Via Firearm Blog:
Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show Cancelled. Changes Coming to SHOT Show.
The Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, a very important industry exhibition opened to the general public, has been cancelled. Earlier this month the exhibition organizer Reed Exhibitions decided to ban any modern sporting (ie. semi-automatic) rifles from being on put on display. Over 100 exhibitors, including many of the largest exhibitors, pulled out of the show. Today Reed canceled the show blaming the cancellation on the companies who pulled out, ignoring the fact that companies attend the show to exhibit firearms and accessories that consumers demand, and consumers demand semi-automatic rifles. Apparently semi-automatic rifles are not family friendly, but pistols and bolt-action rifles are.
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This cancellation is really going to hurt the smaller companies who spend a lot of money putting together booths for exhibitions like this. No doubt to the dismay of East Coast gun nuts, this will likely be the end of the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show as we know it. If the show happens next year, I don’t think there will be any guns on display.
Reed Exhibitions are the company contracted by the NSSF to manage SHOT Show. This NSSF is very unhappy about Reed’s recent actions. The NSSF said in a press release …
We have just learned that Reed Exhibitions has decided to postpone the 2013 Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show.
In the days following Reed Exhibitions’ announcement that modern sporting rifles would be prohibited from the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, the leadership of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has been in intense, frank discussions with Reed Exhibitions management in an effort to reverse this unacceptable decision. These discussions reached an impasse.
NSSF 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 (though Reed manages the SHOT Show, all SHOT Show decisions, policies and actions are made at NSSF’s direction).
Because of Reed’s recent actions, NSSF is considering all options regarding the management of future SHOT Shows.
I can’t see the NSSF ever working with Reed again.