Opportunity -- New Gun Owners
Liberty is won and maintained by having more support than your oppressor. Increasing gun purchases can produce more troops for our defense.
The FBI has received some notoriety lately for becoming politicized instead of just chasing spies and bank robbers. But the rank and file still chase spies and bank robbers, mostly with little interest in the antics of their leadership. And they still accumulate and publish statistics of crimes across the nation, and that information can be illuminating. As with all things, we should be guarded about accepting government information. But a firearms industry trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (nssf.org) has their own surveys of manufacturer and dealer information that can be used to corroborate the government data. The 2020 Uniform Crime Report seems to agree with the counts of background checks and firearms sales.
It’s clear to anyone with passing interest in the news, that violence has been rampant. Last year it was riots, and they’re likely to return. Economic deterioration adds pressure for thieves, who often use violence to accomplish their objectives. Police have been pulled from the streets in many cities. Prisoners, often violent felons, have been released in droves. The southern border is under assault with a flood of anonymous migrants, many of whom have been identified as members of terror groups. The oppressive lockdowns and hysteria surrounding the serial forms of oppressive population controls have increased mental and emotional breakdowns. Society is on the verge.
One statistical measure of societal malaise is murders. According to FBI, murders increased in 2020 the fastest since they began centralizing those records in the 1960s — up 29%. The carnage is still a little less than the peak in the 1990s, but seems likely to exceed those records soon.
Recognition of the rising threats drove many people to purchase guns in 2020, and it is continuing in 2021. There were 21 million background checks for US gun purchases in 2020. In February 2020, we were on trend, with typical and expected year over year sales increases — 1.3 million versus 1.1 million in 2019. In March, as the virus panic began and riots arose, the numbers surged to 2.3 million, an 80% year over year increase. April continued the surge with a 69% increase. 40% of gun purchasers are female. The dominant firearm purchased was handguns. The dominant reason offered for their purchases was personal protection.
The most interesting statistic is the new owners, estimated to include 8.4 million in 2020, or 40% of the total gun purchases. The first six months of 2021 shows 8.4 million new owners, or 33% of the total. That’s a lot of newcomers. They need our help to understand their responsibilities, both as individuals and as defenders of the American Constitution.
It seems to be working already. We’ve seen the ammo shortages. They are driven by many factors, but the sharp increase in new firearms is clearly a major reason. National polls show declining interest in gun control legislation. We need to continue that trend. The 2018 mass murders at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, an affluent suburb about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Fort Lauderdale, drove a misguided national angst that was reflected in 60% of the country wanting more gun control laws. An April 2021 survey showed that number was down to 53%. If those new gun owners become properly trained and experienced with their new tools to become confident in their capabilities, and comfortable with their responsibilities, the expectations of government legal protection will decline.
Politicians craft public gun ownership as irresponsible and dangerous, and assert that government is the only legitimate power with deadly force. The Constitution remains under assault to deny the clear principles of the 2nd Amendment with well funded disinformation campaigns by Soros, Bloomberg, Steyer, Zuckerberg and others. The radical oppressors are well funded, but are very few. The best opposition to well funded radicals is greater numbers.
We need to enlist those new gun owners to defend our liberties.
NSSF research has shown that recurring spikes in gun enthusiasm is often short lived. When the emergency subsides, the interest wanes. New gun owners are usually unaware of the techniques for use of their new tools, and of how to acquire the skills necessary for effective use. The new owners need information to remain active, and invitations to ranges to learn how to shoot.
Those of us who have some experience, and who use ranges locally, and engage in formal training, should raise the questions with our friends. Seek out those who are the new gun owners, but have been reluctant to discuss it. Help them learn. Invite them to your range. Recommend formal training. Help them understand the value of capable self defense, and the threats from oppressive government that wants to take that capability away from us. We have a good opportunity here.
Oh, and suggest the subscribe to thecampaign.substack.com.
(Note: nssf.org/news has an excellent news feed for those interested in all things firearms related.)