Demand grew by 121%: why New Yorkers massively buy weapons

New York City's firearms sales skyrocketed amid the pandemic and followed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Researchers attribute this to growth violence in the state. The edition writes about it Fox News.

Many Americans today can acquire firearms in less than an hour. To do this, you only need to go through an instant background check, including information on criminal records, reports of domestic violence and immigration status, according to the data The New York Times... In June, the number of such checks in New York increased by 121%.

In the first month of the summer, the FBI checked weapons purchases in New York more than twice as often as a year ago, according to a new report. A total of 52 background checks were carried out on people wishing to buy firearms in the state in June this year, which is 252% more than in June 121.

“When the COVID panic started in early March and people thought they could be fired, we saw a huge surge at that moment,” said Cliff Pfleger, owner of a gun shop in Long Island. "We sold almost everything we had in the store."

He added that the flow of people willing to buy weapons did not stop, "even when we had nothing to sell." "The people who came to the store - many of them were buying firearms for the first time, and they obviously did not apply and did not have a gun license."

Pfleger closed the store in mid-March when all non-vital businesses in the state were ordered to close to contain the spread of the virus. But he managed to secure the necessary business status, and a week later he reopened the shop.

There were 205 shootings in New York City in June, the bloodiest June in 24 years.

Researchers at the University of California-Davis estimate that an additional 2,1 million weapons sold nationwide between March and May are associated with 776 firearm injuries that would not have occurred without a surge in sales. “During the coronavirus pandemic, the dramatic increase in access to firearms is associated with an increase in violence with firearms,” the researchers write.

On the subject: More shootings recorded in seven months of 2020 in New York than in all of 2019

An additional 3 million weapons were fired as a result of the pandemic and protests following the death of George Floyd, according to a Brookings Institution study.

The research center found that after Floyd's death on May 25 in Minneapolis, daily arms sales rose to $ 150 by June 2, and remained stable throughout the month.

Meanwhile the battle for weapons continues in New York... The New York attorney general asked the court to dissolve the National Rifle Association due to the fact that its leadership is accused of embezzlement of funds from charitable contributions. The money was spent on luxury travel and millions in salaries, as well as tax fraud. As a result, the organization lost more than $ 63 million in three years.