BY MICHAEL HAYNE

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

COMMENTARY

NRA President Wayne LaPierre appears to live in that fantasy dystopia that Jon Stewart described. He also appears to subscribe to a very narrow, manichean worldview - one of good guys and bad guys when he says things like “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun” following his post-Newtown press conference. Interestingly enough, most gun shows seem to operate on an overwhelmingly contrary system. Much to LaPierre’s dismay, Dirty Harry isn’t real.

According to an analysis conducted by Think Progress, more than 50 gun shows in January banned attendees from bringing loaded guns onto the premises.

Additionally, Think Progress was unable to identify a single gun show this month that explicitly allowed people, even those with concealed-carry permits, to bring a loaded weapon with them.

Here's a full list of the 51 gun shows that explicitly ban people from carrying loaded firearms is below:

1. Oklahoma City Gun Show (January 11-12)

2. ABBA Shriners Gun & Knife Show (January 12-13)

3. Gibraltar Taylor Gun & Knife Show (January 11-13)

4. Akron Gun Show (January 12-13)

5. Binghamton Gun & Knife Show (January 12-13)

6. Dalton Gun Show (January 12-13)

7. Dayton (Vandalia) Airport Expo (January 12-13)

8. Farmington Gun Show* (January 12-13)

9. Ft. Lauderdale Gun Show (January 12-13)

10. Germantown Gun & Knife Show* (January 12-13)

11. Kansas City Gun Show* (January 12-13)

12. Maitland Gun Show (January 12-13)

13. Mesa Gun Show (January 12-13)

14. Morehead Gun Show* (January 12-13)

15. Nashville Gun Show (January 12-13)

16. San Angelo Gun & Blade Show (January 12-13)

17. San Francisco Gun Show (January 12-13)

18. Wichita Cessna Gun Show* (January 12-13)

19. Las Vegas Shot Show (January 15-18)

20. Ft. Pierce Gun Show (January 19-20)

21. Gonzales Gun Show (January 19-20)

22. Hendersonville Gun Show* (January 19-20)

23. Jackson Gun & Knife Show* (January 19-20)

24. Jacksonville Florida Gun Show (January 19-20)

25. Jefferson Gun Show (January 19-20)

26. Marietta Jim Miller Park Gun Show* (January 19-20)

27. Miami Florida Gun Show (January 19-20)

28. Paducah Gun Show* (January 19-20)

29. Phoenix Gun Show (January 19-20)

30. Springfield Gun Show* (January 19-20)

31. Topeka Gun Show* (January 19-20)

32. Venice Gun and Knife Show (January 19-20)

33. Des Moines Gun Show (January 25-27)

34. Canandaigua Gun Show (January 26-27)

35. Carlsbad Gun & Blade Show (January 26-27)

36. Costa Mesa Gun Show (January 26-27)

37. Fort Myers Gun, Knife, Civil War & Militaria Show (January 26-27)

38. Goodman Dayton Gun & Knife Show (January 26-27)

39. Gun Show in the Smokies* (January 26-27)

40. Kingman Gun, Knife, Coin & Collectibles Show & Sale (January 26-27)

41. Lawrenceville Gun Show* (January 26-27)

42. Macon Gun Show (January 26-27)

43. New Orleans Area Gun & Knife Show (January 26-27)

44. Oklahoma City Gun and Knife Show* (January 26-27)

45. Palmetto Gun Show (January 26-27)

46. Pensacola Florida Gun Show (January 26-27)

47. Sedalia Gun Show* (January 26-27)

48. Tulsa Gun Show* (January 26-27)

49. Watkins Glen Gun & Knife Show (January 26-27)

50. Wichita Coliseum Gun Show* (January 26-27)

51. Wichita Falls Gun & Knife Show (January 26-27) (Source: Think Progress)

This fairly sensible reality vehemently contradicts the overall arguments of the NRA and its calls for even more lax gun regulation. After all, their entire argument appears to have been that the solution to less gun violence is more guns, which is tantamount to saying that more cigarettes cure cancer.