When dealing with hot button issues such as Second Amendment rights, common sense is usually thrown out like a Nolan Ryan pitch on the mound. In the aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre, the fear that gun rights will be drastically scaled back or infringed upon has been a boon for the industry.
According to the Atlantic:
Smith & Wesson reported quarterly earning s triple what it saw a year ago, on sales totaling over $136 million. Sturm, Ruger & Co. had a similarly blockbuster quarter, with sales of $141.8 million. And this is only two publicly traded companies; as The Times reported in January, sales of AR-15 rifles, made by the privately held Bushmaster, were clearing shelves.
Shortly after the massacre in Newtown, each company's stock price plummeted. In the intervening months, each has nearly recovered its losses
The gun industry relies on fear and misinformation to enhance its agenda. However, Obama’s position on gun control, which many expected to stand on the extreme liberal side of the fence has been fairly moderate.
Obama urged measures including background checks on all guns sales, reinstating the assault weapons ban, banning high-capacity ammunition magazines and armor-piercing bullets, new gun trafficking laws and increased access to mental health treatment. — ABC News
However, the Obama Administration is simply inching back to the Clinton-era Assault Rifle ban. Since the ban expired in 2004, mass shootings have been on the rise. It’s clear that action has to be taken, but because this is a divisive issue in our country, rash, knee-jerk reactions have prevented a consensus from being reached.
“If I had 1,000 AR-15s I could sell them in a week,” said Jack Smith, an independent gun dealer in Des Moines, referring to the popular style of semiautomatic rifle that drew national attention after Adam Lanza used one to kill 20 children and 6 adults at a Newtown school. “When I close, they beat on the glass to be let in,” Mr. Smith said of his customers. “They’ll wave money at me.” —New York Times
Or take it from leading gun control advocate, Josh Sugarmann who spoke to Reuters.
The pattern of gun sales rising after a mass shooting is disturbing, said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, a Washington group that favors gun control.
"While the majority of Americans look for solutions to stop the next attack, a minority of gun owners runs to hoard the very guns used in the most recent" incidents, Sugarmann said in an email.
This type of crazed lust over assault rifles is exactly why background checks should be mandatory. If your paranoia propels you to begin stocking up on assault rifles to protect yourself against the government or to defend your home, then you probably don't have the suitable mentality required to own a gun of that magnitude.
