The election of President Barack Obama was a boon for the gun industry. Spurred by fears that he would tighten gun laws or start confiscating firearms from private citizens, sales to White gun owners exploded. His last years in office were record years for gun sales, and stock prices for some of the industry’s biggest manufacturers soared.
But the election of Trump, endorsed by the National Rifle Association earlier than any other candidate in the organization’s history, has largely had the reverse effect. With little concern among gun owners that Republicans will try to grab their guns, arms sales have dropped precipitously among the general population.
Except among minorities, according to gun stores that serve them, Black gun ownership is on the rise. For Black gun owners, the Trump Effect has led them to buy guns over concerns about the president’s stoking the flames of racial tension. The latest bump in Black guns sales has come around the three pandemics – COVID-19, police reform and economic tightening,
If you’re going to own a gun, make sure you clearly understand and follow the laws in your community. Buy your guns legally, and learn to shoot. On these pages, we have information that will help you with all three.
Guns Sales Driven By Black Men and Women
Gun sales have spiked in the first half of 2020, driven by a large increase in sales to Black men and women. Overall, gun purchases were up 95% over this time last year, and ammunition sales were up 139%. The largest increase in gun sales by demographic came among Blacks, with purchases up 58%.
Up to 59% of African-American households now view owning a gun as a “necessity,” according to a recent study from the Pew Research Center
“Regardless of what side you’re on, in the fabric of society right now, there’s an undertone, a tension that you see that groups you saw on the fringes 20 years ago are now in the open,” said Philip Smith, founder of the National African American Gun Association. He also identified the increase in police shootings as part of the cause of the sudden upswing in Black gun ownership.