By the afternoon of Day 3 of the 2018 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas, one thing above all others is clear. Media attempts to frame this year’s 40th anniversary event as the gun industry gathering near the scene of the Las Vegas mass shooting have failed.
Throughout the Sands Expo Center’s multi-level SHOT Show exhibition — described by Fox News in a headline as “the greatest gun show on Earth” — the mood is upbeat, business seems to be healthy (it is a trade show, after all), and the only thing worn out are the feet of the tens of thousands of industry attendees. So far, there is no sign that they have worn out their welcome.
Perhaps one reason for the negative press going into this year’s event was the fact that the mainstream media isn’t often admitted. About 2,500 professional journalists are here, but they are outdoor writers, contract or freelance gun writers, editors and staff of firearms publications, videographers and bloggers.
As for attempts to tie this event to the tragedy of last Oct. 1, perhaps writer Frank Miniter put it best in an opinion piece published by Fox News.