A Democrat pushing magazine limits and so-called bans on assault weapons was guaranteed to drive sales. Barack Obama was the gun industry’s best salesman. Over 100 million firearms were purchased during his presidency, thanks to some aggressive gun-control pushes, especially after Sandy Hook. Democrats wised up some, seeing that Second Amendment issues often splinter their caucus.
Now, it’s not gun control pushes that drive sales anymore right now. It’s still due to Democratic Party policies stemming from public safety. The soft-on-crime mantra that’s been adopted in Democrat-run cities has led to many self-identified Democrats running to gun stores. Black Americans have also rushed to arm themselves amid rising crime. The Wall Street Journal touched upon how this surge in new gun owners will make it more difficult for anti-gun liberals to push for more restrictions on firearms in the future, though I’m not one to warn the other side about stepping in their political bear trap (via WSJ):
More than half of American voters say that they or someone in their household owns a gun, according to a poll by NBC News. That’s the highest level since its polls began asking in 1999. After progressives drove up firearm ownership with policies that are soft on violent crime, they can’t figure out why their gun-control ideas fail to pass.
The share of voters with a firearm in the household is 52%, up from 46% in 2019 and 42% in 2013. A partisan split is evident. Gun households now include 66% of Republicans, 45% of independents, and 41% of Democrats. This is no surprise, in part because rural areas tilt right, and that’s where hunting is a family event and bears might be prowling the woods.
Notable, though, is that the numbers are increasing the fastest on the left side of the aisle. In 2019, 64% of Republican voters reported that their household had a firearm, compared with 33% of Democrats. The figure for Republicans has risen two points over four years, compared with eight for Democrats.
Twenty-four percent of black voters were in gun households in 2019. Today it’s 41%, up 17 points. Over the same period, the number for white voters rose three points, to 56% from 53%. Could this increase in black ownership be related to self-defense concerns amid the runup in urban crime? The survey doesn’t delve into the reasons, but it’s a reasonable guess.
The publication added if the Democrats have a shot at passing a new nationwide gun control policy, it starts with convincing these people, and I doubt they’ll be able to do that due to their absolutist position on the matter.