Gun sales boom
In a predictable if unintended consequence of the latest round of incautious talk about "gun and magazine bans," in the wake of the shocking Dec. 14 school shooting in Newtown, Conn., another segment of the Nevada retail market has been booming, of late.
"You can't keep the guns on the shelf right now," reports Joey Wyson, general manager of Discount Firearms & Ammo, who said sales have been running as high as five times normal.
"They're worried about their safety and about legislation that may prevent them from being able to defend themselves," Mr. Wyson said last week.
Nevada firearms dealers submitted 5,298 background requests in the five days after the pre-Christmas shooting, nearly double the 2,782 requests over the same dates in 2011, according to the Nevada Department of Public Safety.
Gun stores reported high interest in the AR-15 and its .223-caliber clones, similar to the one used in the Connecticut slayings, and in normal capacity, 20- and 30-round magazines.
(Ironically, Connecticut law - under which Adam Lanza's mother legally purchased the murder weapon - is so restrictive that her rifle would remain legal even if the federal so-called "assault weapons ban" were reinstated.)
It's a legal commerce and a constitutional right. But firearms ownership is also a sober responsibility. Purchasers should give serious thought to a basic firearms safety and self-defense course, as well as to secure storage, especially in a home where children live or may visit.
