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Gun sales rise as ban offered
By Sarah Y oung
The Tri-City News
Dec 28 2005
Qualified buyers hope to keep their new guns
Handgun sales at the Tri-Cities’ only gun shop have skyrocketed since Prime Minister Paul Martin proposed a ban on the weapons earlier this month.
“You might just say Paul Martin is the best salesman I’ve ever had,†said Kelly Abram, owner of the Smokin Gun FX store in Coquitlam.
Abram couldn’t say exactly how many guns he’s sold in the days since Martin’s announcement on Dec. 8, just that it’s “gone way up, all of a sudden.†In the last three days alone Abram sold six handguns, when at this time he’d usually be lucky to have sold even one, he added.
The same is true in municipalities surrounding the Tri-Cities. Gary Allwood, owner of Lock Stock & Barrel in New Westminster, has seen his sales “rise dramatically because of Paul Martin’s announcement, for which I am eternally grateful,†he said.“Let me put it this way, on the Saturday morning after that speech, from 10 a.m. to noon I sold six handguns. Usually in December I’d sell maybe three or four in a week.â€
Wanstall’s gun shop in Maple Ridge hasn’t recorded as many sales, but staff there say they’ve seen a definite spike in traffic through the store.
Martin proposed the handgun ban, along with tougher penalties for gun crimes, to address the escalation of gun violence and make communities safer, saying at the time it would help eliminate the supply of illegal handguns. As an incentive for current gun owners, the proposal includes an amnesty and buy-back program to collect existing handguns, as well as an exemption for target shooters.
But according to Abram, the plan is backfiring and people are being pushed to buy guns before the ban is imposed. “When you tell someone you’re going to ban something, it just makes them want to go out and buy it that much more,†he explained.Several recent purchasers were first-time hand gun owners.
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By Sarah Y oung
The Tri-City News
Dec 28 2005
Qualified buyers hope to keep their new guns
Handgun sales at the Tri-Cities’ only gun shop have skyrocketed since Prime Minister Paul Martin proposed a ban on the weapons earlier this month.
“You might just say Paul Martin is the best salesman I’ve ever had,†said Kelly Abram, owner of the Smokin Gun FX store in Coquitlam.
Abram couldn’t say exactly how many guns he’s sold in the days since Martin’s announcement on Dec. 8, just that it’s “gone way up, all of a sudden.†In the last three days alone Abram sold six handguns, when at this time he’d usually be lucky to have sold even one, he added.
The same is true in municipalities surrounding the Tri-Cities. Gary Allwood, owner of Lock Stock & Barrel in New Westminster, has seen his sales “rise dramatically because of Paul Martin’s announcement, for which I am eternally grateful,†he said.“Let me put it this way, on the Saturday morning after that speech, from 10 a.m. to noon I sold six handguns. Usually in December I’d sell maybe three or four in a week.â€
Wanstall’s gun shop in Maple Ridge hasn’t recorded as many sales, but staff there say they’ve seen a definite spike in traffic through the store.
Martin proposed the handgun ban, along with tougher penalties for gun crimes, to address the escalation of gun violence and make communities safer, saying at the time it would help eliminate the supply of illegal handguns. As an incentive for current gun owners, the proposal includes an amnesty and buy-back program to collect existing handguns, as well as an exemption for target shooters.
But according to Abram, the plan is backfiring and people are being pushed to buy guns before the ban is imposed. “When you tell someone you’re going to ban something, it just makes them want to go out and buy it that much more,†he explained.Several recent purchasers were first-time hand gun owners.
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