{"id":78941,"date":"2020-04-29T06:24:52","date_gmt":"2020-04-29T10:24:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/?p=78941"},"modified":"2020-04-30T07:55:38","modified_gmt":"2020-04-30T11:55:38","slug":"gun-owners-take-aim-at-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.owegopennysaver.com\/PS\/2020\/04\/29\/gun-owners-take-aim-at-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Gun owners take aim at COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the last six weeks, grocery store shelves provided evidence of the panic buying taking place, and specifically the hoarding of toilet paper. Soon, other shelves emptied as the threat of the coronavirus, or COVID-19, spread into all the states.<\/p>\n

This panic-like behavior wasn\u2019t just limited to grocery and household items, however. Gun owners also reacted to the pandemic. And it was contagious, as it may have been what led to an increase in first-time gun buyers.<\/p>\n

In his April 13, 2020 article, Why Canadians and Americans are buying guns during the coronavirus pandemic<\/i>, Noah S. Swartz writes, \u201cThe surge in first time buyers suggests that many Americans buying guns during the pandemic are doing so due to concerns about self-defense, given fears of looting, violence and the government\u2019s capacity to deal with the crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

This first-time gun buying has been happening at Lock-N-Load Sporting Goods in Owego, as they have seen an increase in gun sales.<\/p>\n

\"Gun<\/a>

Pictured, Robert Carriker buys ammunition from Ron Hartman at State Line Guns & Ammo. (Photo by C. R. Wagner)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe remarkable thing is that I am seeing an incredible number of first time gun buyers,\u201d said Alan Dutton, who has not just been selling guns, but also showing people the proper handling and maintenance. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe offer a high level of personal assistance,\u201d Dutton added. \u201cIt\u2019s our hopes that when this (virus pandemic) is over,\u201d he continued, \u201cthat those first-time buyers will eventually get involved in gun clubs and shooting sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Bradford County, at Jerry\u2019s Gun Shop near Rome, Pa., Jerry Coolbaugh has also seen an increase in sales of guns and ammunition.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people are concerned \u2013 concerned about their safety,\u201d said Coolbaugh. \u201cI\u2019m out of popular rifle ammo and all ammo for most handguns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coolbaugh went on to explain that he is having difficulty ordering more from his suppliers.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of my suppliers are closed,\u201d said Coolbaugh, adding, \u201cSome are slower.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMy shelves are becoming difficult to restock,\u201d said Dutton, \u201cand .22 shells are getting harder to get.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gun<\/a>

Pictured, is State Line Guns & Ammo on Berwick Turnpike. (Photo by C. R. Wagner)<\/p><\/div>\n

Ron Hartman, at State Line Guns & Ammo, located along Berwick Turnpike and less than one mile south of the New York border, has had experience with guns since the late 1950\u2019s. He says his gun shop handles mostly \u201cinvestment quality collective firearms.\u201d Hartman has a different opinion about the increase he is seeing in gun related sales.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people come in who are first-time buyers looking to own a gun for protection, self-defense,\u201d said Hartman. \u201cBut I don\u2019t think the coronavirus has anything to do with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody\u2019s buying a lot of ammo,\u201d added Hartman.<\/p>\n

Robert Carriker was buying ammunition at Hartman\u2019s gun shop.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a really bad situation,\u201d said Carriker, referring to the virus pandemic. \u201cNobody was ready for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both New York and Pennsylvania have gun-permitting laws, though they are different. And right now, with \u201csocial distancing\u201d and closures, there is an extra long wait to get a permit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe currently are not accepting new applications for gun permits,\u201d said Lt. Adam Bessey at the Tioga County, New York sheriff\u2019s office. \u201c[Because] it would require people to physically come into the facility to be fingerprinted and photographed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bessey added that they do have limited hours to add or remove a gun from a permit or take care of an address or name change on an existing permit. <\/p>\n

Hours are Monday through Friday from noon to 2 p.m. Bessey added that people physically need to be there and they have guidelines posted at the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe anticipate that as things return to normal, we will be able to take applications again,\u201d said Bessey. \u201cWhen we reach that point, notifications will be made.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am shooting for the end of April to start taking applications,\u201d said C. J. Walters, sheriff in Bradford County, Pa., adding, \u201cThe governor has extended permit renewals to May 30.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gun<\/a>

Pictured is the Tioga County Sportsmen\u2019s Association\u2019s gun club on Carmichael Road in Owego. (Photo by Brenda Thornton)<\/p><\/div>\n

Walters is accepting applications for permits through the mail and people are being contacted for a one-on-one meet for a photograph. They are doing signatures electronically.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate the understanding from those who want to renew or apply for their permit,\u201d said Walters. \u201cWe are committed to get through this health pandemic that has been constantly changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously, both New York and Pennsylvania see gun stores as essential at a time when so many businesses have had to close.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been deemed essential by New York State,\u201d said Dutton, \u201cand we are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his March 27, 2020 article for NPR, Officials Debate Whether Gun Stores Are \u2018Essential\u2019 During Coronavirus Outbreak,<\/i> Bobby Allyn writes, \u201cGun and ammo sales have skyrocketed since the outbreak surfaced. And some of the panic driving the purchases is also present because of what gun rights advocates see as preserving their constitutional right to bear arms. They argue short-term emergency restrictions on gun sales could erode their enshrined rights. <\/p>\n

\u201cJust because we’re in a pandemic, American rights do not go away,\u201d Mark Oliva, a spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told NPR. \u201cThere are disparate interpretations on how people want to view these orders, but the Second Amendment is unequivocal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Local gun owners agree. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bill of Rights takes on a bigger than usual place when the citizens sense fear,\u201d said Bradford County resident Jim Cook. \u201cFear in themselves or even more so in their government. As \u2018government\u2019 has grown it has taken our self-awareness and our self-reliance with it. Those times when any local state or national government seems too fearful or ineffective to act, it is those very times the Bill of Rights stands the tallest and among all of those \u2018rights\u2019, the Right to Bear Arms, to defend those rights, takes on new meaning. It has always been so in America.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in New York. It\u2019s in Pennsylvania. But it goes beyond those states.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is big,\u201d said Alan Dutton at Lock-N-Load Sporting Goods. \u201cThe whole country is seeing this.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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