Why Gun Sales are on the Rise in 2012
Welshtaff
2012/03/05 01:21:10
Why Gun Sales are on the Rise in 2012
Gun sales were up in the U.S. during 2011. The good news for the industry is that business in 2012 promises to be just as good or even better. In January 2012, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) numbers showed an increase of 17.3 percent in gun purchase related checks compared to the same time period the previous year. January marks 20 straight months of increased NICS report requests.
by B. Gil Horman•February 13, 2012•
Gun sales were up in the U.S. during 2011. The good news for the industry is that business in 2012 promises to be just as good or even better. In January 2012, the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s (NSSF) adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) numbers showed an increase of 17.3 percent in gun purchase related checks compared to the same time period the previous year. January marks 20 straight months of increased NICS report requests.Some anti-gunners reject the idea of using NICS reports to track gun sales. They say there’s no way to prove that every single check resulted in the purchase of one or more firearms. Fair enough, if you’re going to split hairs. Instead, we’ll just have to settle for saying that the number of individuals willing to drive to a gun store, tell the gun seller they want to buy a gun, fill out the forms for said purchase, and pay the fee required for a NICS report, has steadily increased for more than a year and a half.
Another indicator of firearms industry health is attendance at the annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) held in Las Vegas. In January, SHOT Show reached a new record with more than 61,000 in attendance, including over 36,000 buyers shaking hands with 1,600 exhibitors. Although the show has been well attended for several years, not every year is a good one for manufacturers. This year was different. In speaking with a variety of gun and ammunition company representatives since the show, they’ve all had the same good news to share. They left the show exhausted and happy because of the large sets of inventory scheduled to ship in the course of the show.
It’s good to know the folks in this industry are currently enjoying some much needed job security. But this increased level of gun sales begs an important question: If the country is still suffering from a weak economy, with many individuals struggling to keep their heads above water, why are people choosing to part with their precious cash resources to buy firearms?
The available numbers indicate that, in general, people in the United States seem to have a more positive attitude towards gun ownership today than in the past. For example, a recent Gallup poll shows the number of participants in favor of banning handguns has dropped to a record low of 26 percent compared to 60 percent in 1959. When asked if so called “assault rifles” should be banned, 53 percent said no. Those in favor of enforcing the gun laws on the books are up to 60 percent, while those who want additional regulations are down to 35 percent.
As hopeful and helpful as poll results are, they still don’t answer the fundamental question: Why has there been a shift to a much more pro-gun stance? Hard numbers and statistics are not readily available to delve into the minds of those who are choosing to purchase firearms at this time. Instead, we’ll have to settle for what can be called informed conjecture. Here are a few of the most popular theories for accelerated gun sales that regularly show up in the conversations around the industry’s collective office water cooler:
Shooting’s New Positive Media Image
Popular mainstream television programs about guns and shooting, such as Top Shot, are sparking viewer interest in the sport. While the competitive and informational aspects of these shows are entertaining, the programs also disprove many of the negative stereotypes surrounding gun ownership. As a result, many first-time shooters are making their way to the range.
An Attitude of Self-Reliance
As the country continues to suffer from a weak economy, it seems counterintuitive that individuals would chose to invest in relatively expensive items like firearms and ammunition. However, with no relief in sight for the high unemployment rates, along with continued cuts in funding for important law enforcement services, more people are choosing to take personal responsibility for their safety. The sales of compact handguns for legal concealed carry are steady and strong. Greater access to concealed weapons permits has fueled a surge in women choosing to become gun owners. According to a Gallup poll, a record 43 percent of women in America say they have a firearm in their home.
The 2012 Elections
As this year’s Presidential election approaches, Second Amendment advocates are energetic in emphasizing that voters choosing to keep President Obama in office would deal a devastating blow to gun rights. Obama’s arrival in the White House helped to generate record gun sales in 2009. His appointment of anti-gun justices to the U.S. Supreme court, the Fast & Furious scandal and his open support of the United Nation’s gun ban treaty have worked to fuel gun owners’ concerns. Although Obama is purposefully stepping around gun related issues as he ramps up his campaign, gun buyers are likely to keep gun sales high in 2012 if it appears the President will win.
Are you planning to buy firearms this year? If so, what’s your motivation?
Read More: http://www.gunsandammo.com/2012/02/13/why-gun-sale...
. Attorney General Eric
Holder: Attorney General Eric Holder now operates
the most politicized and ideological Department of Justice (DOJ) in recent
history. And revelations from the Operation Fast and Furious scandal suggest
that programs approved by the Holder DOJ may have resulted in the needless
deaths of many, including a federal law enforcement officer.
