As Americans , many gun dealers report an influx of new customers, taking home a deadly weapon for the first time. In response, long-time gun owners from across the country are stepping up to help these newcomers get some safety training in the age of social distancing.
Quantifying the number of first-time buyers is impossible, but anecdotally, gun store owners say there are many.
Jon Ogawa, a sales associate at Grandpa鈥檚 Pawn & Gun in Longmont, Colorado, says sales in the past few weeks have been higher than ever.
鈥淢ore first-timers than, generally, we鈥檝e ever seen before,鈥� Ogawa said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e worried about looters, people breaking in, looking for toilet paper, food, water鈥︹��
It鈥檚 vital that new gun owners understand what they鈥檙e getting into, Ogawa says.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little bit concerning because it tends to be uneducation or ignorance that ends up being the reason why people end up getting hurt,鈥� he said. 鈥滻t鈥檚 important that we all understand the responsibility.鈥�
Ken Constantine, the owner of Elk River Guns in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, described his sales as 鈥渟kyrocketing.鈥�
鈥淭he majority of customers coming in the door in this increase are new customers,鈥� Constantine said. 鈥淢y guess is that many of these first-time buyers are people who had been thinking about it for a while, on the bubble as to whether or not to spend money, and now they鈥檙e coming in because of this virus and they鈥檙e nervous. They鈥檙e deciding to spend the money on personal protection.鈥�
New gun owners represent an opportunity for the gun rights community, eager both to keep people safe and to add to its ranks.
鈥淚 want to be a good ambassador for the Second Amendment and for firearms owners,鈥� said Chuck Rossi, co-founder of an online gun rights organization called Open Source Defense.
A few weeks ago, Open Source Defense launched a type of informal, online training called , using a shared calendar that allows users to sign up for a 30-minute video conference with a long-time gun owner.
鈥淲e have our introductory, 鈥橦ow鈥檙e you doing? How鈥檙e you holding up? Where are you in the process? What are your questions?鈥� Rossi explained.
Rossi, who is a competitive shooter, and others from Open Source Defense who have volunteered as trainers go over the basics of gun safety, rules like 鈥淜eep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot鈥� and 鈥淎lways treat every firearm as though it is loaded.鈥�
鈥淎t some point, I鈥檒l bring out an unloaded gun,鈥� Rossi said, 鈥渆ither a pistol or a rifle, and say, 鈥極kay, here鈥檚 what a Glock looks like, here鈥檚 how it operates, here鈥檚 the ergonomics of it, here鈥檚 how big it is.鈥欌��
In his first week offering remote office hours, Rossi said he had already had a few sign-ups and gotten questions on everything from how to load and unload a gun to how to buy one in California, where he lives.
Few states require gun buyers to undergo training before purchasing a firearm. , , ., , and are among the states that require prospective purchasers to complete some safety training, though that the efficacy of training courses varies.
Chuck Rossi, co-founder of Open Source Defense at his home in California. He uses video conferences to connect with new gun owners.
Leigh Paterson / KUNC
鈥榃e Feel Almost Obligated鈥�
Over the past few weeks, online trainings hitting on similar themes have popped up around the country on platforms like and .
鈥淲e know that there鈥檚 a lot of folks that have either recently purchased a firearm or would like to buy a firearm, but they don鈥檛 really understand how to use it, store it, what kind of ammunition to put in it, etcetera,鈥� said an NRA trainer during a recent session sponsored by the Bucks County Sheriff鈥檚 Office in Pennsylvania, which was .
from a pair of gun enthusiasts in Tennessee posted on the popular gun-focused YouTube channel hickok45 has over 250,000 views.
鈥淲e wanted to do a video for all the new shooters out there and gun owners,鈥� one of the men says in the video. 鈥淲e feel almost obligated.鈥�
The National Shooting Sports Foundation says it is who is considering buying a gun to check out the organization鈥檚 resources on storage and safety.
But learning how to use a gun online is limiting. Chuck Rossi, with Open Source Defense, says the goal is really just to go over basic firearm safety, basic firearm manipulation and some etiquette.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 all you can do over video chat and that鈥檚 all we expect,鈥� said Rossi. 鈥淭he encouragement from us after the chat is we suggest where they can go for their range and get some (hands-on) training.鈥�
During a Pandemic, More Guns Could Mean More Risk
The goal of this kind of training is, ultimately, to prevent people from getting hurt. Dr. Emmy Betz, a researcher at the University of Colorado focusing on injury prevention, says unintentional shootings are a risk. But she鈥檚 also worried that having a gun in the home risks escalating violent confrontations.
鈥淪pecifically, in cases of domestic violence or when someone is suicidal 鈥� that having that gun present could turn a situation deadly,鈥� Betz said.
Every year, tens of thousands of people die by and combined. that the presence of a gun is associated with a for both. So, while Betz says it is 鈥渨onderful鈥� that gun owners are stepping up to offer training, she worries that the combination of more guns plus coronavirus fear and anxiety could lead to more gun deaths.
鈥淚鈥檓 skeptical that all of these new purchasers are getting the training that they need and getting the guidance around storage devices that they need,鈥� Betz said.
Lesley Hollywood, executive director of Rally For Our Rights, holds up a new flyer the group produced in an effort to connect with new gun owners about gun safety.
Rally For Our Rights, a Colorado-based guns rights group, is hoping to reach new buyers before they even get home.
The group produced a flyer and is sending it out to gun stores, hoping that employees will hand it out at the register. It goes over topics like state laws, gun storage options and the importance of keeping guns clean.
鈥淚t begins by saying 鈥榗ongrats on your purchase,鈥欌�� said Lesley Hollywood, executive director of Rally For Our Rights. 鈥淧lease know that you are purchasing a tool, not a toy. This tool requires utmost respect and safety.鈥�
Hollywood emphasized that her group is constantly thinking about these kinds of safety issues, but this particular flyer is the product of a recent online brainstorming session the group held about how to respond to the new uptick in gun interest. Members worried out loud about new owners shooting themselves in the foot, or their kids getting a hold of the gun. One person at the meeting talked about reaching people who are 鈥済un curious.鈥� So, in addition to wanting to help, this moment is also an opportunity for gun groups to grow.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the people who don鈥檛 own guns who are going to be able to reach these new gun owners right now, it鈥檚 the people who do own guns,鈥� Hollywood said. 鈥淭hose are the ones who are going to be able to do the work that鈥檚 needed right now.鈥�
is a public media reporting project on the role of guns in American life.
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