RIFLES, handguns, shotguns, pistols, grenades, ammunition and knives — a smorgasbord of weapons is on sale at massive gun shows across America.

Eager customers inspect stall merchandise like kids in a candy store, and try out shooting poses with their favourites, at one major exhibition in Pennsylvania on news.com.au’s visit.

For an international observer, it’s strange to see attendees stroll casually through the car park in the town of Harrisbugr with rifles slung over their shoulders and children at their side.

“Some see a shooting range,” reads a sign over one stall. “I see a 2nd Amendment theme park.”

The complex is packed with families pushing babies in prams and young children who are already learning to shoot targets and hunt with their parents. Attendees pay $12 entry, a stall costs $80 and under 12s get in free.

But if you’re Australian, you might not be the most popular person at one of these events.

As news.com.au explored the Harrisburg Gun Show, a large man in a neon orange shirt strode up to us. “You guys are gonna have to leave,” organiser Steven Elliott told us, after discovering where we were from.

“I’ve dealt with the Australian people before, they know full well they’re not allowed in any of my shows.”

He said Australians had been “rude” and “ugly” to him at past events, and even alleged media had tried to run him over in a car.

Steven’s company, C&E Gun Shows, held its first exhibition in Salem, Virginia in 1986, and now runs almost 100 events across six states each year. He is helped by his son Robbie, fiancee Sheila and their friends, but it can be an exhausting and stressful business.

Sheila, who met Steven at a shooting range, says the vendors worry about people taking photographs because thieves target the shows, with some prized firearms worth tens of thousands.

“They don’t like people taking photos because people see what they have and rob them,” she told news.com.au.

“There was a show in South Carolina that had $700,000 ($AU960,000) worth of guns stolen.”

C&E operates tight security during the day and night when running a two-day weekend show, which Steven calls “a one-stop gun shop”, typically attracting thousands of curious gun enthusiasts.

“Gun shows are hugely popular,” says the president of C&E Gun Shows in a promotional video. “As the political environment changes, the crowds respond to the threat by coming to the guns shows and buying firearms and buying ammunition.”

‘IF THEY TAKE OUR GUNS AWAY, THEY’LL MAKE IT WORSE’

Shows like these, which sell everything from protective gear to Uzis, have become a source of controversy as the gun debate rages.

In February 2013, the week-long Eastern Sports Show planned for Harrisburg decided to ban the exhibition of assault weapons, and faced a massive NRA-backed boycott. Organisers were forced to cancel the show.

Bill, a customer from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, says assault rifles have become notorious because of the word “assault”, but he loves them.

“It’s an AR15, that’s what it is,” he tells news.com.au. “The gun doesn’t do nothing, it’s the people that do it.

“They’re punishing all legal people the most with all these laws and everything. I don’t care if they take all our — well I do care, if they take our guns away — but all they’re going to do is make it worse. The only ones who are going to have guns are the criminals, and crime’s going to go sky high.”

He believes the authorities should focus on punishing criminals. “Bring back the death penalty,” he says. “If you shoot someone and it’s proven beyond a doubt that you have done it, hey, bring it back, it’ll start teaching people.”

The shows are also controversial because of claims weapons can be bought there illegally.

But when news.com.au asks to buy a gun, the seller tells us we will need a Pennsylvania drivers’ licence first.

A permit is needed for concealed carry and to have a gun in a vehicle, and you have to be over 21. But you can be a non-resident.

No permit is required in the state to have a firearm in your home or place of business.

‘THE NRA IS TOO POLITICALLY CORRECT’

With Donald Trump failing to tighten federal gun laws, the rules vary wildly between states.

One $679 semiautomatic MP40 pistol on sale in Harrisburg is labelled: “This item cannot be sold to the foreign countries of NY, NJ, MA or CT. You must live in the United States.”

What you could buy if you’re from one of the stricter states is a flamethrower. “No permit/license, 48 state legal, cash and carry, no background check,” reads the sign.

One gun fan attending with his daughter and her husband says the difference in laws between states is a source of irritation.

“If I take a wrong turn and end up in New Jersey, I’m breaking the law,” says Ernest, also known as Chip, who owns a variety of firearms for hunting and target shooting.

“The NRA (National Rifle Association) is too politically correct. They need to be more aggressive.”

He says he is neither a Republican or Democrat, but a Libertarian. “Republicans are spend now, pay later,” he explains, “Democrats are tax now, pay later.”

Chip says he knew the names of every gun by the time he was five, and was shooting them by ten. His daughter, Kara, 26, learnt to shoot a gun when she was around 10 or 11 and keeps a 9mm handgun in her home for self-defence.

“We live in a small town,” she says. “Overnight especially, there’s one officer on duty, and he’s sitting over here on Main Street waiting for people to speed by. So if they don’t get there in time, what am I going to do?”

The family is looking for a gun for her husband Ethan, but plan to buy it in a store in their hometown of Lancaster County, to support local business.

“Buying online, unless you know what you want and who you’re buying from, is like buying sneakers online,” adds Kara.

Her friend Austin Flynn has made a purchase, however, which he proudly shows off: an iconic Glock pistol.

CRACKDOWN MAY BE COMING

Pennsylvania legislators have been historically unwilling to introduce gun control measures.

But in February, after 17 students were shot dead in Parkland, Florida, a PA senator vowed to introduce legislation to ban military-style semiautomatic firearms in the state.

Wayne Fontana said his bill would prohibit 150 models, as well as magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds, much like a law enacted in Connecticut after 2012’s shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school.

He also plans to introduce a measure to allow family members to petition a court to suspend a person’s access to firearms if they can prove the person is a threat.

In July, state officials blocked a website offering “untraceable” downloadable 3D-printed guns.

Across American, there is majority support for gun control. A Fox News poll from March found most believe protecting citizens from gun violence is more important than protecting the rights of gun owners (53-40 per cent).

It also found strong support for specific measures to reduce gun violence, including background checks (91 per cent), mental health checks (84 per cent), raising the age to buy all guns to 21 (72 per cent) and banning assault rifles and semiautomatic weapons (60 per cent).

A further 69 per cent said school should be protected by armed guards.

However, while 38 per cent said it was “extremely” important for Congress to pass gun legislation this year, only 7 per cent thought that was “extremely” likely to happen.

The hard core at the gun show isn’t quite so sure. They tell news.com.au they like the Pennsylvania laws as they are.

And while locals say the event is smaller than in previous years, it represents a powerful group who believe deeply in the Second Amendment and are determined to retain the right to bear arms.

“It’s hard to draw the line between keeping guns out of irresponsible and dangerous people’s hands but still allowing responsible people to own guns, whether it’s just for sport or pleasure or defence,” says Kara.

“When you make the laws more complicated and a lot stricter, you make it a lot more difficult for average people.

“Some people are just — they’re dangerous and they want to hurt people and unfortunately, as many gun laws as you make, it’s not going to stop every single incident, because you can’t tell what’s in a person’s heart.”