| DATE: | April 13, 2020 |
| TO: | USF & NRA Members and Friends |
| FROM: | Marion P. Hammer |
| USF Executive Director | |
|
NRA Past President |
Safety. Personal safety and safety of family are the reasons for gun purchases of many first-time gun buyers. And, as we are beginning to see, many first-time gun buyers are angry with the gun restrictions they once supported. Laws that prevent law-abiding people from being able to make purchases without restriction are being called “harassment,” “unreasonable,” “excessive,” and “damned ridiculous.”
The State of Florida logged an all-time high number of gun purchase background checks during March, 2020. One must hope these first-time gun buyers are wise enough to see the error of their previous support for gun control laws they didn’t understand.
Background checks for gun sales reach all-time high in Florida during coronavirus pandemic
By Merris Badcock, Erik Altmann
WPTV 5 NBC
April 10, 2020 | 5:52 pm
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As news of a worldwide coronavirus pandemic broke, many rushed to buy toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and guns.
“We had two to three weeks of an Armageddon-type of set up,” said Alex Shkop, owner of Guns & Range Training Center in West Palm Beach.
For weeks, long lines could be seen outside gun stores in West Palm Beach with armed guards or law enforcement standing by to help with crowd control.
Numerous gun shop owners told WPTV Contact 5 on background that many purchasers were first-time gun owners.
“We had people that were basically openly admitting that they have never owned a gun, they have never used a gun,” said Shkop. “They were purchasing firearms and they were asking questions like how to use them and how to take care of them. A lot of first-time buyer questions.”
Contact 5 asked for records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and found March 2020 was the highest month on record when it comes to background checks for gun purchases. FDLE keeps data as far back as January 2004…