(Newswire.net — May 6, 2020) —
There is no question about it: The Coronavirus has dramatically changed businesses across the country, and across the world. It has closed millions of businesses and left tens of millions of people unemployed. At the same time, in a strange way, the Coronavirus has been a boom for certain businesses, like Amazon or grocery stores.
Of course, the gains of some businesses have not just been limited to these industries. Others have seen major growth in their sales as well. One such example is the firearm industry, which saw the largest growth it had ever experienced.
Sales Are Through The Roof
There is no question about it: The Coronavirus has prompted an uptick in sales unlike anything ever seen by the firearm industry.
According to sales information, 1.9 million guns were sold in March 2020, the same month that the Coronavirus began its rapid spread in the United States. This is the most amount of gun sales over a one month period since January 2012, the month that Barack Obama was sworn back in as President. This increase in sales amounted to an 85.3% increase over the same time the previous year.
This continued well into April, as gun sales continued to expand. The sales also resulted in a massive surge of FBI background checks, with the agency reporting 3.7 million such checks by April 2020. March 21 saw 210,000 background checks run, the highest number of background checks ever conducted on a single day.
The reasoning behind these sales is as tragic as it is obvious: People are scared, and when they are scared, they turn to weapons in order to protect themselves and their families. This particularly occurred at the start of the pandemic, when there were widespread concerns about looting and empty grocery store lines. In interviews with the media, some purchasers specifically cited the fears of a societal breakdown as the reason that they were purchasing more guns.
Those fears were reflected in other media interviews as well, which showed that many of the people purchasing guns had never done so before. However, these purchases were driven by anxiety, uncertainty, and long-term questions about the future.
Essential Businesses?
The shutdowns, of course, left countless businesses unable to continue. In many cases, being named an “essential business” and thus being allowed to operate openly was the difference between success and failure. However, in some cases, these led to court battles and changing positions.
Many states altered their gun store guidance as the Coronavirus pandemic expanded. For example, take Pennsylvania. Originally, the state determined that gun stores were not life-sustaining businesses and ordered them closed. The order was immediately challenged, and in a divided decision, the State Supreme Court agreed with Governor Wolf and said that his order could stand. Dissenting opinions called on Wolf to reconsider his order, and he wound up doing just that: Two days later, the Governor altered his order and allowed for gun stores to continue to operate.
The federal government, too, found that gun stores could and should remain open during this time, ruling that gun stores and a variety of other gun-related businesses (like manufacturing and shooting ranges) should be allowed to remain open.
Ultimately, gun stores remained open across the country, except for the states of Washington, New York, New Mexico, and Massachusetts.
However, even in stores that have remained open, the ways of doing business have changed, as more stores shift to online purchasing, delivery, and curbside service. This is no different in the gun industry. In early April, the United States’ Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms changed their guidance and allowed for gun dealers to provide walk-up or drive-up service. This was done in order to keep people as socially distant as possible, while still allowing for the sales of firearms. However, this did not fundamentally alter any other gun sales business requirements, including the need for background checks.