This coming weekend, gun users near and far will have a chance to get tickets to a gun show at Concord’s Douglas N. Everett Arena.
The event is a staple in the Capital City: Before New England Events purchased DiPrete Promotions Inc. Gun Shows last year, DiPrete had been holding shows at Everett for about 15-20 years, depending on who you ask.
And despite national conversations about whether the sale of rapid-fire, semi-automatic rifles like the ones used in the Feb. 14 Parkland, Fla., school shooting and other recent shootings should be restricted – including decisions by some companies to no longer carry such weapons – Concord public officials have little say about what kinds of guns can be sold in the city, even at gun shows.
Under RSAs 31:39 and 41:17, New Hampshire municipalities can regulate everything from the conduct of vehicles and noise ordinances to the use of combustibles and the location of various industries.
But only the Legislature has the power to decide what kinds of guns are sold in the state. It seems unlikely any changes will happen anytime soon: The Republican-led House refused to hear a bill last month that would have prohibited those under age 21 from buying any type of gun and would have banned bump stocks that allow weapons to be fired at a dramatically faster rate.
In addition, the city can’t deny an event at one of its public facilities based on content if it meets the city’s permitting requirements, said City Solicitor Jim Kennedy.
“There’s this concept called commercial speech,” he said, that is protected under the First Amendment. If the city tried to limit what kind of speech is allowed in its public facilities, such as an ordinance that didn’t allow gun shows, it could face legal challenges, he said.
According to the Everett Arena’s rental agreement, renters must follow all federal laws and local ordinances when hosting an event, and they must have a certain amount of insurance, regardless of the event.
The city can impose additional requirements, such as parking lot attendants, a police detail and a clean-up crew. And in the case of the NH Brewers Festival held last year at Kiwanis Waterfront Park, the city requested additional alcohol-vending permits, said Everett Arena director Jeffrey Bardwell. The cost to rent the facility is $1,955 a day.
The Monitor reached out to all of the Concord City Council by phone and email. Councilors Mark Coen, Rob Werner, Byron Champlin, Fred Keach, Jennifer Kretovic, Stephen Shurtleff, Allan Herschlag, Brent Todd and Mayor Jim Bouley responded, with Herschlag declining to comment.
The lack of power the council has over such issues didn’t sit well with some of its members, although many said it wasn’t gun shows themselves that were the issue, but the lack of federal regulation around certain weapons.
“I see no value in them (bump stocks and assault rifles) personally,” said At-Large Councilor Coen. “I’ve certainly talked to enough people about it, and they still haven’t convinced me what the actual value of having automatic assault rifles is.”
Coen went on to say it can be surprising to people how little influence the city council has on sensitive issues like gun control. For that, “you have to talk to your state rep,” he said.
Mayor Bouley noted the city has tried to regulate speech before, bringing up the city’s panhandling and electronic sign ordinances, but that has never been successful.
“It’s redundant at the local level of government,” he said.
Bouley went on to say he struggles with balancing his own personal feelings about gun regulation.
“I think we can do a better than what we do now,” he said. “Whether we like or dislike something doesn’t always jibe with regulations.”
Others said it wasn’t the city’s business to put restrictions on anything having to deal with constitutional rights.
“It’s not something we should be making arbitrary decisions on,” said Ward 3 Councilor Jennifer Kretovic. “I don’t think that’s fair and reasonable. In this particular case, where we’re talking about the Everett Arena, how is this any different than selling hot dogs? It’s nothing illegal, there’s no law against it.”
But At-Large Councilor Fred Keach wondered if there was something the city should be able to do about the issue. While he didn’t make any definitive statements on his personal feelings about regulating the sale of guns in the city, he thought the city’s ordinance that prohibits the “display or discharge of weapons” in the city’s recreational facilities could have some influence if the city ever decided to look at the issue more closely.
The short answer to that is “no,” Kennedy said. “That ordinance would be pre-empted by state law,” in the case of gun shows, he said.
The gun show coming to Concord avoids one sticky aspect of the gun control debate – the “background check loophole,” where federally licensed gun vendors must conduct background checks, but non-licensed dealers do not, said New England Events’ Matt Mayberry, the former vice chair of the state’s GOP.
Instead, NEE allows only federally licensed weapon dealers to have tables at their shows, which Mayberry said is a requirement for NEE to get insurance through the National Rifle Association. Lockton Affinity representative Dean Davison declined to comment, saying the underwriting guidelines set by insurance carriers is proprietary.
Mayberry said about 80 percent of its vendors are small businesses located in New Hampshire, although some come from as far away as Pennsylvania. Many have been coming to the show for years, he said.
Not all of them sell guns either; books and beef jerky sellers are some of the 260 vendors lined up this year. There’s almost always a waiting list, Mayberry said.
“We don’t want it to be stale,” he said, “so we keep bringing in different, interesting vendors.”
The high demand is what causes NEE to seek out larger venues like Everett Arena, Mayberry said. NEE also holds events in Manchester’s Radisson hotel and Dover’s ice arena.
Mayberry said he didn’t see NEE regulating what its vendors sold anytime soon.
“It’s nothing more than a giant mall for guns,” he said. “If it can be sold through federal licensing and background checks, they can sell it. If it’s covered under the Second Amendment, it stands pat.”
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)