Beto Biden
Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden speaks after former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke endorsed him at a campaign rally Monday, March 2, 2020 in Dallas. (AP Photo/Richard W. Rodriguez)

This has long been the goal of the gun industry: to expand the demographics of its client base beyond rifle-toting hunters to include more women and others with a desire to conceal palm-sized weapons for self-protection.

“You’re now selling to the little old Catholic nun, the person who never in their life has owned a gun,” said Brian Rafn, a recently retired gun industry analyst from Morgan Dempsey whose family owns shares in Sturm, Ruger. “These are people who have never shot guns before.”

Rafn said it is the fear of lawlessness – depicted in reports of homicides in cities and clashes between protesters and law enforcement officers – that is driving new buyers to gun stores. President Trump is using this perception of lawlessness as a tool in his campaign for re-election.

Mass shootings during the Barack Obama presidency spurred record-breaking sales as the campaign heated up between Trump and Hillary Clinton, who was planning more restrictive gun control. Trump, endorsed by the National Rifle Association, won the election instead of Clinton, and gun sales immediately plunged.

Mass shootings, while they spurred sales, sometimes dragged down stocks because “each event represents a renewed call for regulation,” according to a 2017 paper by Brad Greenwood of George Mason University and Anandasivam Gopal of the University of Maryland. But during the pandemic, stock prices are rising in tandem with gun sales. Sturm, Ruger and Smith & Wesson have gained significantly since March.

Greenwood said that even with the civil unrest from the murder of George Floyd spreading across the country, there is no longer a substantial fear of gun regulation as there was with mass shootings. He said this allows gun makers to “reap an economic windfall” without worrying about losing longer-term profits.

Gopal said that gun control will take a back seat to the pandemic and the economy.

“Even if the Democrats do win the Presidency this November, it appears that gun regulation may not be the first thing they will tackle, given the other things that require immediate attention,” said Gopal.

– Aaron Smith in Covid-19 and Civil Unrest Fuel Comeback for Gun Industry

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

99 COMMENTS

  1. Broadening the base of gun ownership is a great thing. I’d really like to see a pro-2A contingent of voters on the left.

    • Yeah? Well I’d like an evening with Kacey Kox, but that ain’t happening anytime soon, either.

    • Why? They’ll vote in lockstep for gun grabbers anyway.

      I know you loathe Trump. Ok cool. But consider:

      After Trump is gone, every republican, will get the “Trump treatment” by the media.

      So you live and die by the slanderous media.

        • They are at a whole new level of anti republican/anti right/anti market/anti capitalism crazy than they have ever been before. We are in a new era of crazy.

  2. On what planet did “people” like Aaron Smith evolve? I’m thinking the Planet Moronia in the Galaxy IQ12.

    • Why? I tend to agree with his point that (assuming what the situation will be on Inauguration Day next Jan) the exxagerated pandemic, economic turmoil, and riots/destruction due to hobbled LE will be the top concerns. Nobody’s going to be making SJW videos on YouTube showing themselves cutting their gins to virtue signal. Everyone will be keeping them, as each days the news shows more Portland-esque rioting.

      Coming to a community near you.

      • When SJW used to mean semi jacketed wadcutter. Take me back to paradise city, when life was good and not so shitty.

      • Just because it will not be a FIRST priority does not mean that it will not be a SECOND priority, especially as it is a major plank in the party platform.

      • Haz, you (and he) miss the total devotion of the left to gain control of every firearm in the country. Recall, please, the presidential campaign of 1992, which had zero discussion of gun control from either side. But as soon as Clinton was sworn in, he claimed he had a “mandate” to ban “assault weapons”. I’m sure Biden would be happy to let us assume this guy is correct, but if he is elected, then just like Clinton, he will instantly jump directly into massive gun control. Just as Osama did, repeatedly, because that is what they do.

        • “Haz, you (and he) miss the total devotion of the left tp gain control of every firearm in the country.”

          Not quite the goal. The mob has no intention of disarming the criminal element, anywhere.

    • Agreed—Smith has no f@cking clue. Presumptive candidate shown with his Gun-grabbing Czar clearly there’s nothing more to say about future regulations from the Demoncraps.

