Sun Staff
Customers purchase guns and ammunition at a sporting goods store in Las Vegas, Saturday, March 14, 2020.
Saturday, March 21, 2020 | 2 a.m.
Streaming services and online conference call companies aren’t the only ones profiting during the coronavirus pandemic.
In the run-up to Gov. Steve Sisolak's emergency directive to close nonessential businesses — including most retail stores — by midnight Friday, firearm stores across the Las Vegas Valley reported massive spikes in the sales of guns and ammunition, reflecting a national uptick in gun sales. But the trend has some concerned about whether people buying guns for the first time understand how to safely store and use the weapons, especially given that many shooting ranges and training facilities are closed.
“Hopefully nobody gets hurt as a result of this,” said Steve Carmichael, senior management analyst at the Clark County Shooting Complex. The complex shut down Monday due to the pandemic.
Many gun stores remained open this week despite an earlier government closure order on Tuesday, as it lacked enforcement mechanisms. Some of the shops had instituted temporary policies to manage the high demand for guns and practice social distancing. For example, the 2nd Amendment Gun Shop on Rancho Drive was only letting five customers in at a time, one employee said. Briarhawk Firearms and Ammunition on Sahara was accepting two customers at a time, according to an automated voice recording.
The spike in gun sales was slowing down the background check process, according to multiple gun shop owners. Briarhawk warned customers in its voice recording that the state background check process was delaying the delivery of firearms by up to 72 hours. Joe Potter, a salesman at Elite Firearms on Sahara, said he was in the middle of processing about 100 background checks and that his small store was almost out of stock.
The rush to buy guns during this uncertain time comes as no surprise to Potter, especially given that people seem to be stocking up on other supplies.
“First, there was a run on toilet paper because people freaked out. Then, a run on food. Then, the next obvious step was people did a run on guns and ammo,” he said.
It’s common to see increases in gun and ammunition sales during periods of uncertainty and unrest, said Christopher Kearney, chair of the psychology department at UNLV. Some people worry that the unrest will cause violence and therefore decide to stockpile weapons, Kearney said.
“In this case, there’s probably a worry that the economy will collapse, or the police force will be infected, and there will be looting and rioting,” he said. “So, people are anxious to be protected in that kind of event.”
The psychological phenomenon of social contagion, whereby the actions of those around us influence our behavior, is probably also at play, Kearney said.
“If you see everyone running out to buy toilet paper, chicken and guns, you feel compelled to do the same kind of thing,” he said.
Clark County officials and Metro Police have asked residents to stop panic buying during the coronavirus pandemic, assuring people that supply chains in the region remain strong. Buying large amounts of supplies at once makes it difficult for people on fixed incomes or people facing economic hardship to get what they need, said Clark County Chairwoman Marilyn Kirkpatrick.
But Kris Chanski, chief operating officer at the Range 702 on Dean Martin Drive, said the real concern is not the firearms supply, but training for first-time gun owners. The Range sells firearms and includes a shooting range, but like other shooting ranges in the region, it was forced to close down that side of its business, Chanski said.
That means people buying guns could be putting themselves at risk, she said.
“Purchasing a gun and buying ammo is not enough. They need to come in and take a training course as well,” Chanski said.
The Range 702 is offering one-on-one classes starting Monday so new gun owners can learn how to use their weapons responsibly, Chanski said. Classes are $50 per session.
Machine Gun Vegas off Spring Mountain Road hopes to do something similar next week given that many new owners don’t know how to use guns. Owner Genghis Cohen said he has been hearing reports of people “literally walking into gun shops and going, ‘I need a gun.’”
Compounding the problem is the fact that gun shops are swamped with people and do not have time to advise new gun owners, Cohen said.
“If you go into a gun store, the lines are out the door and around the block, so usually they don’t have time to explain,” he said.
While Cohen and Chanski said they respected the fact that people want to keep themselves and their families safe, Kearney urged people to understand the reality of the coronavirus pandemic and the real threats it poses. Health officials advise everyone to stay inside as much as possible, avoid large gatherings or crowds of any kind, and maintain at least a six-foot distance from others.
In addition, people should refrain from spending too much time on social media and overvaluing the risks associated with the current situation in Las Vegas, Kearney said. He hopes that those who have bought guns take every possible measure to minimize the risk of accidents. In 2018, 15 people were killed by firearms-related accidents in Clark County, according to the coroner’s office.
“The ancillary concern would be how people are storing guns in their houses, and if kids have access to their guns,” Kearney said.
