Pandemic related spikes in gun sales do not appear to be slowing down anytime soon and women and minorities are seeing the greatest increase in legal gun ownership according to recent studies.
“I think it’s just part of the unrest in the country, and women want to feel comfortable with a gun, in case they ever in any situation had to use one,” says Nancy Thomas, Co-chair of the Lowcountry Annie Oakley’s gun club tells WTOC 11 in an interview.
It is a trend that is noticed by Amy Baker, owner of AV arms in Richmond Hill, Georgia. “I think it is comforting for a female to walk in the door and buy a gun from another female,” Baker says.
Data from the FBI, who tracks gun sales in the US, shows a significant increase across the board. 14 million guns were legally purchased in 2019 according to the FBI. That number rocketed to 23 million in 2020 and 20 million for last year.
Professors from Harvard and Northeastern found that female gun ownership has doubled to 3.5 million in just the past two years.
“Why shouldn’t a single mom who needs to be able to protect her kids in a rough area of town, black or white, not be able to buy that gun?” asks Philip Smith, President and founder of the National African American Gun Association (NAGA).
The National Shooting Sports Foundation shows in a separate study that legal gun sales for African Americans increased by an unprecedented 56% in 2020. Smith says the spike is related to African Americans not wanting to become victims any longer, “African Americans for too long have went around in society being soft targets.”
Smith also adds that increased gun regulations, specifically fees attached to ownership and permits, have prevented a large percentage of low income Americans from being legal gun owners. “[Y]ou’ve priced out a lot of poor folks that need and want to have a gun, and it drives them to buy guns illegally.”
Smith also encourages Americans of all colors and backgrounds to continue to arm themselves. “Do not stop carrying a gun. That’s your Second Amendment right. We are the most patriotic group of folks in this country. So don’t stop carrying that gun.”
