hopefully they will take piers morgan with them!
Remeber without our guns we would be british
Is it significant that the company is ‘British owned’? Probably not but it allows some silly xenophobia to creep in. I suspect that the individuals that decide the policy for the show are Americans; Reed Exhibitions will simply be a global business that has no real interest in what individual show managers do as long as it makes a profit.
It reminds me of when President Obama used to delight in calling BP ‘BRITISH Petroleum’ when there was the oil spill in Florida.
As far as us Brits are concerned; let me give you my view. Britain has never been a gun owning society. Our history is different and we don’t have the revolutionary or frontier ethos. Guns and shooting play a very small part in our society – probably no more than stamp collecting. Therefore most people don’t understand the American relationship with guns and don’t really have an opinion.