The Real Truth About US Gun Sales
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Gun sales during the past eight years of the Obama administration have been very good. A 2016 report from the National Shooting Sports Foundation showed the gun industry has grown by more than 150 percent since President Barack Obama was elected in 2008. Right wing and left wing pundits have suggested this growth has been fueled…
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There may be cases where such protection makes sense, but I’m betting it’s rather rare. Of course winning hte lottery is very very rare but people buy tickets and feel better, at least for a while. A gun under the pillow will make you feel better or less helpless and there seems so much in modern life that makes us feel helpless.
But somehow I feel less threatened by the collector with the hand engraved Benelli and the matched set of vintage Purdy’s and maybe a gold inlaid this or that locked in his gun room then by the guy who carries his one Glock everywhere he goes, because he’s afraid. Fear makes people dangerous and part of the gun culture is all about making people feel afraid and telling them a gun will put them back in control. I admit that when I first got a carry permit, it changed the way I felt when I had a gun in the car or in my pocket even though I had not expectation of using it. Life’s little insults somehow seemed less important or threatening. But reality eventually crept in and I don’t carry at all.
I won’t try to separate collectors from hoarders or try to impute motivations for acquiring quantities of firearms. Such judgments are rather personal, but I’m guessing the increased affluence of many Americans since the 1970’s is a factor. I’ll also offer the conjecture that the increase in some households is mirrored by the increase in cars, Televisions and other things that cost a few dollars.
But more importantly, should we fear that the concentration is dangerous? One man, one trigger finger – or if we stretch it, two. It can mean fewer guns on the street and more in the gun safe.
I was always fascinated by the guy who goes out to buy a gun to “protect” his home and family. Now we know that in order to do that with a gun you need to have the weapon readily available, not in a gun safe, with the magazine out, and safety on. Then there’s the guy who leaves it in his nightstand drawer, with the magazine in the other nightstand, and the weapon permanently on safety and no round in the chamber. That being said, if you must have a gun to protect yourself, keep a 12 gauge shotgun loaded and handy, unless of course you have kids running around. Then the only place you should keep a gun is in the gun safe, but don’t delude yourself into thinking it will protect you.