Amid social unrest in many areas of the U.S., firearm sales are seeing a major uptick. According to a gun store owner in Pennsylvania, “one-third” of the customers are female.
Earlier this week, owner Edward Piestrak spoke out about this year’s sales surge during an interview with Citizens’ Voice. “In the old days — I’ve been here almost 48 years — we used to sell one lady a month, maybe, a gun,” Piestrak said. “Now, it’s almost one-third of our sales are women.”
From June of 2019 to June of 2020, FBI data shows that federal background checks for firearms soared from 2.3 million to 3.9 million, marking a 70% increase. According to Piestrak, civil unrest in the country is a major catalyst behind increasing sales.
“A lot of it’s to do with the rioting and all. People are watching TV,” Piestrak said. “They say they’re scared in their own house.”
First Time Firearm Buyers
Another gun store owner named Dan Fuller also spoke with Citizens’ Voice about experiencing booming sales. Fuller, who owns Bear’s Gun Room, recently moved his store’s location to Wyoming. He claims that sales went through the roof.
Fuller later spoke out about why he believes that firearm sales continue climbing this year. He explains that many of his customers hope to find a sense of security by purchasing a weapon.
“There’s a record number of first-time buyers,” he said. “There’s still your normal guys that exercise the Second Amendment. They’re just buyers, always looking for a deal, always looking for guns. I have guys who buy them once a month, once a week. But the bulk of the new rush is people not feeling secure — a lot of uncertainty with the election, a lot of uncertainty with civil unrest, defunding police, the whole nine yards.”
One result of the surging sales are delays in processing background checks. Fuller says that his staff members hope to improve wait times, but it’s important not to rush the process.
“They’ve done a few things to help speed things up,” Fuller said. “But at the same token, you really can’t go too fast because they want to make sure the wrong person’s not getting a gun. It is what it is.”
While gun sales surge, one problem that many gun owners and those in the hunting community face is a shortage of ammo. Learn more here.
[H/T Citizens’ Voice]
