American gun culture is alive and well in the state of Pennsylvania

An unassuming yellow roadside sign with the words “Gun Show – This Weekend” and an arrow beneath it is the only sign pointing the way to this month’s gun show in Quarryville.

Deep in rural Pennsylvania, the Solanco Fairgrounds, where the fair is held, are accessible via PA272 from Lancaster, a road often blocked by the horse-drawn carts of local people. Amisha strictly religious local group that rejects most forms of modernization and causes traffic congestion.

Large pickup trucks are lined up in the parking lot and fairgoers stream through the narrow doorway that provides access to the venue.

The Quarryville gun show is organized by Eagle showswhich is responsible for more than fifty fairs annually in approximately sixteen cities in Pennsylvania alone.

An entrance ticket costs just $8 (€7.35), vendors wanting to sell weapons or weapons-related equipment pay $50 for a table, making Quarryville the cheapest location; other locations charge up to $110 for a table.

It says on her website Eagle shows says it wants attendees to “enjoy your Second Amendment rights” at the shows, where “virtue, freedom and independence will be on full display” and are the “perfect place to pick up your next firearm.”

The show doesn’t like the curious. “Unauthorized recording or photography” is “prohibited” and “violators will be ejected.”

But inside the atmosphere is pleasant. A massive bearded man with piercing eyes sells tickets and gives visitors a stamp on the back of their hand as proof of entry. A handwritten menu advertises hamburgers and cokes for a few dollars.

Groups of gun enthusiasts compare weapons and exchange stories. Each table has its specialization: they promote “ammunition” with bullets of all shapes and sizes. Others have pistols ranging from classic Colt ’45s and Ruger 375s to smaller Berettas lined up in neat rows. Average price: $450 (€413).

One man sells antique Japanese rifles and proudly displays a pistol, an imitation of a Nazi Luger pistol, with symbols of the Japanese Imperial Army. “Very rare in this form,” he says.

At another table, “master craftsman David Kline” sells handmade knives. “Inspired by Japanese craftsmanship, sharp as a razor,” he says.

The large table with dozens of semi-automatic rifles attracts the most attention.

Old Don sells old hunting rifles. He regularly visits the gun shows. He also sells rifle scopes, small hunting knives and an old manual for Remington rifles.

“I was on a US Army base in West Germany in 1984, the best time of my life,” he says.

But he is skeptical about America’s future, he says. He does not want to say which candidate in the list US presidential election – Kamala Harris or Donald Trump – he is in favor. But he is clearly critical of Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

“We are a country of immigrants. Why should we stop the immigrants? If you ask the people here to go back to their roots, they will discover that they come from somewhere else. Except the Native Americans. Those are the real Americans. We must give the country back to them.”

But his comments are dissonant in the staunchly pro-Trump atmosphere prevailing at the arms show. On the walls are posters branded “Trump-Vance 2024”, referring to Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his running mate “JD” Vance.

There is no mention of Democratic candidate Kamala Harris or her running mate Tim Walz at the Quarryville gun show.

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One booth has a poster asking you to sign up for the “Second Amendment Petition” for the “protection of freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.”

According to a pro-Trump campaigner sitting next to the table, a muscular man in his 30s wearing a T-shirt that reads: “know your roots,” Space-X and Tesla multi-billionaire Elon Musk are behind this initiative.

“For every petition signed, we receive $47 from Elon,” he says happily. ‘He’s a visionary. In two centuries there will be statues of him on Mars.’

Pressure groups such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) and the Gun owners of America have asked Congress to reject “any bill, treaty, resolution, or amendment that would infringe upon my Second Amendment freedom as guaranteed in our Bill of Rights.”

According to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICSPennsylvanians collectively purchased a whopping 841,523 guns in 2023, placing the state fourth nationally behind Texas, Florida and California.

The good news is that Pennsylvania, the nation’s fifth most populous state, ranks No. 21 in gun ownership per capita, with “only” 859 gun purchases per 10,000 residents in 2023. Topping that list is Montana, Wyoming. and Alaska with about 1,500 guns per 10,000 inhabitants each.

Nationwide, gun sales fell in 2023. The FBI report shows that about 16.7 million firearms were sold in the U.S. last year, the report said, down 4 percent from 2022.

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According to the report, gun purchases in Pennsylvania are down 7 percent in 2023.

Still, one advisory Published in July, the U.S. surgeon general called gun violence a “national health crisis” and proposed initiatives to prevent gun deaths. According to the report, firearm deaths “reached a nearly three-decade high in 2021.”

The gun crowd in Pennsylvania doesn’t seem to care about the anti-gun rhetoric.

“It’s still not easy to buy a gun here,” says Don. Somewhat disappointed: “It involves a lot of paperwork.”