As America’s summer of rage continues, which has so far seen not only a surge in domestic mass shootings as well as violence between police and minorities, but also almost daily images of European terrorist activity, Obama’s response has been a familiar one: hold speeches, hinting at even more gun control. The problem for the president is that this approach has shown to have just one outcome: one where Obama tends to shoots himself in the foot, so to speak, as every time the president brings up gun control, Americans rush out to buy even more guns.
According to the latest FBI background check data – a direct proxy for gun purchases – July was no exception. According to the latest just released data, a total of 2,197,169 firearms background checks were processed last month, according to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. That’s up 37% from the 1,600,832 background checks processed in July 2015 and 891,224 checks processed in July 2008, months before Barack Obama was elected president.
The demand for firearms in the US has been on a steady rise, fueled by fears of a crackdown on ownership in the wake of a series of mass shootings. July was the 15th month in a row that a new record has been set for that particular time of the year. The all-time high was reached in December of 2015, right after the San Bernardino terrorist attack that left 14 dead and 22 injured. That month, 3,314,594 firearms background checks were performed. At the current pace, we expect the upcoming December to set another all time high.
Shortly after the FBI data was released, stocks of US gun makers rose on expectations of another surge in purchases, with Smith & Wesson hitting a new record high after the close on Monday. Shares in the second largest gun manufacturer hit $30.71. Smith & Wesson’s shares closed the day at an all-time high of $30.36, up 3% for the day and beating a previous record high of $29.37 set in March. Sturm Ruger, the US’s largest gun maker, also surged on the news, ending the day up 2%, at $69.40.
Here is the annotated history of Smith & Wesson’s stock price, courtesy of The Guardian.
via http://ift.tt/2adyRHS Tyler Durden