Concealed Carry Permits Surge After El Paso Shooting

History and statistics show that the more the Left pushes gun bans and anti-gun laws, the more people buy guns. The reasoning for this is simple, Americans understand that the foundational law of the nation protects their right to self-preservation.

Now, this phenomenon is changing. When a mass shooting happens in today’s political climate, gun sales go up because people realize that there is always a big push for stricter gun control measures after a sensationalized shooting. After last week’s shootings in Texas and Ohio, gun sales spiked.

The gun sales spike happened almost instantly before the mainstream media could even begin laying blame on Donald Trump. What this organic response shows is that the Left has become predictable.

What’s interesting, however, is the fact that the type of sales that have shot up in number are sales of the kinds of firearms that the Left is not most concerned with. The big sellers were handguns and concealed carry permits, not rifles.

This represents a departure from the norm. Mass shooting gun sales spikes are normally a response to rabid anti-gun rhetoric. This time, it’s a response to the crimes and not the pundits. People are preparing to defend themselves and others against shooters more than they are against gun-grabbing lawmakers.

The Washington Examiner writes, “[…] the trend in the “National Instant Criminal Background Check System,” or NICS, is on a path to make 2018 the second biggest year since 2016, when gun owners and prospective gun owners filled stores before the presidential election that was expected to elect gun control advocate Hillary Rodham Clinton.”

According to the NICS, nearly 16 million background checks for concealed carry permits were run in the days following the shootings.

This is a departure from the usual response of pro-gun Americans. Rather than buying up AR-15s as we did during the 2016 election, we’re buying up handguns and concealed carry permits. In 2016, we were preparing for a Clinton presidency, which promised to claw back gun rights significantly. Today, we’re preparing to fend off mad gunmen.

Marketing Director for Hyatt Guns in Charlotte, N.C., Justin Anderson, told the Examiner;

“While we have seen a measured rise in sale of certain tactical rifles and accessories this week, most customers are looking for concealed carry handguns. Just this week we have fielded hundreds of calls from people that have never purchased a gun before. Our concealed carry training classes are filling up quickly. People are realizing that even a trip to Walmart isn’t safe these days and they want to be able to protect themselves. Remember that nothing stops a lunatic bent on carnage better than a law abiding citizen with a gun. I continue to urge people to get a gun, get trained with that gun, and carry, always.”

We couldn’t agree more. Of course, we would like to live in a world where being armed isn’t the best way to protect one’s self and others from killers. Unfortunately, such a world is far from reality.

But what’s interesting is that, while the Left-wing gun grabbers are going after the so-called “assault-style weapons” Americans are more interested in pistols for concealed carry.

The advantage of a pistol is its ability to be concealed. A concealed carrier has the advantage of not being a primary target. Possible targets are better off with concealed guns because an active shooter would try to kill those armed with obvious weapons first. That gives them the chance to flank a shooter and take him by surprise.

So what we’re seeing is that people are making the right choices in response to the perception that mass shootings are actually common.

The truth is, however, that mass shootings are still not common. They only seem common because of technology and irresponsible reporting. More people are killed with handguns than rifles- and more people are killed by misdiagnoses than anything else – by far. Yet the left continues to push for new laws against rifles.