After the Tucson Massacre, Weaponand Munition Sales Increasing

The Tucson slaughter has already had an effect: In the city, and all over Arizona, the sales of high-capacity magazines — of the kind that was used by Jared Lee Loughner to kill six people and wound another 14 — have been increasing. “But the overall sales of guns and rifles have risen in the last week,” claimed several Arizona weapons store owners. The trend is not a comforting sign for who struggle to restrict the right to own guns in the United States. “Violence is not endemic to America. Gun violence is,” according to a New York Times editorial.

“Guns Plus” is a retailer in Surprise, a populous suburb of Phoenix. Among its services, besides a very large catalog of handguns, rifles, machine guns, there are shooting lessons; the processing of paperwork for acquiring the “concealed weapon permit”; and the license to carry concealed weapons in public places (Arizona is one of the American states with the most permissive legislation on the subject of concealed carry. There are innumerable public places where one can carry weapons without having to disclose them). One of the Guns Plus salesmen, interviewed by phone, said that since Saturday, [Jan.] 9, the day of the tragedy, “Overall, we have increased the sales of semi-automatic pistols, analogous to the Glock 19.” That is the same gun Loughner used: “Very popular for its lightness,” the salesman said, “and for its great grip, in relation to firepower.”

However, the sales of high-capacity magazines, which contain more than 10 shots, have more than doubled. “The one used by Loughner had a capacity of 33 shots,” according to Guns Plus. These magazines were outlawed in the U.S. from 1994 to 2004. But now, after the Tucson massacre, they have returned to the eye of the storm. “Loughner shot and continued firing until the magazine had no more shots left,” claimed the Guns Plus salesman, who has followed every detail of this story. Finally, he concluded: “Loughner is fucking crazy. But it would be wrong to outlaw again these devices, due to only one fucking crazy.”

Nevertheless, Guns Plus can still sleep relatively quietly. For the moment, it seems that the Tucson slaughter does not really question the tremendous freedom of carrying a weapon in the U.S. (where there are 300 million weapons, 100 million of which are owned by individuals). The only real consequence, currently, is an increase in the federal surveillance of people wishing to purchase a gun or a rifle. Last Monday, the FBI announced 263 inspections in one day, compared with 164 on the previous Monday. These checkups are allowed by law, but they are usually carried out by only few dealers. Jared Lee Loughner, himself, went to a sporting goods store, the Sportsman’s Warehouse, and, for $500, he brought home a semi-automatic, without any check. Just the month before, he left college because of serious mental disorders.

Democrat Representative Carolyn McCarthy, heading a group of liberal politicians, said she wants to use the Tucson massacre to ban high-capacity magazines. It is an almost impossible undertaking at the present. New Speaker of the House, John Boehner, explained that he has no intention of dealing with this matter. The second Amendment and its references to “a well-regulated militia” and the “right to keep and bear arms” vigorously resound in the soul of Americans, especially in the West and the South. Only 44 percent of people agree with stricter rules for carrying arms. But the arms lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA), remains the most powerful pressure group in Washington (in the first few months of the previous midterm elections, the NRA spent $7 million for TV commercials). It is unlikely, in fact, that anything will change. Until the next Tucson.