Well this guy has a different take ("no villians here") on this whole mess. One with which I obviously disagree strongly.
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Austin gun show update: Interviews reveal bigger picture
January 20, 11:39 AM
Howard Nemerov
Austin Gun Rights Examiner
Rumors have been swirling that Austin, Texas gun shows were threatened with closure unless they accepted a local rule limiting gun sales to licensed dealers only. The Texas Gun Show home page contains this announcement:
Your 2nd Ammendment [sic] rights are under attack!
Your Action is Needed NOW!
VENDOR NOTICE-AUSTIN SHOW ONLY:
At the Direction of the Austin Police Department and the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms,
ONLY LICENSED FFL DEALERS
will be allowed to set up and sell firearms
at the N. Austin Show Location.
But before you grab a pitchfork and head over to Austin police headquarters, interviews of the “interested parties” indicate further consideration may be valuable.
Darwin Boedeker is the Texas Gun Shows (TGS) promoter. In a phone interview, he said that last Thursday, January 14, there was a meeting with Austin PD (APD), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the building lessee (HEB) and Andrew Perkel of Austin Market Place, who subleases the building from HEB and supports TGS.
At the meeting, Boedeker said the APD read off a “long list” of nuisance violations to the HEB representative. When Boedeker told everybody that these activities happened while another promoter hosted the gun show at that location–TGS began hosting shows November 2009–nobody else knew this.
Boedeker claimed that ATF and APD “intimidated” HEB into instituting a requirement that only dealers with a Federal Firearms License (FFL) can sell guns. Boedeker said APD invited the HEB representative “knowing he would crack.” That left two choices: cancel last weekend’s show on one day’s notice, or abide by FFL rule. Boedeker said that attendance was “horrible” last weekend, with 50 empty vendor tables and low attendance. He also said that 90% of those complaining about the new rule thought TGS was to blame.
Boedeker is now faced with the option of finding another building “where they support constitutional rights.”
When asked about concealed carry at the show, Boedeker said he doesn’t allow it for safety reasons. Except for law enforcement, he requires every firearm to be unloaded and secured with a safety tie. He cites this policy as the reason his shows have experienced no accidental discharges.
The gun show promoter said he supports the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms, yet bans concealed carry at his shows, citing safety concerns. In fairness, there are exceptions among gun owners when it comes to safe gun handling, and TGS has a right to protect their business from unnecessary liability.
According to their January 19 press release, Austin Police Department said they worked with federal immigration authorities last year, targeting illegal gun trafficking at local gun shows:
Virtually all of these sales to prohibited persons were made by unlicensed dealers or private citizens, both inside the gun show and in the parking lot of the gun show.
[Note: “Prohibited persons” are defined in U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 44, section 922, subsection (d).]
Because of the “recurring activity” at the North Austin location, the APD Nuisance Abatement Unit got involved.
Due to the history of criminal activity at the gun show, the Nuisance Abatement Unit scheduled a meeting between the property lessee (HEB Grocery), the building sub-lessee (Andrew Perkel a.k.a Austin Market Place), the event promoter (Darwin Boedecker-Texas Gun Shows) and ATF.
Corporal Scott Perry is a Public Information Officer for the APD. When asked if they somehow forced HEB to institute the FFL rule, he said no.
When there’s a nuisance abatement issue, APD gathers all interested parties together and explains the next step in the abatement process. However, the final decision was up to HEB. “We never put any stipulations onto anything,” said Perry, “we only asked that illegal aliens and convicted felons stop buying guns.”
Perry says that when TGS and HEB signed their original contract, HEB was not under direct threat, but was concerned about the nuisance issue. While TGS was not the promoter during last year’s investigation which led to a possible abatement proceeding, Perry said that state nuisance abatement laws work by address.
Perry said HEB came into the meeting planning to void the contract and evict the gun show. The sub-lessee and TGS asked if they could work out a compromise. At this point, HEB asked for recommendations from the APD. HEB then reminded TGS that their original contract contained the FFL rule. After agreeing to comply with the existing contract terms, HEB agreed to give it another try.
Michael Reyes is the Resident Agent in Charge of the Austin office for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). According to Reyes, an ATF agent was present at last Thursday’s meeting. When asked for input by HEB, the agent said that most criminal arrests at past shows were due to illegal gun sales by unlicensed dealers to prohibited persons. Agent Reyes noted one example where an illegal alien bought a gun at the show.
(Reyes wanted to make it clear that it is the buyer’s responsibility to be honest; the seller isn’t held accountable if the buyer lied. He also stressed that it is “perfectly legal” for two private parties to engage in such commerce, and that his agency has no intention of enforcing any sort of illegal ban on private sales.)
The HEB representative asked if anything could be done to stop such illegal activity. Both ATF and APD told him that when prospective buyers purchase through a gun dealer with a Federal Firearms License (FFL), the seller performs a background check before completing the sale. ATF told him that a “large majority of the time” this stops a prohibited purchase.
HEB then decided to add a condition to the rental agreement, which Texas Gun Shows agreed to, limiting gun sales to FFLs. Reyes said ATF and APD did not push for these terms and didn’t threaten to shut down the show if TGS didn’t do this but without agreeing to HEB’s stipulation, TGS would have lost the space.
As APD noted in their press release:
At the conclusion of the meeting the lessee agreed that the recommendations should be followed and instructed their sub-lessee to follow the recommendations. The sub-lessee then informed the event promoter to implement the recommendations at the next show.
This agreement was, in the final analysis, between private parties.
If you want to make a case that law-abiding gun owners are being punished because of illegal gun sales to prohibited persons, then perhaps HEB is the place to start, since they made the final decision.
This author is acquainted with many law enforcement professionals, and while there are exceptions, they generally want to do good work and go home to their families at night.
One thing appears true: Since the FFL rule was implemented by HEB, the wording of the TGS announcement on their web site is overstated.
There are no clear-cut villains and victims here. In the final analysis, you the reader need to decide the best course of action. Facts, not rhetoric, help make educated decisions.
give 'em heck! 
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