File photo of a gun store. USA Today/AP.
The FBI reports that Americans are on pace to have the most background checks, a decent proxy for gun sales, since record keeping began. USA Today. So far this year, background checks have not fallen below 2 million for any given month. If those rates remain steady for November and December it will pass the one year record of 27.5 million checks. Sales have been brisk for firearms after a supposed "Trump Slump" when gun owners thought that there would be no new gun laws. However, several mass shootings and the Democrats response to them have caused a boost in sales. Sales were also boosted due to Robert Francis "Beto" O'Rourke's call for gun confiscation at one of the Democrat debates and may be increased again as anti-gun former mayor Michael Bloomberg entered the race. The FBI has had some difficulty keeping up with the demand and traditionally Black Friday has been a huge day for gun sales.
The numbers for the NICS background check system can be found here.
My Comment:
I think some of this is just a recovery due to the economic conditions. I know that I bought my rifle this year not due to politics (primarily) but because I wanted another rifle and had the money this time around. Most of the people I know who have bought guns did so for the same reason. With the economy being good, people are spending their money and one of the things they want to buy is firearms.
But I do think that gun control pushes by the Democrats had something to do with it. Before the impeachment idiocy, it really looked like there was going to be some new gun control laws. The Democrats took the house in 2018 and it looked like quite a few Republicans were going to cave on gun rights. This didn't happen but I think the concern about it helped to boost sales.
Of course not all states can say that they didn't have new gun laws. My state is fine but other ones did have some new gun control laws in 2019 and 2018. People in these states almost certainly bought new weapons, either because they were going to be banned soon or because they were worried about additional laws.
I think the twin campaigns of Eric Swalwell and Robert Francis O'Rourke did quite a bit to boost sales as well. Both candidates supported gun control that went far beyond what we have heard from presidential candidates as well. Swalwell didn't make much of an impact outside of the gun rights community that hated him but I think O'Rourke was a wakeup call for many non-political Americans. Though I am convinced that everyone believes President Trump will win in 2020, the idea that any of the Democrats could win is enough for people to want to buy guns.
With Michael Bloomberg entering the race I think sales will increase as well. Bloomberg IS the modern gun control movement and people understand that he was responsible for some of the worst gun laws in the country in New York City. Though I don't think Bloomberg has much of chance of winning but if he does it's an existential threat to private gun ownership, even more so than Swalwell and O'Rourke would have been.
USA Today mentioned that mass shootings are probably increasing gun sales. Though I agree that the reaction to these shootings from Democrats drive sales I think they missed part of it. When some crazed idiot shoots up a Wal-Mart it doesn't just drive sales because of bans. People naturally want to be able to defend themselves. As mass shootings increase, mostly due to media coverage, people will buy guns and get concealed carry permits so they can defend themselves in the extremely unlikely event they get caught up in one.
I do think that gun sales will probably stay steady. If a Democrat wins in 2020 I think there will be a massive boost but even if that doesn't happen I think sales will keep at this pace. The thing with guns is that if you buy one you want to buy another and then keep buying them until you run out of things to buy. I personally own a pile of guns but I still have a few more guns I would like to buy, like a PCC, a CCW focused handgun and maybe even a shotgun.
If anything does hurt gun sales it will be economic in nature. Guns are not cheap and people won't be buying them if they lose their jobs. Our economy is doing very well right now so I don't see that happening in the short term but I don't know what could happen in the long term.
The numbers for the NICS background check system can be found here.
My Comment:
I think some of this is just a recovery due to the economic conditions. I know that I bought my rifle this year not due to politics (primarily) but because I wanted another rifle and had the money this time around. Most of the people I know who have bought guns did so for the same reason. With the economy being good, people are spending their money and one of the things they want to buy is firearms.
But I do think that gun control pushes by the Democrats had something to do with it. Before the impeachment idiocy, it really looked like there was going to be some new gun control laws. The Democrats took the house in 2018 and it looked like quite a few Republicans were going to cave on gun rights. This didn't happen but I think the concern about it helped to boost sales.
Of course not all states can say that they didn't have new gun laws. My state is fine but other ones did have some new gun control laws in 2019 and 2018. People in these states almost certainly bought new weapons, either because they were going to be banned soon or because they were worried about additional laws.
I think the twin campaigns of Eric Swalwell and Robert Francis O'Rourke did quite a bit to boost sales as well. Both candidates supported gun control that went far beyond what we have heard from presidential candidates as well. Swalwell didn't make much of an impact outside of the gun rights community that hated him but I think O'Rourke was a wakeup call for many non-political Americans. Though I am convinced that everyone believes President Trump will win in 2020, the idea that any of the Democrats could win is enough for people to want to buy guns.
With Michael Bloomberg entering the race I think sales will increase as well. Bloomberg IS the modern gun control movement and people understand that he was responsible for some of the worst gun laws in the country in New York City. Though I don't think Bloomberg has much of chance of winning but if he does it's an existential threat to private gun ownership, even more so than Swalwell and O'Rourke would have been.
USA Today mentioned that mass shootings are probably increasing gun sales. Though I agree that the reaction to these shootings from Democrats drive sales I think they missed part of it. When some crazed idiot shoots up a Wal-Mart it doesn't just drive sales because of bans. People naturally want to be able to defend themselves. As mass shootings increase, mostly due to media coverage, people will buy guns and get concealed carry permits so they can defend themselves in the extremely unlikely event they get caught up in one.
I do think that gun sales will probably stay steady. If a Democrat wins in 2020 I think there will be a massive boost but even if that doesn't happen I think sales will keep at this pace. The thing with guns is that if you buy one you want to buy another and then keep buying them until you run out of things to buy. I personally own a pile of guns but I still have a few more guns I would like to buy, like a PCC, a CCW focused handgun and maybe even a shotgun.
If anything does hurt gun sales it will be economic in nature. Guns are not cheap and people won't be buying them if they lose their jobs. Our economy is doing very well right now so I don't see that happening in the short term but I don't know what could happen in the long term.
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