Just as it has across America, the threat of terrorism has fueled the surge in gun sales, concealed-carry permits and shooting-range traffic in our community – especially in the wake of the ISIS-connected attacks in Paris and San Bernadino.
“Business definitely spiked after that debacle in California,” said Bill Rollinger, owner of Indian River Sportsman, an indoor target range and gun shop on U.S. 1, just north of 41st Street. “We’ve been busier than normal since it happened.
“But,” he quickly added, “it’s not just terrorism.”
It’s also the perceived growing threat to the Second Amendment, with President Obama seizing every opportunity to call for more gun control.
His ideological push, however, has produced a public backlash.
Not only have gun sales and concealed-handgun permits soared nationally since Obama’s inauguration, but a recent Pew Research poll found that, for the first time in 20 years, a majority of respondents now believe it’s more important to protect the right of citizens to own guns than to control gun ownership.
That seems to be the case here, too.
Several local gun shop owners went so far as to call Obama the best gun salesman in America.
“He’s got some people worried, especially with the way he uses executive orders to get around Congress and the Constitution,” Rollinger said. “Gun sales go through the roof every time he opens his mouth about gun control.”
Rex Wilson, owner of R & R Gun Shop in Sebastian, said at least half of his customers express concern that increased federal gun regulations will infringe on their Second Amendment rights.
“We’ve been pretty busy lately, and I’d say 40 to 50 percent of our customers are first-time buyers,” Wilson said. “I’m sure some of it is because of Christmas, but a lot of people are worried that their rights might be taken away from them and they want to get their guns while they can.”
Even out at the Indian River Trap and Skeet Club, where most members and customers are recreational shooters, people are buzzing about the president’s talk of increased background checks and greater restrictions on gun ownership.
“It’s not the guns, it’s the loonies,” said Emma Howells, co-owner of Indian River Shooting Sports, which is based at the 82nd Avenue club, where handguns, rifles and shotguns can be purchased.
“Most legal gun owners are law-abiding citizens,” she added. “They aren’t the problem. But every time the president mentions gun control, people panic and start buying.”
And many of those people want to carry their guns, legally.
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Division of Licensing, more than 1,200 new concealed-weapons licenses have been issued to Indian River County residents each of the past four years, hitting a high of 1,568 in 2012-13 – the year Obama embarked on his second term.
The licenses are valid for seven years, and the numbers above don’t include the hundreds of licenses that were renewed each year. As of Nov. 30, there were 11,563 concealed-weapons license holders in this county, and you can expect the number to continue growing.
Just five months into the current fiscal year, which runs from July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016, more than 630 new licenses already have been issued to county residents. In 2010-11, only 736 concealed-weapons licenses were issued here.
“This county loves guns,” Rollinger said, “and we’re very well armed.”
And, as long as the guns are legally purchased, owned and used, that’s OK with Sheriff Deryl Loar, who said most local gun owners are simply seeking added protection and he supports their Second Amendment rights.
However, he did express concern about residents who “rush out and buy guns as a knee-jerk reaction” to criminal activity, terrorist attacks and, yes, the threat of tougher federal gun laws.
“I understand that people hear the president say he wants more gun control and they want to go out and buy one so they can be grandfathered in,” Loar said. “But buying a firearm is something you need to think about before you go out and get one.
“You also need to be proficient in how to use it.”
Loar said his office has experienced few, if any, problems with legal gun owners, most of whom are strong supporters of law enforcement. It’s those who carry guns illegally – such as the ex-con who shot and wounded a deputy during a traffic stop on Old Dixie Highway in Gifford last week – that endanger law-enforcement officers.
“The criminals still get the illegal guns and commit crimes,” Loar said. “That’s why I do not support the open-carry legislation currently being discussed in Tallahassee.”
Loar said the bill, which would make Florida the 46th state to allow its 1.5 million people with concealed-weapons licenses to openly carry their handguns, needs to be modified to restrict how the guns may be carried.
He said his greatest concern is that the bill doesn’t require handguns to be holstered, which means they can be tucked in a belt or even held in hand, making it impossible in some situations for law-enforcement officers to determine the carrier’s intent and, perhaps, forcing them to draw down on an innocent civilian.
He also believes the bill should require additional training to make sure license holders have remained proficient with their weapons.
“If this passes, we’re going to see more guns on the street, because they won’t need to be concealed,” Loar said. “That’s going to be a challenge for law enforcement. It’s already a mess out there.”
