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Another record setting year for the firearm industry in 2020. Using adjusted FBI NICS data as a proxy for actual sales, the data showed an enormous 60 percent increase in firearm ownership over 2019. The record 21+ million adjusted background checks this last year blew the previous record high out of the water- easily topping the 15.7 million set in 2016 by 34 percent. Recent data shows that around 40 percent of firearm purchasers in 2020 were buying their first gun, which equates to more than 8 million first-time gun owners.
\nSo who are they? And why?<\/p>\n
Poetrooper sends.<\/p>\n
By Dan Zimmerman<\/strong><\/p>\n According to a Washington Post article, the percentage of Americans who own guns has jumped from 32% to 39% in the past year. That\u2019s due to huge waves of new, first-time gun owners, of all political and cultural persuasions, deciding that owning a firearm is a good idea.<\/p>\n For many new gun owners, though, the decision to arm themselves is a political pivot \u2014 an accumulation of anxieties that led them to discard long-held beliefs. It\u2019s a decision that is particularly difficult for people who belong to groups at higher risk of being on the wrong end of gun violence.<\/em><\/p>\n Battle, a 28-year-old account representative at a financial services company in Los Angeles, had always believed that \u201canyone who had a gun was a gun nut,\u201d he said. \u201cI really bought into the whole idea that the more people have guns \u2026 the more likely it is for people to start killing each other.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n But as the pandemic paralyzed the nation, Battle said, \u201cI just saw how crazy people got.\u201d He found himself conjuring the worst scenarios: \u201cI was like, if my block has 10 houses, how many people in these houses have guns? If the food and water gets cut off, [if] supplies run out \u2026 what does that look like? Is this going to be a \u2018Mad Max\u2019 situation? Like \u2018The Walking Dead,\u2019 but not with the zombies?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI was just, like, \u2018Do I want to be the person who has a gun or doesn\u2019t have a gun?\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<\/p>\n Still, he had reservations: \u201cBeing Black with a gun is a very high risk, a way higher risk than other races,\u201d he said. \u201cYou are seen as a threat without a gun, and with a gun you are seen as a super threat.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n I don’t see Jamal, or any other hue, as a particular threat until they act <\/strong>like one. Col. Cooper has a color code that works well, and “Black” isn’t one of them. <\/p>\n Col Cooper’s Color Code<\/a><\/p>\n My concern is have these noobs had some sort of training? I’m glad to see more people taking responsibility for their protection, and a big part of that responsibility is safety.<\/p>\n Go to a range for training on the safe handling and use of the weapon, and know your State and local laws. One last thing- shooting is fun. Welcome to your citizenship.<\/p>\n TTAG Link<\/a><\/p>\n Thanks, Poe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"