      • “Even if the Democrats do win the Presidency this November, it appears that gun regulation may not be the first thing they will tackle”

        Don’t count on it!
        Even if gun regulation/confiscation is not first on their list, just remember that it is ON their list…….

        • The blackface controversy didn’t slow down Governor CoonMan and his Democratic friends from stepping on Virginia’s gun owners. If anyone thinks Turnip Joe and his socialist friends will get distracted, think again. Gun control will be one of the first things on the legislative docket, right along with reparation payments, nationwide debt bailouts and universal basic income.

        • Anybody who doesn’t believe it’s not a top priority is a fool. Unlike the ostrich head in the sand Republicans, the Democrats aren’t going to let their opportunity get a way this time.

  3. No. Government has gone berserk and some of them aren’t scared of us any more. Governors and mayors have proven themselves to be tyrannical. With Virginia as an example, as in other countries, “representatives” here are now willing to blatantly sneak anything they want into law, regardless of public opinion, regardless of constitutional restrictions.

    • Yes, it seems that politicians no longer represent “We the People” and they do not respect the constitution they swore to defend. The wolf in the hen house is nothing by comparison!

    • The Democrats are more likely to use the pandemic and economy as distractions to sneak new legislation under the radar. Or just as likely to use the pandemic and economy as a justification for further gun control.

    • Has TTAG done an article yet on how many Northern Virginia counties are banning weapons (concealed or open) from being on government-owned (i.e. public) property? Alexandria and Arlington have already done so and Fairfax is headed that way.

      Aren’t all main roads (save toll roads) public property? How is a resident in one of these localities supposed to know when they are on a government-owned road or private property? Won’t that make it impossible to even take a gun to a range to shoot it? Also, how will the counties even enforce the ban? Why pass laws that are both unenforceable and punitive to only one group? It’s maddening.

      I wish VCDL or a consortium of gun ranges would file suit now to fight this. I really despise 1) feel-good laws that do nothing but punish law-abiding citizens and 2) how little regard these county boards have for their constituents.

      • “Aren’t all main roads (save toll roads) public property? How is a resident in one of these localities supposed to know when they are on a government-owned road or private property? Won’t that make it impossible to even take a gun to a range to shoot it? Also, how will the counties even enforce the ban? ”

        Yer ketchin’ on.

        Here’s how I would do it:

        Declare the non-toll roads to be covered under “public property”. Then announce that if motorists are stopped, for any reason, by LE, the individual, or individual’s transport, will be searched for guns and accessories. This technique will intimidate some number ofr people.

        Along with the search, I would add a requirement that guns may be transported, by individuals not engaged in distribution, only too and from dealers/gunsmiths. A requirement would be added that the dealer/gunsmith provide a certificate to the gun owner permitting transport to and from the dealer/gunsmith, on a specific date, only for the purpose of transporting a newly purchased/smithed firearm. A certificate would be required for each trip (i.e. two certificates) where a firearm is transported. This would intimidate some number of gun owners.

        Heck, I would even include a law that states if a person accepts a driver’s license issued by the resident’s state, such acceptance is implied permission to search the individuals transport at any time, anywhere.

        And I would justify the above with the declaration that given the number of sales (NICS checks) in the state, there is probable cause that firearms are being transported widely, justifying the conditions above, in the name of public safety, and the state’s police power.

        Too many ways to tangle up gun owners through regulation. Door kickers aren’t going to be the prime means of controlling guns.

  4. The whole “gun control is dead” thing is a false meme. Don’t believe it. If the Dems get the power, it is one of the first things they’ll do. What remains to be seen is how the whole “new gun owner” crowd will react. I have my doubts concerning the latter.

    As an aside, Forbes has been infiltrated by the Social Justice Wankers and the Globalists. Like the Economist, it used to be a good magazine, but if you value the truth, ignore both.

  5. We need the vast majority of new gun owners to vote for pro gun candidates. And since the likely hood of that happening is slim to none the gun grabbing nature of the democrats is and will be in full play come Nov.

  6. President Trump is using this perception of lawlessness as a tool in his campaign for re-election.

    Perception???

    Then what do you call a group of people claiming a sovereign state — by force and without the consent of the people in the new sovereign state no less — in the middle of Seattle (C.H.A.Z. which they later renamed C.H.O.P.)? And what do you call the city of Seattle, the state of Washington, and federal government of the United States of America standing down for weeks and refusing to dismantle that sovereign state? Is that not REAL lawlessness?

