Since the Aurora, Colorado shooting that left 12 people dead and 58 injured last Friday morning, gun sales have gone through the roof in Colorado.
The number of people requesting background checks in order to buy guns has risen more than 41% in Colorado since the shooting. Jake Meyers, an employee at Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo in Parker, said that when he arrived at work just hours after the shooting, there were already 15 to 20 people waiting to buy guns. He added that the basic firearms classes he and the store’s owner teach are totally booked for the next three weeks.
Firearms instructors say they the numbers are increasing of people interested in training required for a concealed-carry permit.
The increase in background checks has been explosive; the Colorado Bureau of Investigation approved background checks for 2,887 people over the weekend, a 43% increase over the previous weekend and 39% higher than the first weekend of July.
When a Tucson gunman shot Gabrielle Giffords, killed six people and injured others in 2010, background checks in Arizona jumped 60% over the previous year’s number. After the Virginia Tech University shootings in 2007, there was a sharp escalation in the number of background checks requested.
The Second Amendment right to bear arms may be in jeopardy because of the UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which wants gun control for private “small arms and light weapons.” Although Hillary Clinton has stated that the treaty would not mandate restrictions on US gun sales, the treaty does include language that would jeopardize Americans from protecting themselves against would-be murderers who target them.
As the tragedy in Aurora shows, when some psychotic killer is on the loose, Americans feel that the best people to defend them are themselves. The Obama administration clearly disagrees.