Gun sales have spiked during President Barack Obama's two terms in the White House, but many gun dealers expect that to change after Donald Trump's inauguration. The reason is because Obama's efforts to tighten gun restrictions, including the ban of some high-powered rifles and certain types of ammunition, may have increased demand.
"There was a continuous increase in sales of firearms, people worried that they were going to lose their rights to have them," Jay Hawkins, Training Manager for Reno Guns & Range said.
"He was the best gun salesman we ever had," Sharon Oren, Owner of Maccabee Arms said.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation says the gun industry in the United States grew by 185 percent from 2008-2015, and economic impact grew from about $19 billion to nearly $49 billion. Full-time jobs related to gun-making increased from about 166,000 to nearly 288,000. Oren says he expects the demand to drop during Trump's presidency because of his perceived stance on loose gun control, and his sales could drop 20-30 percent.
"If you look at Reno, alone, we have a very small community but a large amount of gun stores," Oren said. "I think there's going to be a huge hit on that."
Oren says he thinks small manufacturers could feel an even bigger brunt than the dealers.
"I think that you're going to see a lot of those little shops, little factories, real America going out of business," Oren said.
Most gun rights groups would rather have a president who is pro-Second Amendment, and some would prefer less gun control even if it means less business.
"As a civilian, as the people, I'm thrilled I won't have to worry about my gun rights for the next four years," Oren said. "Business-wise, it's going to cost me some money, but I'd rather keep my rights and give up my business than make money and lose my rights."
Hawkins says the amount of gun sales has not changed in the nearly two months since the election, but he has seen a shift.
"What we are seeing is an increase in the desire for education, taking concealed carry classes, taking home-defense classes, those have been booking up," Hawkins said.
Hawkins says he expects gun sales to continue at the same pace, and encourages the educational component.
"With the rights of having a firearm, comes responsibility," Hawkins said. "Let's use that responsibility to become better educated, better trained, and more proficient."
In 2015, Nevada was tenth in the country for growth in jobs, economic impact and excise taxes collected from the gun industry. What the future holds remains to be seen. While it looks like a republican-controlled Congress and a republican president will likely mean fewer gun regulations, that may not be the case at the state level. The Nevada legislature already has several Bill Draft Requests involving guns for the upcoming session.
