title:  WATCH: Journalist Kicked Out Of World’s Largest Gun Show For Asking This Totally Valid Question (VIDEO)
text: Wednesday, January 22 was the day of the world s largest gun show. Held in Las Vegas, Nevada, the SHOT show (Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade) is where arms dealers gather to show off their best and newest instruments of death. Understandably, the event sponsors have to keep a tight grip on media at the event, lest journalists ask questions that might make people think just a little bit.That s why when The Guardian s Rupert Neat went to the show to ask people questions that are indirectly related to gun control, he must have known it would be only a matter of time before he would be thrown out of the event. Neat s experiences were documented on video, and then posted online.In the beginning of the video, Neat says that he was specifically asked not to talk about gun control with any of the more than 1,600 hundred exhibitors at the event. Despite this warning, Neat actually talked to many of the exhibitors and attendees of the event about questions indirectly related to gun control, before being kicked out of the show. Neat asked people what they thought was driving the huge boom in gun sales that were seen last year.They re answers were nearly identical   fear. Fear is what is driving the record sales of firearms in the United States. It has been well documented that mass shootings drive gun sales. So does talk of gun control, when President Obama is elected/reelected, and when minuscule actions on gun control are taken. In December of 2015, after President Obama announced he would be taking executive actions to slightly increase gun regulations, 1.6 million guns were sold. The only other month that has topped that record was in January of 2013, which coincided with both the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre, and Obama s second term.But those types of questions are not what get Neat kicked out of the gun show. While talking to an exhibitor with Smith & Wesson, Neat was shown a MP 1522 sport rifle. Neat held the gun and casually asked the exhibitor: So, is the same gun used in the San Bernardino shooting?  Neat asks.The exhibitor dodged the question, simply answering that the gun is MP 1522 sport rifle. He then promptly removes his microphone. At that point Neat gets an e-mail asking him to come speak to the communications director at the event. Neat and his crew are told multiple times to stop filming, and refused to answer any questions while the camera was rolling. Neat then left the gun show.The truly disturbing   and important   aspect of the encounter between the journalist and man from Smith & Wesson is that it shows how dangerous breaking the fantasy that the NRA and other lobby groups sell, is to gun manufacturers. The goal of public relations is to sell a credible version of reality. The reality that weapons manufacturing industry wants to sell is that their weapons are tools to fight dangerous people, not tools used by dangerous people   or toddlers. Any questioning that can potentially unravel the credibility of their meticulously crafted version of reality must be silenced, or disregarded as the deranged ramblings of lunatics.You can watch the video, in full, below.https://www.facebook.com/GuardianUs/videos/1264293813597683/Featured Image Credit: Video Screenshot via Facebook/Guardian US