Gun sales skyrocket creating 5M new gun owners in the US in 2020

Who is making up the five million new gun owners in the U.S.? Sales nearly doubled in the first half of 2020.

Shooting classes at gun ranges are booked, ammunition and guns are flying off the shelves.

“I’m looking for a Glock 19 fifth generation, you can’t even get one,” said Mike Stein of Naples.

Mark Olivia with the National Shooting Sports Foundation says the largest increase is from Black people, who make up nearly 60% of buyers.

“It started with the coronavirus and the government orders to shut down,” Olivia said. “We saw police at the time saying that we aren’t going to be able to respond to every emergency.”

People want to protect themselves.

These sales increasing sales trends kept rising following the death of George Floyd and calls to ‘defund police’.

Now more people are choosing to buy a gun for the first time.  “I never really wanted to have one around the house,” said Amy Reynolds, a mother of three.

“If something goes down, if someone wants my home I want to stand my ground,” said Reynolds.

“Lay it on top of that this is an election year, ” Olivia added.

Especially during an election year, new gun owners fear their second amendment rights could be taken away.

“What prompted my decision was the time could come that I wouldn’t be allowed to buy a gun,” said Sarann Kraushnaarr of Naples.

As gun shops continue looking for supplies, the National Shooting Sports Foundation expects sales to remain high until November.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation also says 40% of first-time gun buyers are women. Retailers are seeing a close to 100% increase in gun sales compared to last year this time.