From Talking Points Memo:
Virginia saw a new high for gun sales on Black Friday this year, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported on Wednesday.
The state tallied 3,902 gun transactions on Friday, a 1.2 percent increase over the previous Black Friday record, set in 2012, according to Virginia State Police figures of mandatory criminal-background checks of gun buyers. And according to the Times-Dispatch, Virginia is just days away from breaking last year’s record for an annual gun transactions. As of Monday, the state had processed 431,693 gun transactions in 2013, just 694 shy of the mark set in 2012.
This echoes a national trend. Gun sales are skyrocketing. Bloomberg reported on Monday that:
By many measures, U.S. firearms sales are growing.
Background checks, conducted every time a buyer attempts to purchase one or more firearms, surged 54 percent from 2008 to 2012, with a record 19.6 million checks completed in 2012, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data. . . .
Demand is growing as more states allow people to carry concealed weapons and lawmakers discuss limiting sales after mass shootings at public venues like schools and movie theaters. Ownership is rising among women and the elderly.
Bloomberg rather peculiarly argues that the results . . .
come despite a push by President Barack Obama and some state legislators for gun-control measures following shootings including the deaths of schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut, theatergoers in Aurora, Colorado, and government workers in Washington; and the wounding of former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona.
Not “despite,” guys. Because.
Because.