What happened when a college student trolled the gun show in Las Vegas

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The attendees at the gun show flipped him the bird.

And that's exactly what he wanted them to do.

He put up provocative signs, and gun show attendees pulled their trucks off the road to run them over. That made him smile.

When they got mad, that, to him, meant victory.

An estimated 52,000 gun makers, sellers and buyers attended the 45th National Shooting Sports Foundation's Shot Show in Las Vegas from Jan. 17-20, and some of them had to deal with Zack Maaieh, a 19-year-old sophomore at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, who was trying to get under their collective skin. He was one of eight college students determined to undermine the good time of gun enthusiasts.

"We wanted people to see our message, hear us and get annoyed," Maaieh said. "We're coming after them. We won't stop until they're held accountable. When they get angry, I know they know they are guilty."

Maaieh is what the kids might call a "troll" and the old people might call a "rabble rouser." His target is the people who make guns and the legislators who make laws concerning guns. He is part of Students Demand Action and Everytown For Gun Safety, national organizations that oversee a network of about 500 smaller groups across America trying to change opinions about guns.

Maaieh came armed with 17 demands, which included: Stop making AR-15s and other semi-automatic assault-style weapons that use high-capacity magazines. Stop marketing to kids and teens. Stop using fear-based ads to sell guns. Stop marketing weapons of war to civilians and using military imagery to sell guns.

At the Las Vegas airport, he put up posters that said "Welcome to the Gun Show" with a QR code. People who used the code would be taken to a website that showed stats on how firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens and other striking statistics.

For example, the National Rifle Association reported the gun industry made more than $70 billion in 2021 with more than 375,000 employed workers, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 45,000 people died in shooting incidents in 2020 (their most recent year of statistics).

The list of demands is long and comprehensive.

But, Maaieh said, the demands are not anti-gun. He said he is anti-death, anti-mass shooting, anti-profit from gun violence. Most guns are OK, he said, if they are properly maintained.

Renewed focus on guns

Maaieh's activism is happening with the debate over guns again at high intensity. There were two recent mass shootings in California. A 6-year-old shot his teacher in Virginia. And in Nashville, police continue to warn residents about guns being stolen from cars.

In many Republican-led states, including Tennessee, legislators continue to push measures making gun ownership easier as they work to strengthen Second Amendment rights.

For instance, one bill filed this year in the 113th Tennessee General Assembly would prohibit local governments in helping enforce any federal gun laws that conflict with state provisions. Another would expand the places where schools could allow staff to carry guns. Legislation also is pending that would expand who could legally carry guns onto college campuses. And those are just a few of them.

At the same time, other young activists and gun-rights groups are pushing to ensure the state's permitless carry law applies to 18-, 19- and 20-year-old Tennesseans. When the measure first passed, it applied to those 21 and older, unless they currently served in the military or had done so in the past.

But three Tennesseans in that younger adult age group challenged that provision in federal court, and with the backing of a California gun rights group, are on the verge of winning. Tennessee agreed to settle the case, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported late last month. If signed off on by a judge, the settlement will pave the way for younger adults to carry handguns without permits.

Still, Maaieh said he believes responsible gun owners would agree with all the demands — if they could get past politics.

Maaieh and seven other students (from places like the University of Chicago, Miami University in Ohio and Yale University) didn't go inside the convention. They stayed mostly on the roads outside, planting provocative signs and trying to get people to use their QR code.

Maaieh and the students spent Jan. 20, the final day of the convention, putting up posters in casino bathrooms and in walkways leading to casinos. He said they were confronted by someone only once. A person asked if they had a permit.

Maaieh said he ignored the person and kept on putting up posters.

"We wanted to get their attention," he said. "We weren't trying to pick a fight with people."

The Tennessean reached out to the National Shooting Sports Foundation for comment on the protests, but the email with questions has not yet been returned.

Family history dealing with injustice

Activism is in Zack Maaieh's blood.

His grandparents, who were born in Palestine, were expelled from their homeland in 1948. His mother, Raniah, was born in Qatar. His father, Mohammed, was born in Jordan.

"That history in my family has made me more cognizant of when I see injustice around me," Maaieh said. "When injustice happens, it can make people work harder to survive."

He grew up in Toledo, Ohio, where he and his family faced anti-Muslim jokes about terrorism. He said he handled racism mostly internally, by quietly letting people know why their comments weren't funny.

"I haven't let it (racism) get under my skin," he said. "I don't think people who make jokes intend to cause harm."

Maaieh said he was the co-leader of a wellness group at Ottawa Hills High School. His group encouraged students to take self-care breaks and learn about aroma and plant therapies.

When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, Maaieh said: "A changemaker."

"I'm always looking out for what problems people are facing," he said.

He came to Vanderbilt because he felt a family bond with the students when he visited. He is majoring in sustainable economics in government. And his dream job would be working as a consultant for a nonprofit organization.

Maaieh said his parents have told him to be careful in his activism.

"My parents are proud I'm taking on the whole (gun) industry," he said.

Don't expect fast action

Maaieh said he doesn't know when his next foray into activism will happen.

Students Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety are methodical.

On Jan. 27, Maaieh's group launched its #KillerBusiness campaign, asking colleges and universities to stop investing in gun industry businesses. Students at 30 campuses across the U.S. have signed up to bring the #KillerBusiness message to their school. Maaieh is one of those.

"This is not a campaign that is going to cause change overnight," he said.

He said he would be most happy if he can make the people who work in the gun industry feel self conscious about the product they make.

"We're trying to get guns treated like weapons that kill," Maaieh said. "Our goal is not to single people out. We want people to leave the industry (on their own)."

Reach Keith Sharon at 615-406-1594 or ksharon@tennessean.com or on Twitter @KeithSharonTN.