SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — Gun sales tend to rise when a politician threatens to impose new hurdles to buy them. According to Brookings, Sales increased by 3 million and 1.6 million respectively when former President Obama talked about putting restrictions on gun sales following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and the San Bernardino terrorist attack.
But this year is different. The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimated that gun sales came out to about 8.5 million from March through July. That is a 94% increase from the same period in 2019.
Personal safety seems to be the driving factor for this purchasing splurge. One Central New York resident, who asked to remain anonymous, believes that the looting and rioting have people scared.
“I would be worried if I lived near a city where this stuff was happening,” the CNY resident said.
He believes that guns give people an added sense of security.
“You need to be able to protect yourself,” the CNY resident said. “And that would be the only way I could protect myself right now. I couldn’t hold them off or fight them or anything else. I would have to have a weapon.”
The spike in gun sales also led to a jump in ammunition. As a result, there has been an ammunition shortage since April across the country.
Ra-Lin Discount Manager David Steinberg speculates that these manufacturing companies are having trouble finding the manpower to keep pace with the demand.
“I think a lot of it might be related to people who just didn’t want to go to work because some people could stay home and make more money,” Steinberg said.
Steinberg says that originally business was booming when the pandemic hit.
“It was a buying frenzy,” Steinberg said. “People were lined up out the door…people were stockpiling two, three boxes of ammunition.”
But unable to completely restock, Steinberg fears for what the first business quarter in 2021 will bring.
“Less stuff to sell,” Steinberg said. “It’s quiet time around here anyways. Stuff that people are going to be looking for, they’re not going to be able to get.”
With the ammunition shortage expected to last until 2021, residents who want that extra level of protection might be left with one feeling.
“A gun with no bullets,” the CNY resident said. “How would that make me feel safe? I mean, I would be in a position where you would just have that fear of what if somebody comes here and nothing to say how do I stop them.”