Fast and Furious was a
DOJ/Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “gun-running”
operation in which guns were sold to Mexican drug cartels and others, apparently
in hopes that the guns would end up at crime scenes. This reckless insanity
seems to have resulted in, among other crimes, the murder of Border Patrol Agent
Brian Terry, who was killed in a shootout with Mexican criminals in December
2010. Fast and Furious guns were found at the scene of his death.
The Fast and Furious
operation by itself should have resulted in Holder’s resignation, but it is the
cover-up that has prompted serious calls for Holder’s ouster.
On May 3, 2011, in a
House Judiciary Committee hearing chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Holder
testified: “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and
Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.” New...
. Attorney General Eric
Holder: Attorney General Eric Holder now operates
the most politicized and ideological Department of Justice (DOJ) in recent
history. And revelations from the Operation Fast and Furious scandal suggest
that programs approved by the Holder DOJ may have resulted in the needless
deaths of many, including a federal law enforcement officer.
Fast and Furious was a
DOJ/Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “gun-running”
operation in which guns were sold to Mexican drug cartels and others, apparently
in hopes that the guns would end up at crime scenes. This reckless insanity
seems to have resulted in, among other crimes, the murder of Border Patrol Agent
Brian Terry, who was killed in a shootout with Mexican criminals in December
2010. Fast and Furious guns were found at the scene of his death.
The Fast and Furious
operation by itself should have resulted in Holder’s resignation, but it is the
cover-up that has prompted serious calls for Holder’s ouster.
On May 3, 2011, in a
House Judiciary Committee hearing chaired by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), Holder
testified: “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and
Furious for the first time over the last few weeks.” Newly released documents
show he was receiving weekly briefings on Fast and Furious as far back as July
5, 2010. It appears Holder lied to Congress. (Judicial Watch sued the DOJ and
the ATF to obtain Fast and Furious records. The Judicial Watch investigation
continues.)
Unfortunately, when it
comes to Holder's corruption and abuse of office, Fast and Furious is just the
tip of the iceberg.
On February 23, 2011,
Attorney General Eric Holder announced that DOJ lawyers would no longer defend
the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), as
applied to homosexual couples. DOMA had passed Congress by a vote of 85–14 in
the Senate and a vote of 342–67 in the House. President Clinton signed the act
into law on September 21, 1996.
Judicial Watch filed
two Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits against the DOJ (including one on
behalf of the Family Research Council) for records related to this
pro-homosexual marriage decision. This failure to defend this federal law is
unprecedented and raises serious questions as to whether President
Obama and Eric Holder are
upholding their oaths of office and following the Constitution’s command to
“take care that the laws be faithfully executed.”
The DOJ continues to
stonewall the release of information regarding Supreme Court Justice Elena
Kagan’s participation in Obamacare discussions when she served as Solicitor
General. In addition to forcing Judicial Watch to file a lawsuit to obtain this
information, Holder’s DOJ thumbed its nose at Congress by failing to release
this material to the Senate Judiciary Committee during Kagan’s judicial
confirmation hearing. Holder continues to personally resist requests from
Judicial Watch and Congress for additional information on this controversy.
Kagan’s role in these discussions is especially significant now that the U.S.
Supreme Court has announced it will consider challenges to the constitutionality
of Obamacare in Spring 2012.
New revelations emerged
in 2011 about the DOJ’s Black Panther scandal. Judicial Watch uncovered evidence
that the liberal special interest group National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People (NAACP) may have had an inappropriate amount of influence on
the DOJ’s decision to drop its voter intimidation lawsuit against the New Black
Panther Party for Self Defense. This comes on the heels of sworn testimony that
the Civil Rights Division of the Holder DOJ makes enforcement decisions based
upon race.
Most recently, Judicial
Watch obtained shocking documents suggesting the Holder DOJ is conspiring with
scandal-ridden Project Vote (President Obama’s former employer and ACORN front)
to use the National Voter Registration Act to increase welfare voter
registrations. One former ACORN employee (and current Project Vote Director of
Advocacy), Estelle Rogers, is even helping to vet job candidates for the Justice
Department’s Voting Rights Division! (ACORN and Project Vote have a long record
of voter registration fraud.)
Seeming to affirm
ACORN’s hijacking of the DOJ, Holder recently said in a speech that he plans to
use “the full weight” of the agency in 2012 to attack states that are enforcing
laws that protect against fraud in the voting booths. This speech ended the
pretense that the DOJ is independent from the Democratic National Committee and
the Obama campaign – as it repeated almost verbatim the partisan arguments made
by the Democratic Party against voter ID laws.
Holder must go. Pick
your reason – Black Panthers, race-based decision making, abandoning the Defense
of Marriage Act, Fast and Furious killings and lies, or turning the DOJ into an
arm of the radicalized left –- but Holder must go.
