The media seems to be clamoring about the record number of gun sales this year. Check it out:
Go Kentucky! You guys have the highest number of background checks for potential buyers. That is one motivated state, according to USA today.
Record gun checks, sales for Christmas
By Michael Winter, USA TODAY
https://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2012/01/record-gun-checks-sales-for-christmas/1
Along with millions of Kindles, Angry Birds and gift cards, Santa left a record number of guns under Americans’ Christmas trees, especially in Kentucky, according to FBI statistics on background checks.
In the six days before Christmas, gun dealers submitted nearly half-a-million names for checks on criminal records and mental health issues, with 20% coming Dec. 23, according to news reports. That was the second-busiest gun-buying day in history, topped only by firearm purchases on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, The London Telegraph says.
Love this part…
Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, cited several reasons, including “relaxed conceal-and-carry laws in Ohio, more women learning about guns and the pro-gun message resonating,” the Daily News writes.
“Owning a gun for self-defense is like owning a fire extinguisher or smoke detectors for safety,” Irvine said. “All of the fears about all of the nonsense about guns, they’re really myths that are falling by the wayside.”
It seems they have seen the same phenomenon in New Mexico:
Firearms a popular holiday purchase
https://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_19662997
LAS CRUCES – Holiday shoppers in 2011 weren’t just interested in buying the hottest electronics and toys – they also were purchasing record amounts of firearms, according to the latest FBI figures.
On Black Friday, Nov. 25, almost 130,000 requests for background checks on potential gun buyers came in to the FBI, up 32 percent from the previous record of almost 98,000 background checks on Black Friday in 2008, according to USA Today.
More of the good stuff…
Joe Pfeiffer, general manager of Command Bunker, on South Valley Drive in Las Cruces, said his store experienced roughly 50 percent more business than they expected in December – and not just in sales of firearms, but also ammunition, clothing, gift cards and accessories.
“We have sold more guns in December 2011, than any other month since we’ve been in business,” Pfeiffer said.
That includes customers who are new to the world of firearms ownership, like women, college-age residents and senior citizens, Pfeiffer said. Big sellers this season have been compact, concealed-carry suitable defensive handguns, from pocket .22-caliber handguns to .380s and .45-caliber handguns, Pfeiffer said.
And one more from Ohio:
Gun purchases continue record climb in Ohio
https://www.daytondailynews.com/news/gun-purchases-continue-record-climb-in-ohio-1306558.html
FBI background checks also are up in Ohio. In the first 11 months of 2011, the FBI conducted 406,593 background checks for firearm purchases at Ohio gun sellers, up 17.2 percent from the same period in 2010 and up 33.5 percent from 2008, according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
My only note here is that I think the number of first time owners due to fear for their personal safety might be a bit overstated. It is all conjecture, after all, and few people in the mainstream media understand the fun and camaraderie that embody the shooting sports. Maybe, with a little luck, we can change that thinking and open their minds to this fabulous word of firearms. What do you think?
