This makes me feel hopeful that folks maybe won't turn around and hand over things they JUST spent good money for. Also makes a statement to the number of folks who are opposed to the proposed bans.
Gun stores here are unable to keep things in stock either.
I agree. I'm hopeful because I've also seen every range (and my dad told me its the same back home) I've been to lately has been packed to the gills, mainly with folks new to the sport. I've also seen a large number of us that are old to the sport (referring to all firearm activities in that sense, as the word fits best here) offering advice (I've had three different couples ask me for recommendations and also ask me to teach them basic safety and marksmanship in the past month), helping out, providing facts for argument, etc.
This is good:
1. Proof once again Americans in general do not like being told what they can and can't do.
2. People purchasing at even marked up prices in this economy, or forgoing "normal" purchases to obtain firearms and ammunition means if a confiscation occurs, they will likely at least passively resist, as who wants to "lose" thousands of dollars
3. More people are learning that shooting can be entertaining/cathartic/useful as a skill
4. More households are armed...I would bet crime stats will be depressed downward across the nation (likely a function of how readily new arms can be obtained from a state to state basis) meaning our population will be safer, and providing even more statistical ammunition to support the real conclusions--more guns, less crime. Criminals have got to be viewing this massive buy-up as bad for their profession, especially burglars.
In the same vein that airplane hijackings have been eliminated as terrorists now know the passengers will violently resist, I would get we see massive reduction in home invasions over the next months.
5. More people will be firearm owners and know basic firearm safety, meaning the population as a whole will be statistically moving toward our side, and the taboo will start to crack.
I read an odd calculation, assuming an average firearm plus ammunition purchase value with these prices of $1000 for each NICS check, that means in about 6 weeks, nearly $5 billion was spent on firearms and ammunition. Since normal non-food/living expense/vehicle purchasing in the US is about $50 billion per month, that means that firearms are accounting for nearly 5 PERCENT of the consumer goods economy, which is crazy! It also means that if you assume an average car payment of $300/month per household, and 100 million households, that means that on average one in six households is spending more on firearms than transportation! Those are dominating economic stats.
