By Tessa Berenson, TIME
Gun sales have been spiking in the United States for weeks, especially following the mass shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. Wednesday that left 14 people dead.
Many California gun stores have seen a rush on guns after the San Bernardino shooting, according to ABC.
“The knee jerk reaction of politicians is immediately after an event like this to take advantage of it for political goals and will try to restrict the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” Sam Paredes, spokesman for Gun Owners of America, told ABC. “So there is a natural rush to gun stores to purchase guns and ammunition.”
A gun store in Iowa told KCCI that their sales have shot up more than 30% in the past three weeks, and that they’ve been especially busy since San Bernardino.
And the Nardis Gun Club in Texas hasn’t seen gun sales this high since 2012, in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, Hawaii News Now reports.
According to the New York Times, the sales haven’t just been spiking after San Bernardino, however. More Americans had their backgrounds checked to buy guns on Black Friday than any other single day on record. 185,345 had their backgrounds checked on Black Friday, which is a 5 percent increase from the year before.
This article was originally published on Time.com
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