Jay Leno Wimps Out, Cancels SHOT Show Appearance

Well-known comedian and former TV host Jay Leno was slated to emcee the annual State of the Industry Dinner this January at the SHOT Show. After some light pressure from anti-gunners, Leno bowed out.

SHOT, the annual Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade Show, is one of the largest such expos in the country and attracts industry participants from all over the world. For that reason, certain cry babies like to protest things that happen there.

That’s reportedly what happened here. An online petition was started, and it didn’t take long for Leno to fold up and try to make nice to the antis.

After calling SHOT Show owner NSSF to cancel, Leno contacted some of the antis behind the petition to smooth their ruffled feathers. Apparently the alleged mass shooting in Newtown, CT, the city in which NSSF has long been based, was used to pull on heart strings, and it worked. Too bad.

Leno’s flip-flop, all too typical of celebrities these days, will certainly upset some people. But if Leno’s backbone is really that soft, I say good riddance. Send him on down the road and find someone with enough grit to stand up for our industry in the face of criticism.

I fully support Jay Leno’s right to duck and run. That opens things up for someone less likely to do so.

Freedom!

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.