Jul 26 - Aurora theater shooting: Gun sales up since tragedy

Background checks for people wanting to buy guns in Colorado jumped more than 41 percent after Friday morning's shooting at an Aurora movie theater, and firearms instructors say they're also seeing increased interest in the training required for a concealed-carry permit.

"It's been insane," Jake Meyers, an employee at Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo in Parker, said Monday.

When he arrived at work Friday morning — just hours after a gunman k!lled 12 and injured 58 others at the Century Aurora 16 theater — there already were 15 to 20 people waiting outside the store, Meyers said.

He called Monday "probably the busiest Monday all year" and said the basic firearms classes that he and the store's owner teach are


booked solid for the next three weeks, something that hadn't happened all year.

"A lot of it is people saying, 'I didn't think I needed a gun, but now I do,' " Meyers said. "When it happens in your backyard, people start reassessing — 'Hey, I go to the movies.' "

Between Friday and Sunday, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation approved background checks for 2,887 people who wanted to purchase a firearm — a 43 percent increase over the previous Friday through Sunday and a 39 percent jump over those same days on the first weekend of July.

The biggest spike was on Friday, when there were 1,216 checks, a 43 percent increase over the average number for the previous two Fridays.

The checks are required before anyone may legally purchase a gun in Colorado. Because some purchasers may have bought more than one gun or decided against their purchase, the actual number bought may have been different from 2,887.

Such increases aren't unusual in the wake of mass shootings.

After a gunman in Tucson k!lled six people and injured others, including Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, in 2010, background checks in Arizona jumped 60 percent over the same date one year earlier, according to the FBI.

A similar increase occurred in Virginia after the shootings at Virginia Tech University in 2007.

Dion Studinski, who teaches a course required for people to apply for a concealed-carry permit, said his class for Saturday at Firing-Line gun store and indoor shooting range in Aurora is overbooked.

"We've definitely had an increase," he said.

Tom Mauser, a gun-control advocate whose son Daniel was k!lled at Columbine High School in 1999, said he wasn't surprised by the numbers.

"To me that's just symbolic of the fear that drives (people)," he said.

State Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, said she understands what people are thinking when they walk into a gun shop. But she hopes buying a gun isn't the only response people have.

She would also like to see Congress reinstate an[..]ault-weapons ban, and she said Colorado should look into other measures that could prevent tragedies like Friday's shooting.

"I think that's what the conversation needs to be," she said. "I don't think that to be preventative, we need to provide or have more guns."

and we think this is not what holmes wanted[pic]

a little handgun wasn't gonna do !! to that bulletproof vest

a little handgun wasn't gonna do !! to that bulletproof vest

DENVER -- Firearms sales are surging in the wake of the Colorado movie massacre as buyers express fears about both personal safety and lawmakers who are using the shooting to seek new weapons restrictions.

In Colorado, the site of Friday's shooting that k!lled 12 and injured dozens of others, gun sales jumped in the three days that followed. The state approved background checks for 2,887 people who wanted to purchase a firearm – 25 percent more than the average Friday to Sunday period in 2012 and 43 percent more than the same interval the week prior.

!! Rutan, owner of Gunners Den in suburban Arvada, Colo., said requests for concealed-weapon training certification "are off the hook." His four-hour course in gun safety, required for certification for a concealed-weapons permit in Colorado, has drawn double the interest since Friday.

"What they're saying is: They want to have a chance. They want to have the ability to protect themselves and their families if they are in a situation like what happened in the movie theater," Rutan said.

Day-to-day gun sales frequently fluctuate, but the numbers also look strong outside of Colorado, too.

Seattle's home county, King, saw nearly twice as many requests for concealed pistol licenses than the same timeframe a year ago. Connecticut processed 38 percent more gun-related records over the past several days compared with the same period two months prior. Florida recorded 2,386 background checks on Friday, up 14 percent from the week before. Oregon checks on Friday and Saturday were up 11 percent over the month past. Four days of checks in California were up 10 percent month-to-month.

During the past decade, June and July have consistently been the slowest months for gun sales, according to FBI data.

Jay Wallace, who owns Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna, Ga., found that his sales on Saturday were up 300 percent from the same day a year ago – making it one of the best Saturdays his business has ever had. He said customers are often afraid when there's a gun-related tragedy that some lawmakers might try and push through an anti-gun agenda.

"We shouldn't let one sick individual make us forget and lose sight of freedoms in this country," Wallace said. A few members of Congress have talked this week about the need for tougher gun laws, though political leaders in Washington have shown no sign of bringing up such measures any time soon.

Authorities have said that the suspected Colorado shooter, James Holmes, methodically stockpiled weapons and explosives at work and home in recent months. He purchased thousands of rounds of ammunition and a shotgun, a semi-automatic rifle and two Glock pistols, authorities said.

On Friday, clad in head-to-toe combat gear, he burst into a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises," tossed gas canisters into the crowd and opened fire. The shooting k!lled 12 people and wounded dozens of others.

Police in the Denver suburb of Aurora say Holmes also booby-trapped his apartment. Holmes is now in solitary confinement at a local jail.

The rise in gun sales reflects but one of the anxieties created by the shootings. Since the massacre, there have been reports of chaos at movie theaters, apparently sparked by misunderstandings or careless words.

A confrontation with an intoxicated man in an Arizona theater caused about 50 people to flee, authorities said. A southern California man was arrested after authorities say he made allusions to the Aurora massacre after the movie didn't start on time. In New Jersey, a showing of "Batman" was canceled after someone stood up during the movie, opened an emergency exit and then returned to their seat.

About 90 minutes into a Monday night showing of "Batman" in Santa Monica, Calif., a commotion caused some girls to shriek and two dozen people to sprint for the exit, jumping over seats and pushing each other out of the way. It turned out that a large man with a backpack was actually not a threat and was simply having a medical problem.

"This was nothing, and yet it startled us and rattled us so much," said moviegoer Paria Sadighi.

Nationally, the shootings have triggered a fierce debate over gun control and whether government has a role in reining in the ownership of firearms.

Gun sales often fluctuate based on news events, especially whenever people think the passage of more restrictive gun laws is imminent. Sales spiked following the election of President Barack Obama, when weapons enthusiasts expressed fear that the Democrat might curtail gun rights. FBI figures also show background checks for handgun sales jumped in Arizona following the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in 2011.

"It's not uncommon for us to see spikes in requests for concealed pistol licenses when there's a significant gun-related tragedy," said Sgt. Cindi West of the King County sheriff's office in Washington state.

Some Democratic lawmakers in Congress cited the shooting as evidence of the need for tougher gun control laws – particularly a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines. Congress, however, hasn't passed strict legislation in more than a decade.

now you cant buy a gun cause you might get robbed says raw51188

If someone's gonna rob you, its gonna happen. Guns ain't gonna do !!. All they do is get into the wrong hands. Period.

!!ing awesome. The point is if more people have guns then these crazy mofos will think twice about trying to shoot up a place full of gun wielding people.

!!ing awesome. The point is if more people have guns then these crazy mofos will think twice about trying to shoot up a place full of gun wielding people.

You actin like the bullets would of just bounced right off it... people can still get broken ribs and other injuries from bein shot with a vest on...

And at the least it would of stunned his[..] and brought him back to reality real quick.. and after a couple shots he would of been runnin out that !! cause like I said before ...he wasnt no trained k!ller that been in any type of combat before...

Not too mention the gas mask wasnt bullet proof... so it aint like he was invincible.