From left, Cory Riley of Goshen, Micah Hueni of Bremen and Gretchen Bellma of Bremen shoot pistols at Shoot to Thrill in Goshen on Jan. 9, 2016. (Sam Householder/The Elkhart Truth)
GOSHEN — Business at ZX Gun had been edging along at a flat rate until a husband-and-wife duo opened fire at a gathering of health workers in San Bernardino, Calif., in December.
Fourteen ended up dying at the hands of Syed Farook and wife Tashfeen Malik, apparent adherents of Islamic radicalism, a tragedy that shocked the nation. In Elkhart County and across the country, gun sales shot up.
“I think it’s a gut reaction. It’s a concrete example that there could be an attack out in public, without warning,” said Ryan Stoy, online sales manager at ZX Gun. In other words, many people, alarmed at the prospect of a repeat of San Bernardino, decided they had better take steps to protect themselves.
Stoy said the increase brought sales at ZX back to a normal level for December, which is generally a strong month in the industry. Figures from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, suggest something more. NICS background checks for gun sales and gun permits in December spiked to the highest monthly level since such checks were mandated in late 1998, both in Indiana and the nation as a whole.
Indeed, even as the gun debate simmers — President Obama announced a series of controversial gun-control measures on Jan. 5 while Indiana lawmakers are mulling a range of gun proposals — there’s been no slowdown in gun sales across Indiana.
All you have to do is look at the numbers:
Copyright © Truth Publishing Co., All Rights Reserved