By: Teresa Mull

It’s a good time to be a firearms manufacturer, thanks to liberals whose gun control threats actually increase the demand for guns.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Shares of gun manufacturers soared Monday, continuing this year’s winning streak.
Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. jumped 15.1% to $13.61. Sturm, Ruger RGR +6.45% & Co. advanced 9.4% to $68.20. Shares of both companies outpaced the broader market, with the S&P 500 rising 0.4% on Monday.

“People are watching the news,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers. “The market is anticipating that there will be increased interest and demand for firearms as a result of what’s going on in the world right now.”

Violent looting that’s happening in some parts of the country right now in response to the death of George Floyd, fallout from coronavirus restrictions, and concern over what the coming election cycle may bring have all lead to increased gun sales, reports the Journal. According to the paper:

Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger have both gained at least 45% in 2020, though they have lagged behind the S&P 500 over the past five years.

GPM reported earlier this year that firearms and ammo sales have skyrocketed across the country while there are indicators of crime plummeting at the same time. The large surge in gun sales has been illustrated in the record number of background checks the federal government has processed. The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed carrying out 3.7 million background checks for firearm purchases in March. This is the highest number of background checks ever recorded in a span of a month by the bureau. To put this in perspective, March 2020’s numbers were 1 million higher than March 2019.

During the period of March 16 to 22 alone, the FBI ran approximately 1.2 million background checks. More than 210,000 background checks were processed on March 20, a new single-day record. According to Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting, a research firm that analyzes the global firearms market, aforementioned background check numbers point to approximately 2.5 million guns being sold in March, an 85.3 percent increase from the same month in 2019.

The Trump administration previously designated gun stores, shooting ranges, and weapons manufacturers as essential infrastructure, whereas numerous blue states took advantage of the generalized crisis to sneak in gun grabs.

According to a recent report by USA TODAY, crime rates have been declining across the country during the pandemic. Since March 15, arrests have dropped by 47 percent when juxtaposed to the period of February 2 to February 29. USA TODAY also noted, “…the number of traffic stops barely registers in some localities.”

Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].