By Brian Amaral Journal Staff Writer
Gun stores in Rhode Island are seeing a surge in demand for firearms and ammunition amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gina Raimondo’s order closing all entertainment and recreation facilities also applies to gun ranges, her office confirmed Monday, sparking concern in an industry that’s already primed to push back on government regulations.
Frank Saccoccio, the president of the Rhode Island Second Amendment Coalition, said the order closing gun ranges would deprive new gun owners of one way to learn how to handle their firearms safely. The group was reaching out to the governor’s office Monday.
“It’s a public safety disaster,” said Saccoccio. “You can’t have that.”
Raimondo’s order goes into effect as of 5 p.m. Monday, and also applies to businesses like salons, tattoo parlors and cinemas.
Raimondo has also given police in the state 30 days, instead of seven, to do a local background check on gun buyers. But many towns are still turning around those background checks in eight to 10 days, Saccoccio said. Others are doing it in
12. Buyers don’t have to wait all 30 days to get their guns if the local background check comes in sooner, Saccoccio said.
There is a huge surge in demand for guns, Saccoccio said. Saccoccio said gun shop owners are enforcing rules on keeping people farther away from each other as they wait in ever-increasing lines out the door. Inventory is running low as more shipments come in.
Big Bear Hunting and Fishing in Glocester is only letting two people inside the store at a time, co-owner William “Willy” Wayz said.
“We’re being inundated,” Wayz said via telephone as he tried to get a handle on inventory. “One of the biggest problems that all the gun shops in Rhode Island are having -- hold on one second. How many you got? Five? That’s it? Sorry, it’s my UPS driver -- we’re all having problems with supply and demand.”
Wayz and other gun shop owners say that people are realizing, amid the corona-virus pandemic, that they have to take their safety into their own hands. It’s not just the usual customers who are coming in; in fact, they’ve probably all stocked up already, Wayz said.
“I have people that pull into my parking lot with Bernie Sanders stickers on their car that never would have bought a gun,” Wayz said. “‘I bought all this food and this toilet paper, how am I going to protect myself?’”
Every day, the line builds up outside the door; many people are wearing face masks and shop workers are wearing gloves, Wayz said. Sales are up about 300%, he said.
Other states have closed all non-essential businesses. New Jersey does not consider gun shops an essential business, and they’ve been ordered to close, according to NJ.com.
That has not come to pass in Rhode Island.
“There are a lot of people who think this type of store is essential,” Wayz said. “Survival is essential, self-defense is essential.”
Linda Finn, the executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition Against Gun Violence, said that reports of increasing gun sales were concerning to her group.
“I think this sort of idea that society is unraveling and people need to take things into their own hands is a myth the gun lobby likes to keep perpetuating,” she said.
In her estimation, “bringing a gun into your home under those circumstances is actually endangering your family more than it’s protecting your family.” bamaral@ providencejournal.com
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