Recently, a new report presented by the Washington Free Beacon shows that the sales of guns have dramatically increased in the US since the start of the coronavirus infection with around six million guns being sold in the past three months solely.
Out of the six million sold in the period of three, months around 1.7 million were sold in the month of May alone which is the highest number ever to be sold in a span of a single month.
In comparison with May of last year, the gun sales in 2020 increased a whooping eighty percent. Though the reason for the boost in sales may be multiple, experts suggest that the primary reason may be the riots and protests conducted for the murder of Geroge Floyd by Minneapolis police.
Furthermore, the Free Beacon report also showed that the majority of the guns were bought by people who had not used arms or were first-timers.
More women in comparison with men were observed to buy guns, specifically handguns. This shows a significant change in patterns and highlights how more women maybe switching to stricter measures for personal protection.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which is the biggest trade group in the gun-manufacturing industry has stated that more and more people who have no experience with guns are buying them and are primarily responsible for the record high boost in sales.
The spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Mark Oliva explained the trends in a recent statement in the words “Our recent survey of firearm retailers shows us that 40 percent of these gun buyers are buying a firearm for the first time,”
RELATED: Largest Increase in Mental Health Disorders in the US Reported
“Of those first-time gun owners, 40 percent are women and these buyers are overwhelmingly purchasing handguns for personal protection.” Olive further added.
In addition to the Minneapolis police killing, another reason that could explain the rise in gun sales is the current coronavirus pandemic and related effects in the country.
Due to the lockdown imposed as a result of the coronavirus infected, people were reportedly seen to worry about a rise in violence and riots around the country because of problems associated with the shutting down of businesses such as unemployment and economic insecurity in general.
Secondly, a common assumption among people was also regarding stricter laws for owning and buying arms. The fear of such restrictions may have prompted people to buy many guns at a time in order to have a stock at home.
Timothy Lytton, who is a law professor at Georgia State University with specialization in the gun ownership and industry, the collective fear of a large number of patients with no room for treatment due to the coronavirus pandemic and protests over Minneapolis killings has convinced people that a civil war in the country is imminent.
Therefore, many people are expecting a major portion of the country to engage in violent activities such as looting, destroying businesses, and civil unrest in general.
To protect themself from such violent events in the future, people have then turned to pile up on guns instead of assuming the police or the state would help, leading to a boost in gun sales.
While it is true that there have been multiple protests in the US, mostly as a response to the murder of George Floyd, the sudden rise in gun sales can possibly point at a much bigger incoming problem.
Since many people who have bought guns have been noted to have little to no experience with them, it is possible that the guns may be used in violent activities in the future, which is why some authorities are also concerned and purposing stricter laws for gun ownership.
