An AR-15 style rifle sits on the counter by Craig Marshall as he assists a customer at Freddie Bear Sports sporting goods store on December 17, 2012. (Getty Images/Scott Olson)
Reporting Sandra McNeill
TAYLOR (WWJ) - With high-capacity guns under fire in Washington … high capacity guns and assault rifles have been flying out of the showcases at the gun and knife show at the Gibralter Trade Center in Taylor.
Gun dealer Kevin Brown of Bad Axe says his sales are up 500-percent since the shooting at Sandy Hook.
“We do a background check on every gun we sell – the only exception to that is if you have a concealed pistol license. For that you need to go through a class, you need to work it through the state – that’s good for five years,” said Brown. “If you have anything come up in those five years they are going to take your CPL away from you.”
Every gun that we do requires a background check he said.
Brown says sales are up so much that manufacturers can’t keep up with the demand. That has increased some gun prices by more than 50-percent.
WWJ’s Sandra McNeill caught up with a 25-year-old man from Ferndale, who didn’t want to give his name, but was very clear about why he wanted a semi-automatic AR15, “personal protection,” he said.
“You never know, I don’t think that anyone in Newtown thought that they needed one,” he said after being asked if he felt he needed an assault weapon in Ferndale.
Another gun dealer told WWJ that he’s seen a big increase in sales at his shop as well.
“People are panicking about the loss of their Second Amendment rights and they are just stocking up on stuff … it’s just a very scary time for a lot of people,” said Jeff Coon. “I think it’s the last hurrah here – I mean – I have a 4000 square foot shop … we ship all over the country and we probably will be out of business if they pass this stuff that they want to pass.”
