The Economist reports that gun sales are now declining after record sales of guns and ammunition last year. The Economist doesn’t say when the peak was, but it may well have been January 2021, when — surprise, surprise — Donald Trump left the White House and Joe Biden moved in.
According to the Economist, the decline (based on the rate of background checks) was greater in red states than in blue states. Gun sales were down 10 percent in New York State, for example, and 40 percent in South Carolina. Much of last year’s gun-buying panic had something to do with the pandemic, it seems. Still, I’m tempted to see this as evidence that even Republicans feel safer with Trump out of power.
Smith & Wesson reported last week that its profits are down. The Texan newspaper reported that a round of 9mm ammunition, which cost 70 cents in January, is now 30 cents.
The Economist quotes an expert on the gun industry from the University of Georgia:
“‘People are no longer marching on state capitols calling for the heads of governors,’ he says, ‘and there has been a lowering of anxiety around the pandemic, and the election of Biden.'”
If the trend is what I hope it is, then maybe people will feel even safer once we get a bunch of people off the streets and into prison — the Trump family, Republicans who committed crimes for Trump, white supremicists, and the people who attacked the U.S. Capitol.
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