orried New Yorkers are looking to pack some heat.Posted on 10/15/2001 3:24:28 AM PDT by kattracks
orried New Yorkers are looking to pack some heat.
Police, lawyers and local gun ranges say they have received almost double the normal number of calls daily from people wanting to buy a gun, get a firearms license or take shooting lessons since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
"Absolutely," said Don Spallone, manager of the Woodhaven Rifle and Pistol Range in Queens. "We've been getting calls constantly about the licensing procedure."
"After the 11th, things were quiet for a week," said Darren Leung, co-owner of the Westside Rifle and Pistol Range on W. 20th St. in Manhattan. "Now we're getting more and more calls every day from people who want to know how to go about getting a gun."
It could be a national trend.
Guns Selling Fast
Jon Board, firearms instructor at the National Survival Store in Las Vegas, said customers are snatching up handguns in the $100-$200 range as fast as the shop can stock them.
It was unclear how many of the local callers would actually go on to secure gun permits. New York City's gun permit process is particularly arduous — requiring reams of paperwork, fingerprint and background checks, which can take six to eight months to complete.
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| Gunning for Bin Laden: Manhattan pistol range offers an Osama target. |
Sgt. Steven Oteri of the NYPD's licensing division said that although calls have increased there has not been a similar increase in applications, primarily because 1 Police Plaza, where that office is located, was off-limits to civilians for several weeks after the World Trade Center attack.
He expected better figures to be available this week.
Lawyer John Chambers, a former prosecutor who helps clients negotiate the city's gun licensing process, said he also has received more queries about the procedure.
"We're seeing a 30 to 40% increase in queries," Chambers said. "We're finding since Sept. 11 that we're getting more calls from people who want to have a gun in the home to protect their families." Spallone said many of the recent inquiries at the Woodhaven Rifle and Pistol Range have come from lower Manhattan residents who "live close to where the devastation occurred."
Many are discouraged when they learn about the licensing process. "You can't even fire a gun here without a license," Spallone said.
More Target Practice
Leung said that in addition to the increase in phone inquiries at Westside Rifle and Pistol Range he has noticed more club members and police — particularly state police stationed in the city — coming in for target practice.
His partner, Robert Derrig, said customers are also stocking up on ammunition — and not the solid-projectile practice rounds but people-stopping, hollow-point bullets.
Pepper spray is also a hot item, Derrig said.
"People want to protect their families," Leung said. "This is not to say people don't have faith in the police. They just want to make sure they can take care of their families."
New York City residents aren't the only ones making their way to gun dealers. Leung said a Rochester arms distributor he deals with said he sold 400,000 rounds of ammunition in one week, more than he typically sold in a year.
Pump-action shotguns also were flying off the shelves of the upstate distributor, Leung said.
Board said National Survival Store customers are snatching up 9-mm. and .45-caliber pistols. "They aren't interested in carrying a gun for personal protection," Board said. "This is more like impulse, panic buying."
No they didn't. Sarah Brady and her accomplices are still excreting their neo-national socialist anti-gun drivel. Look here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/547652/posts
His expression would probably read, "What the he!! is that old piece of cr@p??"
Get serious about self defense and buy the best gun/ammunition combination you can control. Practice real world scenarios by shooting in IDPA pistol matches and learn how to shoot a rifle in CMP/NRA Highpower rifle matches.
More like "impossible." You cannot get one unless you have a job that requires you to carry large sums of money or valuables on a regular basis, are an ex-cop, or have someone in the mayor's office that REALLY likes you.
THEY DID, IF YOU'LL RECALL, ELECT THIS -- ER -- WOMAN TO THE SENATE:
Hillary seen here employing the “Lewinsky Method” while scarfing a street weenie at a political function. Bill has requested that she NOT use this technique when he is in the area lest he have to quickly repair to the nearest lavatory to avoid embarrassing himself (like THAT is a problem for Mr. Humiliation!).
Went to the local gun shop; no AR's available. Still waiting.
Guess I could pick one up at a gun show, but I like to get the big ticket items from the local dealers - keep those boys in business.
Ahh. The old bait and switch routine!
Yup. It works. :-)
I'd like to see the media address this:
If guns cause crime, and gun sales are up, shouldn't crime be up proportionately? (and I am sure it isn't.)
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