Guns selling out as people panic-buy weapons ahead of Biden inauguration
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Fears of tighter gun-control measures by the incoming Biden administration are stoking sales of firearms – with Glock handguns and semi-automatic weapons flying off the shelves and even selling out in some stores.
Among President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign promises was a pledge to end gun violence, which included banning assault weapons, closing loopholes in background checks on guns, limiting stockpiling of weapons and ending the online sale of firearms.
It is this anticipated clampdown that is fuelling firearms sales, which are currently already at a high as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Forbes reported.
One gun shop manager, Danielle Jaymes from Poway Weapons & Gear in California, told the outlet: “We’re selling a lot of ARs.
“I really can’t keep the ARs on the wall. A lot of people are worried about the assault weapon ban we’ve heard our president-elect and our vice president-elect talk about.”
Indeed, it is not just Biden whose outlook on gun control has gun enthusiasts worried – Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has long supported stricter gun control laws. During her time as California attorney-general, Ms Harris supported strong penalties for gun crimes as well as leading a charge to prosecute those people violating gun laws.
And on the campaign trail, Ms Harris said at a CNN town hall: “Upon being elected, I will give the United States Congress 100 days to get their act together and have the courage to pass reasonable gun safety laws. And if they fail to do it, then I will take executive action.”
Although it is not unusual for sales of guns to increase ahead of the inauguration of a Democrat president, the pledges of Ms Harris and Mr Biden appear to be being taken seriously.
The director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which tracks and analyses gun sales, Mark Oliva told CNN that prior to Mr Biden’s election victory firearms sales in October were up 60 per cent on the previous year as a Biden victory was heavily predicted.
"The industry is taking the Biden campaign at his word," he said.
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