Gun sales, permits spike after Florida school shooting
Alyssa Choiniere | Herald-Standard
Alex Marra, owner of Marra’s Mountaineer Sporting Goods in North Union Township, holds an assault-style rifle at his store where AR-15 sales exploded after the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
Alyssa Choiniere | Herald-Standard
Alex Marra, owner of Marra’s Mountaineer Sporting Goods in North Union Township, said several of his customers will no longer shop at major retailers who announced restrictions of firearm sales.
As major retailers restrict their gun sales in the wake of a school shooting that left 17 people dead in Florida, local gun shops are selling out of assault rifles and prospective gun owners are forming lines out the doors for permits.
In Fayette County, permit applications increased from 624 in January to 745 in February, according to Sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Thomas — an increase of about 26 percent. As of Monday, 227 county residents applied for a permit in March. Sgt. Donald Jones said applications increased by about 25 to 30 percent since the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, adding the permit rates will probably return to normal soon.
“I’ve noticed there has been a line out the door most of the day. It wasn’t like that before,” he said.
Opinions differed on the reasons behind the increase. Some said people fear losing their rights. Others said people fear predators attacking their families.
“It’s not like that,” said Terry Lacey, CEO of Lacey Firearms in Monongahela. “Everybody already has enough guns. It’s just got it on people’s minds. That’s all. It’s tax season!”
Following the Parkland shooting, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart and L.L. Bean announced they would voluntarily restrict their gun sales. Dick’s announced Feb. 28 it would remove assault-style rifles from Field & Stream stores and ban firearm sales to people under 21. Walmart, which stopped selling AR-15s in 2015, also announced it would limit firearm and ammunition sales to buyers 21 and older. L.L. Bean, which only sells firearms from its flagship store in Maine, announced it will also stick to a minimum age of 21 for gun sales.
Lacey said he is happy about the large retailers restricting their sales.
“Just helps a small business like me. Big guy gives it up, I’d be happy to take it. Couldn’t be happier,” he said.
Lacey said he has no plans to restrict sales unless the law requires it. He described himself as “toward the middle” on gun control, saying some laws should be tightened, though he wonders if small changes will lead to bigger restrictions.
“I’m not going to change the law. I’ll leave that up to the federal government,” he said.
Alex Marra, owner of Marra’s Mountaineer Sporting Goods in North Union Township, also plans to continue selling firearms as usual, adding it is unusual for people under 21 to buy guns at his shop. He said many of his customers say they will no longer shop at the retailers limiting gun sales.
“If a kid at 18 years old could go to Iraq and use an AR-15 to defend his country, he should be able to buy one here,” he said.
His shop has occasionally refused gun sales when prospective buyers alluded to domestic abuse.
“You can’t worry about the money when someone is talking crazy,” he said.
His shop sold out of assault-style rifles with a huge increase in recent buyers. He was unable to immediately restock because his distributor also sold out.
“They can’t make them fast enough,” he said.
It is common for people to buy AR-15s in bulk as an investment and resell the guns when prices jump, he said. After 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut Dec. 14, 2012, the cost of an AR-15 spiked from about $500 to about $2,000. Other assault rifle buyers fear they will lose their right to purchase them. Marra said he thinks that is unlikely.
A federal law restricting assault rifle sales would be ineffective, he said, because it would still be easy to obtain one with the high number of guns in America.
“There are millions and millions of these guns out there,” he said.
Marra emphasized the suspected Parkland shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Jacob Cruz, should not have been permitted to purchase a gun because of his reported mental health problems and past incidents.
“It makes the honest gun owners look bad. For the millions of guns being sold, this happens here and there,” he said.
If a person plans a mass killing, he said it is still possible without a gun, referencing the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15, 2013, and terrorist attacks using vehicles and other means.
“It’s just these kids that were bullied in high school. If they’re going to have a vendetta or be vindictive, they’re going to find a way. The gun was just more convenient for (Cruz). A bomb would have been worse,” he said.
He disagreed with proposals to arm teachers in schools, saying armed retired law enforcement or military veterans should be employed to protect schools. School security measures should be tightened and followed closely, he said.
“It’s one or two troubled kids ruining this for everyone else,” he said. “It’s not the weapon. It’s the person behind it.”