ROANOKE, Va. – The Berglund Center became a place to celebrate and shop in support of the 2nd Amendment on Saturday, and COVID-19 may have made the right to bear arms even more attractive for some.
People lined up across the Berglund complex Saturday morning for tickets to the Roanoke Valley Gun Show. The event was supposed to happen in March, but got pushed back to August because of COVID-19.
The event has made socially distant changes in response to the coronavirus. All guests had to wear masks, vendors were spaced out for social distancing, and all attendees underwent a temperature check before stepping inside.
Event organizer Annette Elliott said the show faces a unique challenge this year for another reason. She said many of the show's vendors have experienced substantial sales spikes due to the pandemic, and the supply of items such as guns and ammunition has not been able to keep up with demand.
“Guns are in short supply now, manufacturers are backed up until January 2021 is what I’m understanding,” Elliott said. They’re under the same challenge at the manufacturing level because of COVID.”
The Roanoke Valley Gun Show continues through the weekend.