Posted on 03/25/2020 7:41:25 AM PDT by w1n1
Neither hurricanes nor 9/11 caused as big a surge in gun sales as Coronavirus - Gun shop owners have never seen such a surge in sales — not after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, not in reaction to mass shootings, not even when Category 5 hurricanes threatened to flatten South Florida.
Fear and uncertainty about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic are motivating people to buy guns and ammunition as they seek protection from possible doomsday disintegration into lawlessness, with home invasions, looting, runs on banks, and fights over food, medicine, hospital beds and shelter across the land.
"Our sales are up 80 percent, with a huge increase in first-time buyers who are worried about martial law, economic collapse, unemployment, shortages, delinquents roaming the streets," said Alex Elenberg, manager of Charlie's Armory on West Flagler Street. "If you can't defend your house and your family, what good are you?"
The United States is the home of the world’s largest gun-owning population per capita, where 40 percent of Americans say they own a gun or live in a household with guns. Even so, concern about the accelerating spread of COVID-19 is causing a spike in sales, according to sellers and data from gun-tracking agencies, such as the FBI’s National Instant Crime Background Check System, which saw a doubling of checks on applicant buyers last week.
In Florida, the number of background checks posted by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which closely correlates with the number of gun sales statewide, has risen to unprecedented levels, up nearly 500 percent on Friday alone, with 13,192 checks recorded compared to 2,646 on the same date last year.
From St. Patrick's Day on March 17 through Saturday, 56,677 checks were recorded compared to 11,842 during the same five-day period in 2019. While the volume of checks in the FDLE's Firearm Purchase Program decreased 16 percent in 2019, it’s up 38 percent in 2020, with a week to go in March. Read the rest of Coronavirus gun sales.
Oh right - NOW you tell me....
Watching the chaos at my local range’s retail side last week. The entire staff was helping first-timers make out 4473’s. I heard one of the customers saying, “But I thought we didn’t have gun registration in the U.S.” - the guy behind the counter said perfectly straight-faced, “It’s really people registration, you know.” I don’t think that made it any better...
I keep wondering why go buy a new gun if you can’t find ammo for it...
Might just as well go to home depot and buy a hammer!
Ha!!!
.
I knew it,
Looked real enough.
Mods pulled it,
You on
“Time Out?”
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