Gun show bans anthrax author

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Gun show bans anthrax author Organizers expect public fears fueled by the Sept. 11 attacks to swell the crowd at the Orange County Fairgrounds. November 25, 2001 By JOEL ZLOTNIKThe Orange County Register A Nebraska man who has been traveling to gun shows around the country selling a how-to book on germ warfare was banned from this weekend's show at the Orange County Fairgrounds. Bob Templeton, owner of Crossroads of the West Gun Shows, said he was "flabbergasted" when he learned Timothy W. Tobiason was selling his self-published book "Advanced Biological Weapons Design and Manufacture" at the shows. Templeton said he learned about Tobiason from a New York Times article. In the story, Tobiason, 45, talked about his hatred of the federal government and likened himself to Timothy McVeigh, who was put to death this year for the 1995 bombing in Oklahoma City. Federal officials said they have been aware of Tobiason for years. The story ran Friday in The Orange County Register."He is clearly a very troubled person," Templeton said. "We don't tolerate any literature that's racist or advocates the violent overthrow of the government."The book, which includes a crude recipe for anthrax, was being sold under the table at a Crossroads show in Salt Lake City last weekend, Templeton said. Tobiason won't be allowed at future shows, he said. Crossroads shows are held almost every weekend and move among California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and Colorado.The Orange County show, Saturday and today from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., is expected to draw a record crowd in part because of changing attitudes toward guns since Sept. 11, Templeton said. "I think more people are feeling the need for self-defense and to get protection," Templeton said. People are looking to take personal responsibility for their safety, he said.Based on Saturday's attendance, Templeton said he expects to draw about 12,000 people to this weekend's show. Last year's show drew about 8,000. Diana Colucci, a 47-year- old trap and skeet shooter from Newport Beach, said she understood people's desire to protect themselves but added that guns are not necessarily the answer."So many people are running scared, and that's a sad thing because that's when accidental shootings happen," she said.National Rifle Association recruiter Rob Canfield said those in attendance Saturday were not the typical gun- show crowd. About two- thirds of the people he spoke to standing in line were not NRA members, he said. "It shows that people are afraid, that we're vulnerable now and people can hurt us and we want to protect ourselves."Irvine resident Rolf Parks, who came to the show Saturday looking for deals on gun accessories, said the attacks have affected everyone. "I think a lot of people are thinking more defensively about their own safety."Parks, 49, said his mother bought him his first gun when he was 16. He has used them throughout his life and said it's important that new gun owners get proper training.Ron Crim of Las Flores was buying shooting-range targets with Osama bin Laden's picture on them at three for $5. Slogans like "Wanted Dead or Alive" were printed across the bottom.Crim said he was looking forward to getting out on the range and taking aim at the man believed to be responsible for the terrorist attacks on the United States. http://ocregister.com/local/guns01125cci1.shtml