I wrote this as a comment on thehighroad.org but figured it should have its own post. Someone started a thread about NDs at gun shows (smells like an anti to me, akin to the standard MSM interview wherein the conservative guest is asked, "What's the dumbest thing you've ever done?") Here's my response:
I used to exhibit at gun shows. I always felt as safe at a gun show as anywhere else. Much safer than some places I've been. NDs at shows were always something you heard about, but never witnessed, kind of like Sasquatch and space aliens.
If you ever find yourself afraid for your life, running into a gun show would be a good choice if available.
If you're worried about safety, don't drive to a gun show though-- you're vastly more likely to be injured or killed during the drive to and from the gun show than while you're there. I suspect this would be true even if 3/4 of the people at the gun show were drunk and all the people on the roads that day were sober.
On that note; I go to my kid's school football games (you know where this is going, right?) and at each and every game there is an ambulance, complete with paramedic crew, on location all during the game.
Ever seen an ambulance and crew on standby at a gun show? How about at a shooting match, where people are, you know, actually loading and firing guns?
Me neither.
Do NDs happen? Yes. Very, very rarely. Usually, they result in no injuries or serious property damage. Do people get killed falling down in their own homes? Yes, and it is a more common occurrence.
Carry on.
When I was taking my NRA instructor courses last fall, a couple of the teachers gave several accounts of antis going to gun shows or gun classes and leaving loaded cartridges in places they don't belong, trying to create an incident. I have no doubt that this can happen-- it could be seen as a variation on Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy, or whatever you call it when someone starts a building on fire and then hangs around to watch the spectacle. It also demonstrates that other people's safety is often the last thing on the mind of the anti gun bigot.