    And how about all the DEAD victims of the “peaceful protests” and the various law enforcement agencies who refused to act in the midst of the rioting, looting, arson, aggravated assaults, and murders? Is that not REAL lawlessness?

    • Damn right there’s a “perception of lawlessness” in this country. We perceive it because it’s happening. Progressive journalists and Democrats deny it for the same reason — because it’s happening.

  7. If gun control dead, then why does Joe Biden want to push it so much? He has quite a laundry list on his website. Why are such governments like that of VA and CA all for grabbing guns?

    • It may not continue but this IS and always has been the Globalist Elite plan. Same crap that worked in Australia and Europe WILL NOT WORK here. Antifa and BLM violence may have backfired on the Elites after spending hundreds of millions of dollars to support through various NGOs like Arabella Advisors slush fund.

  9. If beer virus is driving gun sales, it is important to remember that only the .9mmJHP is effective against germs. Round nose .9mm just pushes germs aside, while the JHP round expands and destroys all the germs in a 1.1mm radius.

  10. “Even if the Democrats do win the Presidency this November, it appears that gun regulation may not be the first thing they will tackle, given the other things that require immediate attention,” said Gopal.

    And what, pray tell, is higher on the priority list for Democrats than disarming the good people of our nation?

    I have this nagging sense that Democrats’ first priority is getting as many new “citizens” from Central and South America as possible and then their second priority is draining everyone’s savings, checking, and retirement accounts as soon as possible.

    I also have this nagging sense that Democrats expect a huge reprisal from the masses if Democrats successfully implement their platform. Thus, they will of course want to disarm us post-haste which will therefore become their second priority.

    • “And what, pray tell, is higher on the priority list for Democrats than disarming the good people of our nation?”

      Killing the energy sector so they can double your heating and electricity bill, hurt the transportation industry, and harm small business. Don’t worry though, a few select folks stand to make a fortune.

    • “nagging sense”

      Should be more than a nag, Uncommon. Most of these “issues” are nothing more than a power play against the middle class. Of whom, holds the vast majority of privately owned firearms in this country. I’d normally say to pull back, and consider the overarching for a moment, but I know you already are.

  11. Nuns with Gunms, but but but I thought Nuns was, “never had one, don’t want one.” Or maybe that’s just Dicks,,,, gunms.

    • 2 nuns are being raped. The first nun looks heavenward and says,’forgive him father for he knows not what he does.’

      To which the other nun says.’speak for yourself. mine does.”

      Now I really am going to burn.

      • So, a very bad man rapes a nun. When he completes the dastardly deed he asks her, “NOW, what are you going to tell the priest and authorities”? She replies, “I’m going to tell them that I was taken advantage of and raped twice”. Stunned by the response the perp stammers, “Twice”? Says she, “Sure, if you’ve got the time”.

  12. Zimmerman, why do you aid and abet the Burn/Loot/Mayhem mantra by referring to George Floyd death as murder? It has not been found to be murder in a court of law. Even LEOs should be afforded the “innocent until proven guilty” right. Have you read the actual peer reviewed autopsy report? Did you find any indication of death by strangulation or other physical harm by the LEOs??? (other than a few superficial abrasions from resisting arrest) No didn’t think so. My son is a doctor. Had him read and interrupt the medicaleeze of the report. NO…NONE…ZERO…indication of LEO wrong doing causing death. The knee to the neck was at the time a trained and approved restraint method in many jurisdictions including Minneapolis. Floyd was a Defective Citizen abusing illegal drugs to the point of physical harm to himself, and he attracted LEO attention to himself by passing bad paper…….ala Defective Citizen causing own death. Same as Little Mikey “The Thug In Training” Brown in Ferguson.

  15. Anyone see the recent Biden ass kissing reach out ad to the ‘religion of peace’? Talib, Pressley, and Omar are pleased.

    • Budism? That is the only religion I am aware of that teaches complete peace and non-violence for all. FYI, I am a Christian, but the Bible contains a lot of God sanctioned violence (mostly old testament).

    • Miss Possum said,” Well here, let me get my purse, then BOOM , because it will go right through leather.”

    • Manse,

      Thanks for posting that!

