Glock Pistol Sales Up After Arizona Shootings

Hey, everyone. Not to unnerve you, but apparently, days after a madman went on a murdery rampage with a Glock in Arizona, Arizonans are heading to gun stores in droves to purchase the very same weapon used by Jared Lee Loughner. It's as good an example as anything to demonstrate that there really is no such thing as bad publicity, only an implacable, gnawing cynicism that permeates our existence and sends us, sobbing, into a fetal position.

Michael Riley from Bloomberg News documents how we at last have stimulated some aggregate demand in something!

After a Glock-wielding gunman killed six people at a Tucson shopping center on Jan. 8, Greg Wolff, the owner of two Arizona gun shops, told his manager to get ready for a stampede of new customers.

Wolff was right. Instead of hurting sales, the massacre had the $499 semi-automatic pistols -- popular with police, sport shooters and gangsters -- flying out the doors of his Glockmeister stores in Mesa and Phoenix.

"We're at double our volume over what we usually do," Wolff said two days after the shooting spree that also left 14 wounded, including Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who remains in critical condition.

Of course, this is nothing new, nor is it a localized oddity:

One-day sales of handguns in Arizona jumped 60 percent to 263 on Jan. 10 compared with 164 the corresponding Monday a year ago, the second-biggest increase of any state in the country, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data.

Handgun sales rose 65 percent to 395 in Ohio; 16 percent to 672 in California; 38 percent to 348 in Illinois; and 33 percent to 206 in New York, the FBI data show. Sales increased nationally about 5 percent, to 7,906 guns.

Federally tracked gun sales, which are drawn from sales in gun stores that require a federal background check, also jumped following the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech, in which 32 people were killed.

No corresponding data detailing how sales of DEMON WEED are proceeding in the wake of this weekend's tragedy, but one has to imagine that they're up, if only because so many people maybe want to dull the pain that comes when you realize that you are surrounded by gun-crazy maniacs.

[HAT TIP: Lizzie O'Leary]

RELATED:
Glock Pistol Sales Surge in Aftermath of Arizona Shootings [Bloomberg]

PREVIOUSLY, on the HUFFINGTON POST:
The Giffords Gun Clip: How A 'Weapon Of Mass Destruction' Became 'The Weapon Of Choice'

[Would you like to follow me on Twitter? Because why not? Also, please send tips to [e-mail] -- learn more about our media monitoring project here.]

Comments

[SamAdamsIII]

05:36 PM on 01/28/2011

Why would people NOT want to purchase a Glock? What an inane premise on which to build an article. Are Glocks 'evil' because a madman used one in a crime? Guns are inanimate objects, and any opportunity that the left sees to ban them will be exploited to that end. THAT is why people are buying Glocks in droves.

[Mark Farrell]

10:00 PM on 01/20/2011

I wonder if the stampede to buy a gun does not become a national trend. Liberals and Democrats are frightened by what is happening to our country. Republican traitors hate for decent Americans seems to know no limits. Glen Beck "you're going to have to shoot them in the head" calls for the shooting of fellow Americans, The newly sworn in Governor of Alabama states non-Christians "are not my Brother" and makes it clear non-Christians will be discriminated against. Americans who revere and support our secular Constitution need to stand up and take back our country.

[SamAdamsIII]

06:02 PM on 01/28/2011

Republican traitor? Yes, indeed, there are many Republican traitors - those that are willing to sacrifice the Constitution and our God-given rights to go along with fools on the left. Traitors each and every one.

[rybalaw]

02:36 PM on 01/15/2011

In 1948 we locked up the insane in most states and threw away the key as there were no other alternatives. In 2011 we medicate the insane and trust them to take their meds. In 1948 our states funded resources for the mentally ill albeit cruel ones. In 2011 no state in this union funds mental health services in an adequate fashion. Is it any wonder that we have unidentified insane that are now armed with semiautomatic pistols roaming at large in public.

[Freedom Rush]

11:24 PM on 01/14/2011

I own guns, but to run out to buy a gun just because it was used in a heinous crime is just weird. deluded and weird.

[benEzra]

08:09 AM on 01/31/2011

People are running out to buy them because several members of Congress have promised to ban standard factory magazines for them, and some editorialists have called for an outright ban on all semiautomatics.

If you promise to outlaw future purchase of the most popular civilian firearms in the United States, don't be surprised when people hedge against the small but nonzero chance that you might actually succeed.

