The one thing I cannot seem to find is data that shows exactly where these 1st time buyers live, as in which city. I would suspect, though, that a goodly chunk are in Democratic Party run cities seeing lots of violence
First-time gun buyers are fueled by fears over the pandemic, the economy, and nationwide protests
Michael Braunlin bought his first gun in March, as fears of the coronavirus pandemic were taking hold in the US.
“A lot of it was around not knowing what was happening and not having a lot of assurance from my government that we were going to be kept safe and protected,” Braunlin told Business Insider Today.
During a record-breaking year of firearm background checks across the country, he wasn’t the only one to make that decision.
“As I was watching more and more people panic-buy, I said, OK, I think I need to be purchasing a firearm just in case something happens,” Braunlin said.
So far in 2020, gun background checks have already reached monthly all-time highs twice.
In March, the FBI conducted 3.7 million checks — the most since the bureau started keeping track in 1998.
Remember, people were scared as to what was going to happen, and concerned with Government slapping this restriction and that restriction on citizens without any Constitutional, state or federal, considerations. Nobody really knew how bad it could get, but we had seen the obliteration of Italy, right?
Then in June, that record was broken with 3.9 million. All four weeks of the month made the list of top 10 weeks with the most firearm background checks ever.
And people were seeing the violence in the streets from the BLM/Antifa folks, along with lots and lots of young, white Democratic Party voters who self-style themselves as revolutionaries but have nothing better to do with the schools closed, missing their classes to obtain a worthless degree with $75k in student loans debt. Plus, seeing that Democratic Party mayors and governors were not only doing nothing, but, often enticing the rioters, as the Credentialed Media did the same.
Combine that with all the Dem calls to defund the police.
The biggest surge of recent sales here has been with handguns and shotguns — not for hunting, but for self-protection.
“I don’t feel safe right now, so I need to make sure I’m safe,” customer Victoria Legato said.
“People are scouring,” Randy Quick, another customer, added. “They’re emptying the shelves, you know? So it’s a different time.”
Again, how many are Dem voters who were always anti-private gun ownership and scoffed at the notion of someone, especially a woman, having a gun for protection?
But these shops aren’t free of their critics — especially from groups that advocate against gun violence.
“They care about sales, not about the people who own those guns,” Kris Brown, president of the nonprofit Brady: United Against Gun Violence, told Business Insider Today. “And I’m concerned that the rush to buy guns is going to increase fatalities and injuries of the very people that the gun owners are seeking to protect.”
Yeah, let these people go live in Seattle, Portland, NYC, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Oakland, Detroit, and even Kenosha. See what they feel about the chance of violence.
“I do feel I have to be, like, extra responsible because I am a person of color,” Braunlin said. “I’ve actually started researching what to do if the police stop you. And I have to think about the prejudice of other people. You know, I can’t control it.”
As someone whose own perspective on guns has shifted since buying one, he says that there’s nuance behind it all.
“I come from a very liberal family and I would consider myself pretty liberal,” Braunlin said. “Now being a gun owner, I’m like, OK, I get it. If they did away with the Second Amendment tomorrow, I’d be like, no, you can’t take my gun. I’m sorry, no.”
Welcome to the club, pal! Your fellow 2nd Amendment supporters do not care about your skin color in the least. See you at the range!
One stat I’d love to see is how many concealed carry permits have been applied for, especially in Dem run areas.
Read: Surprise: First Time Gun Buyers Surge Over Lockdown Fears, Riots In Democratic Party Run Cities »