The eighth annual East Coast Fine Arms Show was held Jan. 5-6 in Stamford despite calls from local residents and officials to postpone the gun show in the wake of the Dec. 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The convention, held at the Stamford Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, was sponsored by Westchester Collectors Inc. of Mahopac Falls, N.Y., which has in the past hosted gun shows in Stamford, Waterbury, Western Massachusetts and New York’s Hudson Valley.
A gun show sponsored by Westchester Collectors that had been scheduled for Jan. 12-13 in Waterbury has been cancelled until further notice, according to the organization’s website.
The East Coast Fine Arms Show primarily featured collectible antique weapons, and not automatic weapons of the sort that were used at the deadly shooting in Newtown that killed 20 first grade students and six Sandy Hook staff, according to reports.
Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia told The Stamford Advocate that he would have preferred that the show be cancelled.
Gun control figures to be a prominent topic of discussion when the state Legislature convenes for its 2013 session later this spring.
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy last week announced the formation of a Sandy Hook Advisory Commission to review the state’s current gun regulations and to make recommendations in the areas of public safety, including school safety, mental health and gun violence prevention.
“This commission will look for ways to make sure our gun laws are as tight as they are reasonable, that our mental health system can reach those that need its help, and that our law enforcement has the tools it needs to protect public safety, particularly in our schools,” Malloy said in a Jan. 3 statement.
The commission will be chaired by Hamden Mayor Scott Jackson, and members will consist of experts in various areas. The governor stipulated that an initial report would be due by March 15 for consideration by the General Assembly.