[benEzra]

05:39 PM on 01/14/2011

When one seriously proposes to outlaw future purchase of the most popular civilian pistols and rifles in the United States or replacement parts for them, one should not be surprised when people with those items on their "wish to buy someday" list go ahead and purchase them now rather than later. Hedging against an unlikely but possible negative event is not irrational.

I'd also expect that there is a run on replacement magazines, as there was in 2008 when similar concerns surfaced. A magazine might last a criminal a lifetime, but for those of us who shoot a lot, magazines are consumables, like the tires or spark plugs on your car. They do wear out, and a gun with no magazines isn't particularly useful.

[Lilo623]

07:54 PM on 01/13/2011

Hello everyone! While we all mourn the loss of and damage to the precious human beings who were the victims of this terrible tragedy, we must all keep a clear mind. I have never held a loaded weapon, nor have I ever fired any shots from a weapon, but if I ever needed to resort to that option for personal protection, I would choose a Glock. There are several Glock weapons available that would be enough for my personal needs.

[jockmama]

02:08 PM on 01/13/2011

FBI statistics show that a handgun in the house is almost 1000 times more likely to be used, intentionally or accidentally, on a family member or friend, than it will be used in self-defense. The self/home-defense line pushed by the NRA and gun nuts in general is nothing but a myth. If an armed criminal breaks into your house, is he just going to wait in the foyer for you to go find your gun, load it, and come back to shoot him...???? What a crock! (Oh, and if your gun is NOT locked up, and it IS loaded, and you have children in the house, you should go immediately to prison for felony child endangerment!)

[Devaron Namsaar]

10:57 AM on 01/13/2011

Once again Huffinton Post has removed my comment most probably because I have the intelligence to question the assertions and opinions of those who write bad articles and attempt to stir up the public in a negative direction, as this article "Glock pistol sales up after Arizona shooting" is attempting to do.
I do consider the accusations made in this article to be offensive and unreal. To accuse people who own guns as being "maniacs"... is just trash mouth from an uninformed and unintelligent writer. Get a life, get educated and find something valuable to say instead of using your sick trashy mind. Or try sticking your head down the toilet and flushing it... That is where you found your article information is'ent it? and that is exactly where your uninformed opinion belongs.

[Charles Shackelford]

11:49 AM on 01/13/2011

Cool it with the offensive talk; there is no place in this forum for such comments. I know nothing about the posting removal, but your assertions about the article are merely your opinion. I read no "accusations" and in fact the article was fairly straight forward in reporting the phenomenon. Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" explores why we have so much violent crime with guns here given other cultures with access to guns with fewer deaths. He raises questions and fairly so. Rage and isolation, maybe too many pharmaceuticals, and so many like you who suppose they know everything on this subject and are intolerant of other opinions apparently fuels this irrational violence. Most people know that all gun owners are not maniacs but easy access to them by unhinged people is newsworthy and apparently as American now as apple pie. The article merely points out the phenomenon of the psychology of people buying guns in the aftermath of the shooting, which IS ironic. Nobody ever has a chance to always access their guns for self defense and the gunman was taken down by people who were unarmed. One can fairly argue that the right wing hate mongering from Rush, Glenn and the Fox boys contributed to this, but it may be something else entirely. At any rate, given the unhinged people in our midst, I find no comfort in droves of people purchasing Glocks.

[binspired]

05:35 PM on 01/14/2011

thankyou for your comments. Your use of words and sharp comments just reinforce my disgust of gun lobbyist and proponents such as yourself

[billybuck]

07:47 AM on 01/13/2011

With guns being legal in AZ, where were these armed people to put the suspect down? Strange how it was an unarmed person
who took him down.

[Charles Shackelford]

11:51 AM on 01/13/2011

The statistics bear you out. It is beyond being naive to suppose that one can always have the opportunity to access their handgun in such situations. In crowds, it is absurd to think about shooting it out with the gunman.

[mhellie]

12:57 PM on 01/14/2011

Thats why I believe some of the gun sales occured. Maybe these people thought they could have done something sooner if they were carrying a gun. I don't own a gun but it has crossed my mind once in a while. I suppose it will take a near death experience that I or a family memeber was part of to go the extra leap and get one.

