Americans are funny in that when you think they will react a certain way to a crisis, more often than not, they do just the opposite. Perhaps it is why Americans are so much different than any other nation in the world.
After the recent shooting in Tucson by Jerod Loughner, anti-gun proponents have used the event as a political ploy to ready bill after bill on the House floor, hoping Congress will increase regulations on guns and gun owners. This is usually the knee-jerk reaction of those who feel that guns kill people, and that the people should not be held responsible for their own actions.
There are enough laws and regulations on guns, ammo, and gun ownership... over 23,000 in fact, and the problem rests not with needing more laws, but as usual, in enforcing the ones already on the books. Jerod Loughner was considered SML (serious mental illness) by certified examiners before the tragedy of last weekend, but the state and federal government did not enforce their own laws to ensure that Jerod didn't have access to a gun.
Well guess what? This week, over 80 million gun owners didn't kill anyone.
However, that number may be rising, as it appears because of the political rhetoric, the mass media spin on the event, and the fear of new regulations, gun purchases since last week have not dropped, but in fact, have skyrocketed.
In an article from the East Valley Tribune yesterday, gun and ammunition magazine sales in Arizona have gone up over 500% since the talk on regulation took place after the shootings in Tucson.
Sales of high-capacity magazines rose 500 percent at Wolff's two Valley stores and on a website that he says makes him one of the nation's largest Glock distributors.
FBI statistics indicate a surge in Arizona gun sales, with the agency reporting 263 background check requests for gun purchases in the state, up from 164 for the same day a year ago. An FBI spokesman on Friday said the agency was too overwhelmed with media requests to provide updated numbers for the week.
Gun sales often soar after shooting sprees, which lead to calls for new weapons restrictions - and a rise in public fears that firearms will be harder to buy.
Guns are no different than any other item that the government threatens to restrict. Each time there is a potential new law, removal of said item or a restriction, the public will rush to purchase that item until it is out of stock, or removed from availability.
In fact, when President Obama was elected, gun sales around the country shot through the roof. Some commentators even made the remark that President Obama was the gun salesman of the year, because of his anti-gun beliefs and socialist viewpoints.
The tragedy that took place in Tucson last weekend, along with the ones in Columbine and at Virginia Tech were shocking, but preventable. They were preventable not by restricting guns from the public and from citizens, but by enforcing laws already on the books that mentally unstable people cannot own a weapon. In each case, the killers were already diagnosed with mental problems, and each of them gave indications of their plans beforehand.
Yet, you have to question the reaction of the media, some in the public, and many politicians who seek to restrict guns and take away Constitutional rights from 80 million citizens who did nothing wrong. Why is the reaction not on the failed chain of events in the mental health institutions, by the incompetent Pinal county Sheriff who was warned of Jerod, and the federal agencies such as the BATF?
Either way, the reaction by the citizenry is clear regarding firearms. Restrict our guns, and we'll just buy more.
