Posted on 10/08/2001 6:48:22 AM PDT by truthandlife
With gun shops enjoying a surge in sales since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, it begs the question by some - why the purchase of a gun would make anybody feel safer. The terrorists hijacked airliners and aimed them at buildings. Could anybody on the ground with a gun have made a difference?
Dave Workman, Senior Editor of Gun Week magazine has an explanation.
"Gun sales have gone up in several states, because there is a fear that the police, while they do as well as they can, are not going to be there when we need them," Workman said. "There are a lot of people who never have owned a firearm before that are making their first gun purchase.
"That tells you something, that when the issue comes down to basics, they are the ones responsible for their own safety," he said.
Among those states where gun sales have increased are Connecticut, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. Sales in some of the eastern states surged by 50 percent in the days following Sept. 11, and out of 200 gun retailers nationwide polled by the National Sport Shooting Association, 36 percent reported increases in sales. Fifteen percent of the retailers said their sales zoomed 25 percent.
Larry Pratt, president of Gun Owners of America, agrees that the increased sale of firearms reflects a new attitude among Americans that they are vulnerable and must take responsibility for protecting themselves.
"No longer are Americans ready to assume that America will protect them," Pratt said. "I think the decision to take this back into their own hands is a very encouraging course of events -- hopefully we are seeing the beginning of the end of the culture of passivity."
Pratt admits there is little that an average person could do to stop a terrorist act, but that most gun owners are worried about the chaos that could ensue following such a catastrophe.
"I think it has occurred to them that while they unhappily would not have been able to protect themselves with a gun on a plane, that is not the only way a terrorist might attack," Pratt said. "If there were some kind of massive disruption of normal services that were brought out by an attack, there very well could be looters who decide that stealing from you would be better than being hungry.
"A lot people have decided they needed to be prepared to protect their families," he said.
However, Desmond Riley, spokesman for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, says guns are giving Americans a false sense of security and America's "lax gun laws" are endangering the nation even more because they give terrorists easy access to weapons.
"We have been saying for a long time that it is too easy for people to get guns, and we have known of instances where terrorists have gotten guns and have taken advantage of our weak gun laws," Riley said. "The truth is that a terrorist can go into a gun show this weekend and at certain tables could buy guns, no questions asked."
"In that specific instance [of the Sept. 11 attacks], guns did not play a role, but I think the potential for terrorists arming themselves is huge in America," he said. "I don't think we should be wittingly or unwittingly allowing terrorists to arm themselves."
Riley said it is "not surprising" that gun sales have gone up. However, he said the recent surge of gun sales would not last long.
Riley's suggestion to those who feel threatened and want to buy a gun? Find some means of emotional healing.
"We understand people are scared, and people are trying to deal with their fears, but bringing a handgun into their home is making that home more dangerous," he said. "People would be a lot better off going and talking to a counselor, a minister, a priest or a rabbi, because what people are looking for is peace of mind and security, and you won't find that in a gun."
Dr. Carol Oyster, a University of Wisconsin psychology professor, explains the gun-buying frenzy as a sign that people have a new sense of how vulnerable they really are.
"I think that the whole thing on Sept. 11 profoundly shook people's sense of security," said Oyster, who studies the sociology of gun owners. "We have always had what was probably an illusion of safety, and now people are realizing that nobody is really safe.
"And because that is a frightening thing, they want to take a pro-active step to make themselves feel like they are more in control of their safety and one way to do it is to buy a firearm," she said.
1. Because people are aware that you cannot take for granted government protection welfare because you need to be responsible for your own safety, as per the example of the WTC.
2. Because some people know that the likes of Hillary and Ted Kennedy are letting terrorists in that are capable of carrying out an intifada and that hence we have a responsibility, again, for our own safety, given that our governors and law makers are not that bright sometimes.
That is as it should be.
Stay well - stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown
I'm emotionally healing myself when I hold my new .40 S&W and new 9mm.
No offense, but they could just walk through the woods at any reserve/NG training area, find a crew of say, chubby female mechanincs, and take their weapons. Or a nice quick assualt on a LEO car. Or even a rural police station. Therefore, outlaw the National Guard, police, ect.....
IMHO 9/11 has been a wake up call. The government isn't the answer to terrorism. The only way to stop a determined terrorist is to kill them, and the only way to kill them is be armed.
Boonie Rat
MACV SOCOM, PhuBai/Hue '65-'66
No.
Could anybody on the plane with a a gun have made a difference? Heck yes.
I love rocket scientist statements like this. The Pentagon is actually well protected. But please share with us, oh wise one. Exactly what would you have done to prevent a airplane from flying into the building? Hmmmm? Erect a an automated SAM site right next to Reagan National maybe? THAT'S a good plan!
Dear Mr. Pratt:
Please go back and read about the 'average persons' on Flight 93.
Then feel free to revise your statement.
Obviously, Mr. Riley does not understand the mindset of the average American. There is nothing "false" about the sense of security of a person who is armed with both a weapon and the knowledge of how to use it.
I found my emotional healing at my local firearms shop, spent some time in the indoor range firing my new 9mm Glock 26 and Remington 870.
I feel much better.
Excellent. My brother went to the gun show in Ft. Worth Sunday, said the NRA booth was manned by Ft. Worth police SWAT team members, which I think speaks volumes about how Texans feel about the RKBA!
Original owner?
Boonie Rat
MACV SOCOM, PhuBai/Hue '65-'66
BTW, what's the deal with the HUGE gunshow in L.A.? Are they having it this year? I used to sell stuff at that one too but I understand there was some problem with the L.A. County Commissioners. Will it be going on this year again or no?
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