By: José Niño
A record number of African Americans have been buying firearms.
Since the Wuhan virus pandemic broke out, millions of Americans have rushed to their local gun stores to stock up on guns in a time when people have become alarmed at politicians’ reckless decisions to side with criminals and agitators out on the streets.
For the first six months of 2020, gun retailers witnessed a record-breaking 10.3 million firearms transactions take place, according to a survey conducted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). When compared to the same period in 2019, American gun sales have increased by 95 percent, while ammunition sales have risen by 139 percent.
Although various demographics are purchasing firearms in droves, African Americans are the segment that has experienced the highest increase in firearm purchases of all groups observed. According to NSSF director of research and market development Jim Curcuruto:
“The highest overall firearm sales increase comes from Black men and women, who show a 58.2% increase in purchases during the first six months of 2020 versus the same period last year. Bottom line is that there has never been a sustained surge in firearm sales quite like what we are in the midst of.”
Michael Cargill, an African American and owner of Central Texas Gun Works in Austin, Texas, said in an interview with Yahoo that says he’s witnessed triple the number of people going to his store in to buy firearms, and many of them are African Americans.
Cargill said:
“People were concerned with people breaking into their home or breaking into their vehicle or attacking them while they’re in their vehicles [after COVID-19]. So people wanted to take their own protection into their own hands.
“They’re understanding that gun control first started in the 1800s … so people are realizing that every time there’s a gun law that’s targeting a certain group of people, it’s usually the African-American group. So they’re saying, ‘With everything going on, we’ve got to make sure that we’re legal with this firearm. We’re going to make sure we know what the law is, we want to make sure we know where we can take it, where we can’t take it.’”
José Niño is a Venezuelan American freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Sign up for his mailing list here. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.