All this talk of tighter gun control is spurring a local jump in gun sales...
But in the central valley, there are even more reasons contributing to that increase.
New weapons legislation is leaving many feeling like their rights are coming apart.
David Keene, NRA President: "I think there is a very different view as to what the problem is and how to solve it."
And so, NRA membership has gone up by 100,000 members.
High profile mass-shootings, followed by talk of gun control, are what's spurring membership and firearms sales.
Bryan Wallert, GM, The Range: "Approximately 300 firearms were in the month of November, and close to 700 firearms in the month of December."
That's more than double at shops like The Range in northwest Fresno.
But there's a different reason firearms are being bought up here: The revolving door at the Fresno County Jail.
Wallert: "Home invasions, and it's just the amount of burglaries that are happening in the valley."
Retailers cited the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary as a secondary reason customers bought firearms last month...
But it's national tragedies like this...
And the movie theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado...
And Thursday's shooting Taft Union High School...
That are heating up the debate over gun control and sending firearms customers to the check-out lines.
Keene: "We don't think that a ban on so-called assault weapons, which hasn't worked in the past, is going to work this time. We think many of those proposals are basically feel food proposals."
Local retailers say current laws already make it tough to buy a gun...
You need a driver's license, CCW, proof of residency, and an extensive background check.
As far as any potential for a ban on assault weapons, the NRA's president doesn't think any such plan would carry much weight, and doesn't believe congress will go along it.
TXT 24
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