While the Fairgrounds Board in Nashville, Tennessee, voted last month to stop having gun shows at the fairgrounds unless sellers agree to perform tighter background checks, here in Arkansas the fairgrounds currently has no plans to change.
A gun show is taking place today and tomorrow, and state fairgrounds president Ralph Shoptaw says he does not have concerns.
While Nashville's Fair Board Chairman says the fairgrounds is responsible for ensuring better monitoring of background checks during gun sales, Shoptaw says he feels ultimately it's just a venue.
“What we are in the business of is renting our facilities to different organizations, and we really don't take sides on issues like that. And we've never had any problems with having gun shows on the fairgrounds,” said Shoptaw.
The Fairgrounds Board in Nashville says this month’s show will go on because of existing contracts, but the future is uncertain.
In Nashville, the fairgrounds are publicly-owned, while in Little Rock they are a non-profit organization governed by a board of 13. Shoptaw says the board doesn’t usually get involved with the details of day-to-day events hosted there.
