Along with massive sales and shortages of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, paper towels, masks, medical supplies, gloves, the sale of guns has dramatically increased since COVID-19. About 2 million guns were sold in March, which is the highest sale since 2013 after Sandy Hook. However, this number of sales is only based on the background checks conducted by the FBI and many states do not require background checks. Compared to a fear of gun restrictions being imposed, the fear is more about civil unrest that could happen as a result of quarantine (which has happened).
As someone who supports more restrictions on buying guns and background checks for everyone, it’s worrying during this time that over 2 million known guns have been sold already. It’s also alarming that someone’s first reaction to a pandemic is to run out and buy a gun. Since the pandemic, multiple steps of violence have been taken. In Alpharetta, Georgia, a man was arrested for pointing a gun at two women wearing masks and gloves. Another man in New Mexico accidentally shot his 13-year-old son from carrying his gun for “protection”. In Maine, a convicted felon was able to get a hold of a gun, claiming it was for his own protection and was charged with illegally possessing a firearm. With the protests against social distancing in certain states, I think it’s possible that this could cause unnecessary fatalities.
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I think the pandemic has driven more people to be distrustful of the government, so they are buying more guns in order to protect themselves. Especially with rumors of government conspiracies, coronavirus being a bio weapon, and the delayed response by the federal government to provide testing, people have become more paranoid around others and want some means of defending themselves. However, if people buy guns with no prior training in how to use them, people are more likely to get hurt, which helps no one.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people are really concerned with the government taking control of the situation with violence and a lot of people were worried about martial law being put into place. The fear and uncertainty of losing rights and having military intervention probably prompted the strange responses of buying a gun as a defense mechanism during a pandemic.
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