Gun Stocks Soar Following Massacre in Las Vegas
The Las Vegas massacre has already surpassed the carnage at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Fl. as the largest mass shooting in U.S. history. At least 58 people have been killed and more than 500 treated for injuries, their blood still drying on the Vegas strip outside the Mandelay Bay Casino. The nation is reeling for the second time in as many years, but not its gun manufacturers. As of Monday morning, stocks for more American Outdoor Brands, previously Smith & Wesson, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. were up 7 and 6 percent respectively.
These numbers will come as little surprise to lobbyists and industry insiders. Data indicate that gun sales spike in the wake of mass shootings, as consumers stock up in anticipation of government reforms limiting access to the kind of weapons used in mass shootings like the one at Oregon's Umpqua Community College two years ago.
The irony, of course, is that substantive gun reform never seems to materialize, even after the execution of 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Earlier this year, Trump even signed a bill into law overturning an Obama-era regulation making it harder for people with mental illnesses to purchase a firearm. On Monday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), one of the Senate's most passionate advocates for gun control, admonished his colleagues in Congress to "get of [their] asses and do something."
The gun market has been in steep decline since Trump assumed office, as fears of restrictive legislation have all but dissolved. According to Marketwatch, American Outdoor's stock has dropped 46 percent since January, while Visa Outdoor is down 40 percent.
Don Turner, the Nevada chief of the NRA, has dismissed this latest massacre, claiming “When someone has that kind of mentality, it doesn’t matter what kind of laws you have." The organization's champions in Congress, meanwhile, are on the brink of passing legislation that would make similar shootings even more deadly.
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