JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Gun merchants are expecting record sales this weekend during the North Florida Gun Show.
Promoters say they even cut a lot of the advertising, saying that the recent gun control debate has put a huge spotlight on the firearms industry.
Channel 4's Crystal Moyer spoke to the director of marketing of the gun show, who says the retailers were not concerned about how much money they were going to make. In fact, after President Barack Obama made the executive orders on gun control, some vendors expected crowds at the show to be higher than ever.
"The phones ring off the hook - everybody wants to be here," said Skip Gwinn the director of marketing, North Florida Gun and Knife Show.
Eddy Monk is in the firearms business and said the show was busy, especially after Obama announced nearly two dozen executive orders, with a focus on background checks and increased funding for mental health services.
"We've been pretty busy. A lot of people anticipating higher price or lack of availability of certain things," said Eddy Monk, owner of Outpost Gun Shop.
Right now, there are about 1.5 million active concealed weapons permits in Florida, according to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Americans across the country spent nearly $6 billion on firearms last year and sales this year are expected to increase.
"The people that are pro-gun are afraid they're going to lose their rights," said Gwinn.
But there are people who say access is the problem and there needs to be more gun control.
The rise in mass shootings has some legislatures pushing for tighter gun regulations, especially when it comes to private gun sales and what they consider to be loopholes in the current law.
"It doesn't make sense to have laws if you're going to have loophole to circumvent the laws. What the president did was you can't walk into a Walmart and buy a gun if you're a convicted felon. Why should you be able to do that anywhere else," said Rep. Alan Grayson, a Democrat from Florida's 9th Congressional district.
Gwinn agrees there should be laws and thorough background checks when it comes to gun control, but says gun shows are not to blame.
"The reality is bad people are going to get guns and they're not going to buy them cheap," said Gwinn.
Officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on site to monitor gun sales.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement was also petitioned to check private sellers to keep guns from falling in the wrong hands.
"We don't want bad guys in here. That's why we have such a good police presence," Gwinn said.
"We've never sold a gun that a background check wasn't performed. If a customer doesn't have a concealed carry permit, we observe the three-day waiting period," Monk said.
The gun show runs through Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds.