Gun Sales Not On Rise In DFW After Las Vegas Massacre
DALLAS (CBS11) - After major acts of gun violence in the last few years, sales of fire arms spiked, but many DFW gun stores say that's not happening after the massacre in Las Vegas.
On Sunday night, 59 people were murdered by a gunman in Las Vegas. It's the deadliest shooting in modern American history.
After other acts of gun violence, like Sandy Hook in 2012, where 20 children were killed by a gunman, gun sales skyrocketed. Michael Meyer, the owner of Purple Heart Pawn and Gun in Fort Worth, saw it in his store.
"There's two things working with that: the extreme obvious emotion that came from that attack and then the second thing was the Democrats held the presidency," said Meyer.
After Sandy Hook, Meyer says people stocked up on assault rifles and ammunition, fearing gun laws would be tightened. In his store, Meyer says the price of an AR-15 more than doubled, from $700 to $1,500.
"When President Obama was elected, I like to call him probably my best gun salesman," said Meyer. "We sold more guns under his administration than anything we've seen under Trump's administration."
With a Republican President and GOP-controlled Congress, Meyer says there's no fear gun laws will change after the Las Vegas shooting.
CBS11 called 15 different gun stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. None of them reported higher gun sales after Las Vegas.
Even Fort Worth residents who favor gun reform aren't holding their breath.
"I really don't think it will change," said Shay Alexander. "It would be good if it does, but I really don't think it will."
Those who favor tighter gun laws might be dismayed to learn guns are cheaper now than in recent years. Meyer says gun manufacturers were getting ready to flood the market with guns, assuming Hillary Clinton made it to the White House.
"They knew when Hillary Clinton was elected, (guns) were going to be selling like hotcakes," said Meyer. "Well, Hillary Clinton wasn't elected. President Trump was, and now you have this influx of supplies and demand has gone down."
Meyer says the same AR-15 now costs around $500.