      Noticed the police did not advise carry of PPE such as pepper spray, alarms…..and firearms.

      Just give up. The criminals have won, and the police (those that remain, anyway) along with the Persecutor will charge and try you for defending yourself.

      Nope. If someone tries to take something from me, it will be by either expressed or implied threat.

      The key word is ‘threat’.

      We avoid threats, we stop threats. Surrendering only begets additional threats.

    • The wife is from MN, about 100 miles north of the Twin cities. In that part of the state it’s hard to get anywhere without going through the cities because the main roads radiate like spokes from the metro area. On our most recent trip we mapped a route on state highways, county roads and two lane blacktops. It’s about an hour longer drive than getting on the megaslab and hammering with the traffic but no farther distance, slower speeds and thus less fuel used. Our Suburban is a still very cherry ’89, so with the more laid back drive, the country scenery, small towns and the 30-something truck it felt a lot like driving did when we were much younger.

      The cities loss of our gas, restaurant and other expenses is the small towns’ gain. We’re thinking we’re done with the rat race and going back to country driving.

      • Absolutely! I’ve been doing that for over 30 years, at least occasionally. First with motorcycles and now with a convertible, there is too much beauty out there to zip through on an interstate or above in an airplane.

  17. “There’s No Longer Substantial Fear of Gun Regulation”

    Absolute nonsense. does not matter what the politics of the moment are, Hoplophobia is a self-renewing illness and will always refresh the effort to ban and destroy things that are “scary” to some people.

    If Biden wins what legislation he seeks in his first year of his single term is what he has the greater odds of achieving. That much is true of all Presidents. Whether the election win was a landslide or a slim majority, either act fast or see any notion of a mandate from the voters evaporate in the heat of Congress.

    There is no way to know what a Biden presidency would go after first. But his agenda has 43 areas of legislative action on it, listing guns down around number 12 (he does not actually number them, but it’s that far down on the webpage).

    I’m far more concerned about Wayne LaPierre still holding corrupt power at the top of the NRA. The legislative defenses we can bring to the game will matter most, and Wayne’s failures in leadership are worrisome.

    • Hoplophobia is only what the politicians use to scare people into voting for their extreme policies. They don’t really have an irrational fear of guns themselves because they’re perfectly fine with the “correct” people being armed. You know, like their security detail. These aren’t sincere people.

  18. When Democrats/Communists and their mouthpieces in the media speak I believe the opposite of what they say and if they accuse someone of some wrongdoing I know that they are the ones actually committing it. They basically tell on themselves. So what this article is actually saying is that gun control is super high on the Communists to do list. Molon Labe!

    • You’re absolutely right. They may not do it first and probably won’t go for it all in one big swoop, but make no mistake, they WILL try it.

  19. Its not just about buying guns. It’s getting everyone involved with the shooting sports. Then the NRA and other gun rights organizations will grow and have a bigger voice. Getting outside and stop spending all your time on the internet, video games and TV and movies is healthy. Take all that technology crap and flush it. Nothing like learning how to shoot and being outside and reading a book.

  20. This is incorrect on so many levels it is hard to know where it begins. First, the Dems ALWAYS have time for gun control. They fear loss of power more than anything. The very concept of an armed populace who could forcibly remove them from power terrifies them. They will prioritize gun control over everything else: plague, economic ruin, Chinese expansionism – everything.

    Second, telling them that little old ladies and untrained nuns now have firearms stoke the flames.

    Third: it is no longer a fear. If Biden gets elected, it is a certainty.

    POTG need to register to vote and vote in November like their lives depend on it.

  21. Yikes! I guess I can relax and feel the NO grabbing groove😃 Ya know I told my gorgeous wife before Trump’s “upset” I’d spend every meager check on guns IF the Hildbeast won. It didn’t…same deal now. Dumb article!

  22. Plenty of gun owners are voting for politicians that WILL ban and confiscate guns…magazines…accessories…
    they think their gun(s) will be exempted….
    but eventually they want ALL guns banned…even toy guns…guaranteed

  23. If the Dems take the Senate and the Presidency, they absolutely will eliminate the filibuster and enact gun legislation. Yes, more people own guns. Yes, the Dems will do it anyway.

    Look at it this way. In February, what issues gripped America? The impeachment? The pandemic? Virginia Democrats focused like hawks on gun control.

