cuchulainn
March 21, 2003, 12:14 PM
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Area gun sales shoot up
Sales of firearms surge in midstate
Friday, March 21, 2003
BY BILL SULON
Of The Patriot-News
Some central Pennsylvanians are adding more to their personal homeland security arsenal than duct tape and plastic sheeting.
At Jim's Tackle Shop in Penbrook, sales of guns and ammunition since January have more than doubled from the same period a year ago, owner Jim Smith said.
"Nobody is saying, 'I want it for a terrorist,'" Smith said. "They just say, 'I want protection.'"
Smith simultaneously blames and credits the government for "putting fear" into the minds of the public with home safety suggestions (none of which include loading up on weapons) and color-coded warnings. The start of war in Iraq has heightened that concern, he said.
"I hate to admit it, but it's not bad for business," said Smith, who has a sign outside his store that reads, "Smack Iraq War Specials." A previous sign warned, "Al Qaeda is coming. Are you prepared?"
Most of the recent customers are buying handguns, including semiautomatic pistols, though a few are purchasing rifles. About a quarter of the customers are first-time buyers, Smith said.
"I haven't seen it this busy since '93, '94, when there was talk about [placing restrictions] on gun ownership," he said, adding that some gun models are selling faster than manufacturers can make them.
Before January, Smith was selling three to five boxes of ammunition a week. Lately, he's selling as many as 20 boxes a week.
Customers also are stocking up on pepper spray and gas masks. Smith said he sold two dozen gas masks -- some of which sell for $100 apiece -- during the last month, compared with six during the prior 18 months.
At Hawk's Warehouse in Millerstown, "our pistol sales have definitely gone up," owner Gail Zeigler said.
Zeigler's husband, Steve, the store's manager, said sales of guns "spiked right after 9/11 and have leveled off to a little better than they were before then."
Richard Greenberg, owner of an in-home gun business, Mechanicsburg Ordnance in Lower Allen Twp., said his sales have been holding steady during the past few months.
"I've sold eight or nine handguns in the last four days, which is about average," Greenberg said. "I always think people should be prepared. I don't really think that a handgun is going to stop a terrorist from doing what he has set out to do, especially if it involves explosives. If he's going to blow up a bridge or blow up a shopping mall, someone with a handgun isn't going to stop him unless he's right there."
The more armed Americans there are, the better the odds someone might be able to thwart a terrorist attack, said Erich Pratt, spokesman for Gun Owners of America, a Springfield, Va., lobbyist group that focuses on legislation that affects the Second Amendment. He said several suicide bombers in Israel have been stopped from setting off their explosives by armed people, and that the same is possible here.
"Whether it's a calm time or a time like this, we would certainly encourage people to have the means for self-defense, because they won't be able to wait for the police when there is a time of attack," Pratt said.
Pratt said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was remiss in not mentioning guns and ammunition as part of a list of items people should stock up on to protect themselves.
Michael Mathis, a member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Rifle & Pistol Association, said anyone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon has "a duty" to do so.
"If you're in a McDonald's and someone starts killing people, someone should be able to stop it," Mathis said. "School teachers -- they should be armed, too."
If history is a guide, however, thousands of weapons a year will be used by children who accidentally kill themselves or others, depressed people who intentionally kill themselves, and spouses who, in fits of rage, kill their partners, according to Join Together, a Boston-based anti-gun research group.
In 1999, the last year for which figures are available, 28,874 people died in the United States from firearm injuries, including 3,400 children, according to Join Together and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the shooting victims, 16,599 were suicides.
More than 64,000 people are injured by firearms each year, resulting in $2.3 billion in medical costs, Join Together said.
"People need to be really aware of the statistics," said Sally Slovenski, gun violence project manager for Join Together. "If you choose to have a gun and you have a child or depressed person in the house, especially an elderly depressed person, store the gun as safely as possible, in a locked box, and in a separate location from the ammunition." BILL SULON: 255-8144 or bsulon@patriot-news.com
Copyright 2003 The Patriot-News.
