Gun sales strong in area shops following mass shootings
Jun. 14—At Roll Call in Scranton, David Russell saw an uptick in new buyers over the past week and a half on the heels of two tragedies.
The sales manager at the gun shop, shooting range and training center estimates the store has seen about a 20% to 30% increase in new buyers — primarily for concealed carry pistols, he said. The gun debate has flared after recent mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas.
"Maybe some people are fearful or maybe they feel they should start defending themselves just in case," Russell said, a row of guns lined up on the sales wall behind him.
In addition to handguns, Roll Call has experienced an influx of new revolver and .22 long rifle sales as well as ammunition.
Russell's customers voiced varying stances on AR-15 rifles, with some selling their guns and others buying one for the first time.
"Anytime there is talk about something with guns, people either want to buy more or they want to sell their own guns," Russell said.
At Burke's Gun Shop in Meshoppen, store manager Pam Burke said traffic has remained steady in recent weeks and the trend of new customers purchasing handguns and taking training classes for personal protection has continued.
"A lot of first-time buyers are still coming in, but not in the floods they were during the pandemic," Burke said. "We're not seeing that influx of panic buying right now, but that's not to say it's not going to happen."
The shop saw record sales throughout 2020 and 2021 as first-time buyers flocked to the shop to purchase guns amid discussions about potential downsizing of police forces, Burke said.
"I think it was people who were scared for their own safety," she said. "They were purchasing firearms to be able to protect themselves."
Burke believes legislation regarding gun safety might also impact sales in the coming months.
Senate negotiators announced Sunday they had struck a bipartisan deal on a narrow set of gun-safety measures. They include enhanced background checks and funding for states to enact so-called red-flag laws that allow authorities to temporarily confiscate guns from people deemed to be dangerous, as well as money for mental health resources and to bolster safety and mental health services at schools.
One neighboring state has already taken steps to limit the sales of certain guns.
New Yorkers under age 21 will be prohibited from buying semiautomatic rifles under a new law signed last week by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Hochul, a Democrat, signed 10 public safety-related bills, including one that will require microstamping in new firearms, which could help law enforcement solve gun-related crimes.
Another revised the state's "red flag" law, which allows courts to temporarily take away guns from people who might be a threat to themselves or others.
In Pennsylvania, Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D-10) of Bucks County plans to introduce a bill banning military-style assault weapons. The bill will broaden the scope of what the state classifies as assault weapons, banning more than 150 gun models. It also will ban the sale of gun magazines with a capacity of more than 10 rounds and will provide for a voluntary buy-back program for those that currently own firearms that would no longer be permitted.
Joe Lasecki, owner of Nimrod Haven Hunting and Fishing in Hanover Twp., believes the rush of "panic buyers" has passed.
"I'm kind of selling across the board like I normally do," he said. "Shotguns, rifles, handguns — nothing seems to be any kind of a trend yet. I think everybody that was a panic buyer already bought when the first riots started when the pandemic started. They were buying like crazy — we'll never see that kind of business again."
Contact the writer: rtomkavage@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9131; @rtomkavage on Twitter.
