Following Orlando, Gun Sales Aren't the Only Thing on the Rise

 

In the week since the terrorist attack in Orlando, FL, gun store owners are reporting a drastic increase in sales. While this is a trend they’ve seen after other recent attacks like the one in San Bernardino, CA last December, this time, there’s more to them.

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Miles Hall, owner of H&H Gun Range in Oklahoma City, OK said his store’s sales of semi-automatic rifles aren’t just increasing, they’ve surpassed handgun sales, which typically dominates purchases at his store.

Another Oklahoma City business owner says he’s seeing the same thing. Mike Blackwell, owner of Big Boys Guns & Ammo, said sales have doubled in the past week, and he has also seen an increase in registration for conceal carry classes.

“I think right now because of what happened, people are looking for answers,” said Mike Smith, a firearms instructor in Colorado Springs. “You walk into a gun shop and you expect to see people, frankly, who look like me. I think we forget we’re a country of all people, not just people who fit that predetermined mold.”

And it’s not just gun sales on the rise. The outpouring of support for the LGBT community has gone through the roof and membership with organizations like The Pink Pistols and Operation Blazing Sword has skyrocketed.

The Pink Pistols have seen their membership rise from 1500 last Friday (before the shooting at The Pulse in Orlando) to almost 6500 today. Pistols’ Spokeswoman Nicki Stallard says that number is significant for a few reasons.

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“Many of the members we’ve seen join in the last week on our Facebook page are straight, but we’re seeing so many from the LBGT that were not attached directly to our group previously, so we are seeing a huge shift in both groups. We are also seeing local chapters forming at an amazing pace as well,” Stallard told me earlier today. “We are hoping that out of such a heinous shooting (Orlando), more people will arm themselves for self defense and personal protection to save lives.”

Right on, patriots!

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