Gun Show Will Go On In N.Y. Town Despite Post-Sandy Hook Opposition

"City Center officials announced Wednesday that this weekend's Saratoga Arms Fair will go on as scheduled, despite pleas from opponents who want the event canceled," the local Saratogian reports.

As All Things Considered reported Tuesday, the gun show has been held in the city's public exhibition space several times a year since 1984. But it was being challenged in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn. Opponents were pointing out that other gun shows in the northeast have been canceled since the Dec. 14 attack that left 20 children and six educators dead, and called on city officials to do the same.

Along with those who spoke up in opposition to the show, others in the community came forward to say it should be held as scheduled.

Located about 35 miles north of Albany, N.Y., Saratoga Springs is 160 miles north of Newtown.

Today, the Saratogian writes, Saratoga Springs City Center Authority Chairman Joseph Dalton said board members reached a unanimous consensus to let the three-day show take place this weekend. "Any future bookings of gun shows will be investigated and debated," Dalton said. "This is not something we're taking lightly."

David Petronis, the show's promoter, "has agreed to a compromise request from the City Council to not display or sell weapons similar to those used at the Sandy Hook school," All Things Considered reported.

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