Now that gun stores in Massachusetts can open back up, there will likely be a lot of people looking to pick up firearms. In fact, it’ll be surprising if there aren’t simply because they have in every other state in the country. After all, we’re looking at back-to-back record-breaking months of gun sales, providing a huge shot in the arm of the firearm industry and potentially undermining gun control completely.
However, one gun shop owner predicts people will be buying guns just for the sake of buying them.
Gun shops in Massachusetts can reopen this weekend, after a federal judge said Thursday it is unconstitutional for the state to close them because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Vinny Cedrone — whose store, Shawsheen Firearms in Billerica, was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the state — predicts gun owners who were “enraged” by the temporary shutdown will make a statement with their wallets.
“People are going to come out and buy guns just to friggin’ buy guns,” he said.
“Even if they didn’t want one, they’re going to come out and buy a gun just to stick it up that a**hole’s a**,” he said, referring to Gov. Charlie Baker.
Well, he may not be overly wrong. Buying guns for spite is a time-honored tradition, to some degree. That said, I think he’s wrong about just how much of that you’ll see.
I mean, the people who are buying guns pretty much everywhere else are first-time gun owners. I don’t exactly see Massachusetts breaking that trend, though their gun control laws might put an end to quite a few would-be purchases. After all, you apparently need a license to carry (LTC) just to purchase a handgun, the most preferred tool for self-defense for most folks. Further, the license is a “may issue” kind of situation, so there’s no guarantee you can get one.
With COVID-19 shutting so many things down, a lot of new gun owners aren’t likely to pick up firearms only because they can’t.
Yet a number went through all the required hoops well before things shut down and will be eager to hit the gun stores this weekend and buy themselves a new firearm for self-defense. While the LTC covers pretty much everything, the Firearms Identification Card (FID) apparently covers non-large-capacity long guns. That means most shotguns. Those are a bit easier to get apparently, and many may have one of those already.
I fully expect a fair share of the new gun purchases to be from new gun owners, though Cedrone is probably not wrong that some will buy guns just to hoist the middle finger of defiance toward Gov. Baker.
This, I can fully respect.
Regardless, expect to see Massachusetts gun stores doing a booming business this weekend, even if it has to be by appointment only. People need guns right now, and they’re going to do their damnedest to get them, all before things start getting really bad out there. At this point, I think few expect anything but ugliness going forward.
