Firearms interest soars in Bay State

Josey1

Firearms interest soars in Bay StateBy 0, Globe Staff, 11/24/2001Brian MacQuarrie Globe StaffIf a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged, a similar attitude adjustment could be boosting the size and changing the face of the region's gun-toting population.Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, gun instructors say, attendance at firearms courses in Massachusetts has skyrocketed among a broad swath of the population for whom personal safety has become a big worry.Most instructors are reporting that their classes have grown by 50 percent or more since the attacks.Jon Green, lead instructor for the Gun Owners' Action League, said the organization is now teaching 13 classes a month at its Northborough school. Before Sept. 11, Green said, the basic pistol course was scheduled for only one class per month.''Before, people wanted a firearm not so much for protection, but for recreation,'' Green said. ''Now, it's the individual starting to take responsibility for his own and his family's self-preservation.''And most of the new students, Green said, had never fired a gun before.Pat Neumann, 47, of Hopkinton, recently completed GOAL's course with her husband. The couple wants to shoot for recreation, she said, but the terrorist attacks reinforced their decision to get training.''I'll feel more confident if there's an emergency,'' Neumann said. ''None of us would have predicted what happened Sept. 11, but I'll feel a little more prepared because none of us knows what might be around the corner for any of us.''The Neumanns have not bought a firearm yet, and state officials say they've seen no increase in recent gun sales. From Sept. 11 to Oct. 11, the state's 450 licensed gun dealers sold 3,500 firearms; during that same time last year, the figure was 3,514, according to David Goggin, spokesman for the Executive Office of Public Safety.Gun instructors, however, predict that sales will jump after new students complete training courses - the most common way of qualifying for gun ownership - and receive permits after a 45-day review of their applications.In addition to new interest in firearms, some gun shops are reporting dramatic increases in ammunition sales. One licensed gun dealer, who asked that his name not be used, said his ammunition business soared 50 percent in the weeks after the attacks.''Customers that would usually buy 100 rounds for the range were now buying 1,000 rounds,'' said the dealer, who added that sales are beginning to subside to normal levels.In the meantime, swelling numbers of students appear to be the norm across the state.At AG Guns & Ammo in Lowell, owner and instructor Greg Danas said his training courses have jumped 50 percent since the attacks. And at the Boston Gun and Rifle Association in Dorchester, teachers are seeing about 30 percent more students.''The terrorist threats have made people feel insecure,'' said Danas, who added that he operates the largest shooting school in eastern New England.State officials say those numbers should include an asterisk: Any increases in gun-course attendance and firearms sales this autumn should be attributed in part to seasonal hunting and the purchase of guns as holiday gifts.As of today, the number of Massachusetts gun permits and firearm ID cards hasn't risen significantly, said Barry LaCroix, executive director of the state's Criminal History Systems Board, which has access to firearms data. About 50,000 residents statewide currently hold permits.Gun instructors, however, counter that their larger numbers include much more than new hunters and Christmas shoppers. And those seeking to learn to shoot run the gamut from rural residents to white-collar professionals.''When you first start talking to them in class, they say they're just interested and want to learn,'' Danas said. ''But by the end of the day, 85 to 90 percent say they would eventually have a gun in the home as a protective device.''Dawn, a mother of two who lives just across the Massachusetts border in Pelham, N.H., bought her first gun - on the afternoon of Sept. 11 - for just that reason.''When the World Trade Center was hit, I immediately raced to go get my children from school,'' said Dawn, who asked that her full name be withheld. ''And as I was getting my children, the Pentagon was hit.''It was just beyond belief what was happening, and I thought there might be a breakdown of law and order.''But antigun activists stress that firearms are a limited self-defense option - one that can't prevent anthrax exposure or surprise suicide attacks like those of the terrorists, who hijacked passenger jets to ram into US landmarks.''Protecting yourself with a gun will not help you against bioterrorism and terrorists, who don't come up and ID themselves and say, `It's me,''' said Jude Pearson, executive director of Stop Handgun Violence.Pearson, who survived a gunshot to the head in 1981, said she understands why prospective gun owners feel less secure. But she also believes that more guns in homes are likely to lead to more accidental shootings.And Pearson questions whether the reported increases in gun students are so widespread. For example, Pearson said, a gun course that she completed in late September in Harvard, Mass., had only two students.Pearson said she sought the training to determine whether the state's gun permit requirements are as onerous as many gun lobbyists argue.Goggin, the Executive Office of Public Safety spokesman, said that before buying a firearm in Massachusetts, an applicant must complete a safety course and receive the approval of the local police chief within 45 days. Although Goggin said that increased interest seems evident, he suggested that the Massachusetts permit process could curb a dramatic spike in gun sales.''We have one of the toughest gun laws in the country,'' Goggin said. ''Once folks look a little further into having a gun in Massachusetts, a lot of them are reconsidering their decision to buy.''Gun dealers say that permit regulations, plus tough restrictions on the types of guns sold in the state, have cut sales by as much as 90 percent in the past year.But they see promise in the new interest in firearms, even if that curiosity goes no further than lessons on how to safely handle a weapon.''People have finally realized that it's time to educate themselves, regardless of whether or not they walk into the gun shop,'' Danas said. ''The tide has turned somewhat.'' http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/328/nation/Firearmes_interest_soars_in_Bay_State+.shtml

guns-n-painthorses

Come on over from the dark side...........

badboybob

Vermont is but a short drive.

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So many guns to buy. So little money.