  24. ““Even if the Democrats do win the Presidency this November, it appears that gun regulation may not be the first thing they will tackle…”

    But unfortunately they will tackle it in some form. The sickness with our system is that we have a dog wagged by two tails.

    Want governance by people who aren’t in a personality cult? Well you have to weigh that against governance by people who want to force you to accept that a man is a woman and leave you defenseless against criminals while getting rid of the police.

    I was hoping that losing to Trump would spur the democratic party to unfuck itself but that has not occurred.

  25. The Dems are keeping Joe well away from anything tougher than the rare softball interview. They are hoping to keep him under wraps until he picks his VP so they can burn air time and misdirect peoples attention. This isn’t the 1940s so it isn’t likely to be a winning concept. Senile Joe is a boat anchor who looks more and more lost as each week goes past. I saw a video clip of an aid leading him around by holding on to his arm to keep him moving and not talking to the press.

    • Credit Joe for listening to his advisers though. I mean Trump has fires all of his that tried to speak sense.

      Edit – except when he couldn’t politically fire them. Then he would just demean them.

      • He has the best campaign possible so far by just being not trump and having no one see him otherwise.

        He was in a bunch of youtube videos ads I saw. He could barely make it though a sentence without messing up his words. It’s sad.

  26. The Marxists will have a more difficult time with anti gun legislation but it won’t stop their sleazy, deceitful and underlying attempts at manipulation to make it happen. I would think it unwise to drop our vigilance.

  27. ” it appears that gun regulation may not be the first thing they will tackle ”

    They don’t need to tackle it. The legislation is already written. All they need to do is vote on it.

  28. We do not know with the way things are now or how things are going to be by November or after that. All I have heard is they are going to burn America to the ground if Trump wins again. BLM is a Marxist run organization with bad intent to all of us, one way or the other for our differing views from them. They are not really pro-2A just a smoke screen and it is just a means to further their cause if and when Trump is reelected and that is all. The Commiecratics goal had been expose to us all now and removing the 2nd Amendment is still their primary goal and top priory to them if they win the election in November.
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    • If I ever need one, I expect to be able to pick one up in the street in front of my home.

    • “All I have heard is they are going to burn America to the ground if Trump wins again.”

      Can’t imagine the mobs deciding to just pick up their toys and go home. Soon we will learn just what kind of country we have (I suspect we already know).

  29. Do not forget that even our military is not on the side of law and order. Sec. of Defense and top generals are against using troops to quill riots and uprisings we have seen in Portland and other places over the last 2 months. Riots had occurred over the 10 year period of the 1960s when Democrats control the White House and Congress. Under President Johnson, federal and national guard troops were used by Democrats to stop riots, but if a Republican president even considers it, Democrats consider it morally objectionable to do so now. Under the 14th Amendment, a provision was added to the Insurrection Act that allows the president to use the military without the consent of a state or local government to suppress any “insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy.”
    Army’s Top General Says He’s Reassured Allies That US Troops Will Stay Out of Policing
    https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/08/01/armys-top-general-says-hes-reassured-allies-us-troops-will-stay-out-of-policing.html

    • Sending in ‘Federal Troops’ is a bad idea. All that will do is draw more supporters to the Antifa/BLM/ cause (whatever the hell it is.)

      Too much of a chance for dead protesters. (Martyrs). I get it that citizens are tired of the riots, bu there is another way besides ‘Fix Bayonets’.

      Surround the mob, contain them to a few city blocks and don’t let them leave. Cut off water, food, information (the media), and cell coverage. Wait them out until they break…then wait a bit longer.

      I posted a more detailed plan some time ago, the above is sufficient to the concept. Dead protesters portrayed as heroes in the media is not a good thing going forward. ~just sayin~

  30. If the Soviet Democrat Party attempts to impose its fantasy gun control scheme next Spring, a legitimate secession movement will immediately explode all across the country.

    You heard it here first, folks.

  31. These “Experts” miss the Bloomberg factor in that he has made BIG contributions and will demand payback as the old b@stard realizes he is approaching the pearly gates and somehow thinks he will secure the reformed atheist position in heaven by eliminating guns from the USA before he arrives. Of course he will only eliminate some of the formerly legal guns, but he is that twisted.

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