The U.S. Department of Justice's own National Institute of Justice /Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the FBI Uniform Crime Report, both of which -- for the last two decades -- show that there are fewer and declining gun crimes and fewer and declining gun accidents where law abiding Americans bear guns both in and out of the home. The old failed gun control laws from the post World War II period were proven not to work. The creation and implementation of "concealed carry reforms" in 1987 that started with the Florida experiment and now include 49 out of 50 states correspond closely with the reduction of violent crime and reduction of gun accidents.
Wisdom and proven history would dictate leaving these successful reforms in place and even promoting further reforms to include national reciprocity and civic responsibility with advanced use-of-force and safety training at a young age similar to the successful small arms training of young people in Switzerland and Israel.
Concealed carry reforms are here to stay. To deny them or try t...
The U.S. Department of Justice's own National Institute of Justice /Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the FBI Uniform Crime Report, both of which -- for the last two decades -- show that there are fewer and declining gun crimes and fewer and declining gun accidents where law abiding Americans bear guns both in and out of the home. The old failed gun control laws from the post World War II period were proven not to work. The creation and implementation of "concealed carry reforms" in 1987 that started with the Florida experiment and now include 49 out of 50 states correspond closely with the reduction of violent crime and reduction of gun accidents.
Wisdom and proven history would dictate leaving these successful reforms in place and even promoting further reforms to include national reciprocity and civic responsibility with advanced use-of-force and safety training at a young age similar to the successful small arms training of young people in Switzerland and Israel.
Concealed carry reforms are here to stay. To deny them or try to create a wedge issue out of them when there are so many real problems to deal with is unproductive. Most Americans support concealed carry (DOJ’s NIJ/BJS) because it works and gun control does not.
my arsenal is locked and loaded. an will protect life, property ,and family till they take the guns from my cold hands!
Why is setting in the White House, plus all his many czars.
Fear is a powerful motivator.
So Yes I plan on buying a firearm this year.
Second people are buying guns to defend the Constitution and America. If Obama gets re-elected with his Marxist-Socialist (Communist) government, it will be an uprising in this country. Obama is just playing nice to get re-elected. If he gets re-elected, watch out because America will go to the dogs.
and these last 3 are the biggest reasons I got more guns..
this signs say's it all & it bears truth for those who are in doubt...
I certantly won't run away from a good deal , should it arise....
The elevation of firearm sales may have to do with the economy and protecting ones family and property....
I think this has more to do with it....
3 years in a row...
And, of course, the never ending 24/7 crisis/scare cycle (some dare call it "news") keeps everybody aware of the threat of violence from mad muzlim pig-farmers to angry high school students and insane ex-spouses and boyfriends.
The gov't is unable to protect me / you / us on a 24 hr. 7 day a week .. just is not going to happen,
Police carry a gun to protect them selves , not you and I who they have never even met.
the gun is for the law officer's personal protection,, the POTUS has the secret service , the politicians have police escorts, me ? I got my self to look out for my protection..
and a Glock makes it a lot safer....
a Ruger Mark 3 , she and I are going shooting this afternoon..
Our son , daughter are versed in being aware of what is going on around them , both are expierenced with handling hand gun & long guns too..
now the wife ... she is an anti gunner, but then she has me at her side,,
for the record,, a hand gun is to use to fight your / my way to a long gun.. IMO.....
My wife is an Air Force veteran so she had to qualify with the M-16 rifle every year, but she is still not crazy about shooting. She views guns as a sort of "necessary nuisance" to be "tolerated" because she knows the world is an often unkind place. She was herself the victim of a brutal assault before we met and she is still suffering the mental scars and physical head trauma of that tragedy. She will be training for her concealed carry permit early next month and her weapon is a .38 special Smith & Wesson K-frame (medium service) revolver with 3" barrel a...
My wife is an Air Force veteran so she had to qualify with the M-16 rifle every year, but she is still not crazy about shooting. She views guns as a sort of "necessary nuisance" to be "tolerated" because she knows the world is an often unkind place. She was herself the victim of a brutal assault before we met and she is still suffering the mental scars and physical head trauma of that tragedy. She will be training for her concealed carry permit early next month and her weapon is a .38 special Smith & Wesson K-frame (medium service) revolver with 3" barrel and rosewood grips. Encourage your wife to view guns as the utilitarian tools that they really are -- sort of like fire extinguishers and insurance policies. After a few calm sessions on the range, most people come to enjoy them as they master them.
My carry weapon is an old .45 Colt Officer's ACP or .45 Springfield Armory 1911A1 service pistol. We keep pistols on our night stands at night and a 12 gauge pump shotgun in the corner of the bedroom. We also have a home alarm and keep an outside light on at night. During the daytime, all guns are locked in the vault except what we keep on us for concealed carry.
Congratulations on the decision to be armed and have a plan. Hopefully you won't be in a use-of-force situation, but you will be ready if and when.