Lots of vocal Americans on Twitter and other social media sites have claimed that people are purchasing fewer guns, using these “stats” to support the argument that gun ownership is wholly unnecessary. But recent guns and ammo demands in regions like the Mid-South and beyond tell a different story.
The Story Behind the Skyrocketing Guns and Ammo Demands
More and more businesses have enjoyed a recent gun and ammunition sale boom.
Some of these sales spikes have been so dramatic that gun shops are reporting sales numbers that they’d never imagined seeing.
Other stores ran out of their stocks so quickly.
They found it difficult to service customers who continued coming to the door to ask for more firearms and ammunition.
As an example, one Mississippi gun shop that has been in business since 1983 found that their sales for firearms and ammunition to be 600% above what they normally were for a regular fiscal year.
Even beyond the Mid-South, spikes in guns and ammunition sales have become a regular occurrence, even in states as liberal as California.
This huge boom in gun sales is sure to have major repercussions in the future, but it’s important to consider why this trend is occurring now and what to expect in the short term.
Why Is This Happening?
In short, many people are purchasing firearms and ammunition because of the dual disaster that is COVID-19 and the recent civil unrest spurred by the death of George Floyd.
Pandemics and times of lockdown are historically uneasy ones, and many Americans may feel more comfortable taking their safety into their own hands by purchasing a firearm.
Furthermore, it’s easy to see riots constantly happening across the nation in big cities like Chicago, Portland, and even Washington DC on the nightly news.
There are few things more worrying than a riot, and it’s been clear for some time that the rioters in question don’t really care whose side anyone’s on.
To that end, it’s logical that many Americans are purchasing firearms and ammunition as last resort defensive measures in case they end up in the path of unreasonable protesters.
Both reasons can boil down to the same basic instinct: the desire for safety and protecting one’s family.
What Does It Mean?
This means, in the short term, that more Americans are armed now than they likely have been for some time.
Before COVID-19 and the social unrest from recent protests, fewer Americans were armed with any gun.
More people with guns means that unrest hotspots, like many of the aforementioned cities, could see increased gun violence in the future, especially since many of these first-time gun buyers aren’t well educated and don’t know about gun safety rules.
However, it also means that people may change their collective tunes about firearms and ammunition.
Recently, political discourse about firearms and the Second Amendment has been trending toward the liberal side of things, with much of the population supporting increased gun control.
But when push comes to shove, it seems that lots of people prefer being able to take their defense into their own hands.
Whether or not this translates into a political shift over the long-term remains to be seen.
Is the Trend Likely to Continue?
It’s likely that the trend will continue for as long as social unrest dominates the nightly newsreels and COVID-19 lockdowns continue.
People will need to feel a sense of calm and control for them to give up their firearms and stop buying extra ammunition.
Summary
Overall, the recent spike in gun and ammunition sales is indicative of the paranoia and fear currently gripping the American population.
Things seem to be getting worse and worrisome for many folks.
We can only hope that the situation will improve. And that, in the meantime, those newly-purchased firearms do protect those who find themselves in harm’s way.
What do you think about the growing guns and ammo demands? Do you think that the supply can keep up?Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
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I think that the person that wrote this is a Liberal, ANTI Second Amendment person. The article is tuned to the idea of ONLY having guns to protect yourself from the recent protestors, which most people will NEVER encounter, and not the COMMON THUG, which many people can EASILY encounter! Also, the part about giving up.your gun(s) – ridiculous. The only way to protect yourself and your family/loved ones/others is to ALWAYS carry a firearm that you can ACCURATELY shoot. Oh and also, the part about beginners carrying firearms and not being able to accurately shoot them: well, ONLY A FOOL would do that! If you can’t safely and accurately use a gun against a known THREAT, then you shouldn’t be carrying one! You will only harm/kill others around you and probably NOT the REAL threat, the thug attacking you and/or your loved ones/those whom you’re trying to protect!! This article has some of the DUMBEST, MOST INACCURATE statements I have seen in a long time and was CLEARLY written by someone who neither owns, nor KNOWS anything about, guns! Shameful journalism! SMH #researchbeforeyouwrite #liberalsshouldntwriteaboutAmericanideals