Back in July I posted a tongue-in-cheek comment about the correlation between gun sales and arguments about gun control and suggested that the gun control crowd would see a decline in gun sales if they would stop talking about guns.  Guess what?  Smith & Wesson just posted their first-quarter results for the current fiscal year and Mike the Gun Guy turns out to be correct!

Barron’s said it best in reviewing the gun-maker’s results:  “Gun buyers loaded up on weapons in fear of regulations that never materialized. Now, with lower sales in the company’ sights, the stock may fall short.” Which is exactly what happened.  The day after the company’s announcement, the stock dropped 8%.

Don’t get me wrong.  I don’t like to see gun-makers or gun-owners suffer because some nut walks into  school or a theater and starts banging away.  But the economic news from S&W should remind all of us that, NRA public relations aside, gun ownership is still largely dependent on the vagaries of the political climate, rather than reflecting some innate desire on the part of all ‘good’ Americans to own guns.

Don’t forget that our new book is for sale on Amazon.

Related articles

• Gov. to push gun control bill (wwlp.com)
• Taxpayers Shoulder Bulk Of Gun Violence Costs, Study Finds (huffingtonpost.com)