[Arthur B]

12:03 PM on 01/15/2011

mhelle, I would encourage you, before you buy a gun, to go to a reputable gun store/ shooting range (find out where the police in your community go) and ask lot of questions. You can probably take a class on firearm basics which should give you the opportunity to shoot a little. This will help you in your decision. I am very pro 2nd amendment but worry just as much about people buying guns as a knee-jerk reaction to a tragedy like the one in AZ as I do about gun control legislation as a knee-jerk reaction.

[CapeJack]

12:23 AM on 01/13/2011

Giffords herself boasted to the New York Times in 2010: "I have a Glock 9 millimeter, and I'm a pretty good shot."

I'd be curious to find out if it was in her purse and she just didn't have a chance to draw it.

[JCCIII]

11:37 PM on 01/12/2011

11 January 2011

Post formal training--twice a year--certification, and licensing, all citizens should be allowed to carry concealed production. Sidearms are not the problem.

Irresponsible words during the campaigning against Obama and intolerance toward differing ideologies has grown. Furthermore, public threats toward life, without due process, set new precedent during George W. Bush's presidency after 9/11; similarly, with President Obama holding prisoners without fair trial, continued enmity toward Cuba, and bilateral threats toward Spain to drop charges against the previous administration, I have been hoping our news outlets would make great issue over the good work of the WikiLeaks and threats of death toward Julian Assange.

However, devaluing life has become more common, and what makes life less valuable more than war? We are living in a killing climate. I do not mean to reach but to be pointedly evidential: advocating and accepting abortion of our unborn human beings desensitizes our attitude toward life, makes life a thing of inconvenience, and may be more responsible than war for where we are today. These things ought not be.

Our thoughtful population and representatives should stop passively accepting these irresponsible provocations to harm others. Hopefully this direction will get tireless demand from our President and others to prosecute the people responsible for cowardly calling others to harm another person. This problem stems back to Lincoln's assassination, but this nation is forgetting that history, its manners, and the evolution of decency. …

Sincerely,
Joseph C. Carbone III

[benshaton]

11:11 PM on 01/12/2011

I hope the zonies leave their weapons at home when they make their annual summer migration to our beach communities. We have more than our quota of crazies as it is!

[ZackShorty]

10:20 PM on 01/12/2011

I don't want to write this wrong as I feel the killings and maimings in Arizona are a national tragedy.
What I don't understand is why are so many people running out to purchase their own Glocks? If you are intent on killing someone, shoot them through the head with your Glock and they survive, what does that say about your weapon of choice? It didn't work, did it? All you gun happy or scared folks purchasing all these Glocks need to upgrade your fantasies. Buy a bazooka or something if you have decided you really want to kill someone. My guess is 90% of the new Glock owners will never fire it, except on a gun range, 7% will kill the family dog by mistake, 2% will fire in self defense, and 1% will use it to commit suicide. You Go Cowboys!

[niftyrosa1]

02:05 AM on 01/13/2011

LAWMAKERS ARE PURCHASING THESE WEAPONS BEFORE THEY TAKE THE RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS AWAY FROM YOU. I've never had a gun...but seriously thinking its time.

[diamondmask]

08:12 AM on 01/13/2011

If you think that "they" will EVER take away your right to bear arms, you buy into the right fear machine. They screeched that Obama was going to take their guns away, yet regulations were loosened instead. Come on. Use your head.

[Charles Shackelford]

11:57 AM on 01/13/2011

Nonsense from the NRA and the right wing which is not up to the task of addressing the real problems facing our society. Like the lack of society, for instance. This fear mongering has been a staple of the lunatic fringe of the GOP for decades. Supposed Constitutional experts like the "Tea Party" enthusiasts are usually wrong and have no clue about the complexities of the document and the irrelevant sections which have been deleted while the misquote the parts they deem worthy. The Obama Administration has been quite conservative in this matter and nobody is coming to take your guns away from you Patriot!

[Robgrut]

08:45 AM on 01/13/2011

Just means the caliber was not large enough. Get a 10mm Glock or a .45. Guarantee you will not survive those.

[StanDaMan]

09:52 PM on 01/12/2011

America's political system is so badly structured and unwieldy that it has facilitated de facto corruption on a massive scale, thereby allowing special interest groups (e.g. gun manufacturers, the NRA, etc.) to dictate laws and policy relevant and favorable to them (e.g., gun "control") which are insane and wholly against the interests of the overwhelming majority. Wake up, people! Something has to be done.

[Robert Moore Elder]

09:51 PM on 01/12/2011

Yes, Alice in wonderland!