Sunday night. I could not sleep. Processing what had occurred in Orlando was an all day event and it seemed my mind wasn't done. Was I going crazy? As I lay tossing and turning and staring off into the night, one thing that did cross my mind was, what if … Hearing a noise outside, I wondered about protection. At my last place, I had a baseball bat. It had a crack in it, but I am sure it would allow me one or two swings if I needed to get my point across. My mother sleeps with a machete under her bed. Yeah, don't mess with my mom. What do I have currently? Nothing. I have a $1 plastic 3-foot shoe horn from Ikea that I use as a back scratcher. I have a collapsed kayak oar under my bed. Would that do? It's debatable. But my mind went to getting a gun over a dozen of times. After each gun ownership thought, I heard the conversation between my parents replay over and over again, the one where my father keeps insisting my mother own and learn how to fire a gun for her own protection. My mother and I have always been basically against the thought, but now, for me, maybe this was going to become a reality?
Apparently I'm not the only one thinking about this according to this KDVR.com news report from the Denver area.
DENVER — Gun sales are surging in the wake of Sunday’s deadly mass shooting in Orlando, Fla. The tragedy is generating new debate over gun control reform and the right to bear arms.
Gun shops typically see a spike in customers after mass shootings. But this time, many are seeing shoppers they’ve never really seen before: More gays and lesbians.
George Horne, the owner of The Gun Room, Denver’s oldest firearms dealer, said Tuesday business is booming at his store.
"For this time of year I’d say its three to four times what we normally have," he said.
Background checks that once took minutes can now take hours. It's a sales surge similar to what happened after Sandy Hook and the Aurora theater shootings.
“We’re not surprised by it,” Horne said.
However, what’s different this time around is the clientele. Mike Smith, a firearms instructor in Colorado Springs, is one of many closely tracking the sudden surge in gays and lesbians buying weapons.
“I think right now because of what happened, people are looking for answers,” he said. “You walk into a gun shop and you expect to see people, frankly, who look like me. I think we forget we’re a country of all people, not just people who fit that predetermined mold.”
The Pink Pistols is a national gun club for gays and lesbians. It saw its membership soar from about 1,500 members on Saturday to 3,500 on Monday.
Dozens of new chapters are springing up, including one Smith is creating in Colorado Springs. He said it’s something he feels compelled to do, even though he’s heterosexual.
“I look at it as a disenfranchised minority that needs someone who’s willing to say I’m a resource who’s here and willing to help,” he said.
Another chapter also appears to be forming in the Denver area. The Pink Pistols typically meet on a regular basis at firing ranges to practice shooting. – kdvr.com
Now this is a FOX channel and this is out of the Denver area. No national statistics are given. But we know it's happening, right?
I have not purchased a gun and nor will I … I don;t think. But I may return to the practice of having a baseball bat handy or follow in mom's footsteps with a machete.
What are your thoughts?
Has purchasing a gun crossed your mind in the positive fashion more now, since after Orlando?
Is this real or (FOX / Gun seller's) propaganda?
is it based on fear or reality?
h/t: kdvr.com
I grew up in the South &
I grew up in the South & pretty much everyone in my entire family is a fun owner…except me. I've always been a little uncomfortable around them & just didn't feel the need or desire to own one.
Today I signed up for a pistol training course & I'm taking the class to get my concealed carry in 2 weeks.
Hopefully I'll never have to use it, other than practicing at the shooting range & with my Dad, but I'm going to do my best to protect myself, my family & my friends. I completely understand it's not something everyone can agree with, but enough is enough. Until our lawmakers do something to keep guns out of the hands of crazy people, I'll carry my little pistol…just in case.
shit…just re-read my post
shit…just re-read my post after it posted. GUN owner, not "fun" owner. lol
I’m a long-time Democrat and
I'm a long-time Democrat and member of the LGBTQ community, but support the second amendment. I, fortunately, grew up hunting with my family in the Arizona desert. And, I firmly believe in gun ownership by private citizens. In my mind, it is sad that what happened in Orlando has digressed into a debate about gun control. The guns the American terrorist used didn't decide to shoot those innocent unarmed people. The unhinged shooter did. I also believe that had someone in the crowd been carrying a firearm that morning, there would have been many fewer casualties. That said, I don't believe in uncontrolled gun sales. I cannot for the life of me understand why we should not limit gun ownership to citizens who are not on our country's no-fly list as long as we provide to the individual a means to contest being on the list in the first place.
I am also an LGBT gun owner,
I am also an LGBT gun owner, but you lost me at this is not a debate "about gun control." Really? Did the gunman use a machete on his 100+ victims? Did he use a bomb? Did he use rocks? No, he decided to use a weapon which was expressly designed for the battlefield. Now tell me this, the 2nd amendment grants the U.S. government the right to regulate a "well regulated militia." Do we really need these types of weapons on our streets? This gun debate is far to complex for one comment, but I do hope that we can come to some common sense solution when all the dust settles. These lives were taken by bullets, from a military style weapon. That's a fact.
Can I call “bullsh*T” and get
Can I call “bullsh*T” and get away with it. Somehow I don’t think one’s sexual orientation is on the background check for a firearm … maybe I’m wrong… BUT UNLESS it is and I’m proved otherwise… HOW THE hell is someone’s sexual orientation a BASIS for an article on an increase in firearms sales…. UGH!!! exploitation here we go again.
Thanks Withheld. I was
Thanks Withheld. I was thinking the same thing when I watched the video. But there is more to just buying a gun and signing a paper. There is conversation and you may find out someone is a teacher, a lawyer, why they want the gun, what reasoning. Yes, there could be zero conversation. I Want Gun. Sell Me Now. Me Sign. When I use to sell cars, you learned a lot about the people. And I did mention that there are no statistics, just here say. And yes, that could be false as well and they are looking to drive up sales within the LGBT community. I hear yah. And I did mention it was from a FOX channel. :-/