Area gun sales shoot up
Sales of firearms surge in midstate
Friday, March 21, 2003
BY BILL SULON
Of The Patriot-News
Some central Pennsylvanians are adding more to their personal homeland security arsenal than duct tape and plastic sheeting.
At Jim's Tackle Shop in Penbrook, sales of guns and ammunition since January have more than doubled from the same period a year ago, owner Jim Smith said.
"Nobody is saying, 'I want it for a terrorist,'" Smith said. "They just say, 'I want protection.'"
Smith simultaneously blames and credits the government for "putting fear" into the minds of the public with home safety suggestions (none of which include loading up on weapons) and color-coded warnings. The start of war in Iraq has heightened that concern, he said.
"I hate to admit it, but it's not bad for business," said Smith, who has a sign outside his store that reads, "Smack Iraq War Specials." A previous sign warned, "Al Qaeda is coming. Are you prepared?"
Most of the recent customers are buying handguns, including semiautomatic pistols, though a few are purchasing rifles. About a quarter of the customers are first-time buyers, Smith said.
"I haven't seen it this busy since '93, '94, when there was talk about [placing restrictions] on gun ownership," he said, adding that some gun models are selling faster than manufacturers can make them.
Before January, Smith was selling three to five boxes of ammunition a week. Lately, he's selling as many as 20 boxes a week.
Customers also are stocking up on pepper spray and gas masks. Smith said he sold two dozen gas masks -- some of which sell for $100 apiece -- during the last month, compared with six during the prior 18 months.
At Hawk's Warehouse in Millerstown, "our pistol sales have definitely gone up," owner Gail Zeigler said.
Zeigler's husband, Steve, the store's manager, said sales of guns "spiked right after 9/11 and have leveled off to a little better than they were before then."
Richard Greenberg, owner of an in-home gun business, Mechanicsburg Ordnance in Lower Allen Twp., said his sales have been holding steady during the past few months.
"I've sold eight or nine handguns in the last four days, which is about average," Greenberg said. "I always think people should be prepared. I don't really think that a handgun is going to stop a terrorist from doing what he has set out to do, especially if it involves explosives. If he's going to blow up a bridge or blow up a shopping mall, someone with a handgun isn't going to stop him unless he's right there."
The more armed Americans there are, the better the odds someone might be able to thwart a terrorist attack, said Erich Pratt, spokesman for Gun Owners of America, a Springfield, Va., lobbyist group that focuses on legislation that affects the Second Amendment. He said several suicide bombers in Israel have been stopped from setting off their explosives by armed people, and that the same is possible here.
"Whether it's a calm time or a time like this, we would certainly encourage people to have the means for self-defense, because they won't be able to wait for the police when there is a time of attack," Pratt said.
Pratt said Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was remiss in not mentioning guns and ammunition as part of a list of items people should stock up on to protect themselves.
Michael Mathis, a member of the board of directors of the Pennsylvania Rifle & Pistol Association, said anyone with a permit to carry a concealed weapon has "a duty" to do so.
"If you're in a McDonald's and someone starts killing people, someone should be able to stop it," Mathis said. "School teachers -- they should be armed, too."
If history is a guide, however, thousands of weapons a year will be used by children who accidentally kill themselves or others, depressed people who intentionally kill themselves, and spouses who, in fits of rage, kill their partners, according to Join Together, a Boston-based anti-gun research group.
In 1999, the last year for which figures are available, 28,874 people died in the United States from firearm injuries, including 3,400 children, according to Join Together and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the shooting victims, 16,599 were suicides.
More than 64,000 people are injured by firearms each year, resulting in $2.3 billion in medical costs, Join Together said.
"People need to be really aware of the statistics," said Sally Slovenski, gun violence project manager for Join Together. "If you choose to have a gun and you have a child or depressed person in the house, especially an elderly depressed person, store the gun as safely as possible, in a locked box, and in a separate location from the ammunition." BILL SULON: 255-8144 or bsulon@patriot-news.com
Copyright 2003 The Patriot-News.