The Gays Are Arming Themselves: Gun Sales To The LGBT Community Skyrocket After Orlando Nightclub Shooting

The gays appear to be arming themselves. According to recent statistics, gun sales to the LGBT community appear to have spiked after the Orlando nightclub shooting which left 49 people, predominately from the LGBT community, dead.

Following the Orlando shooting last weekend, the LGBT community appears to be in a buying spree of firearms and assault weapons. Even while the United States debates about gun control, the LGBT community seems to be rushing to gun stores to pick all kinds of weapons and ammunition, apparently to protect themselves from similar such incidents which might happen in the near future.

Concerned, petrified, or plain angry, people are flocking to their nearby gun stores to check out new additions in personal protection. Especially those sitting on the fence about getting a firearm start considering the possibility of possessing a gun and learning how to use them. Many times, they even decide to take the plunge, shared George Horne, the owner of The Gun Room, Denver’s oldest firearms dealer.

“Business has been booming at my store. For this time of year I’d say it’s three to four times what we normally have.”

Interestingly, people aren’t concerned about the background checks, which are taking increasingly longer time to complete, added Horne.

“Background checks that once took minutes can now take hours. It’s a sales surge similar to what happened after Sandy Hook and the Aurora Theater shootings. We’re not surprised by it.”

It is quite a natural phenomenon in America to see a surge in weapons sales after such tragedies occur. Gun shop owners have always registered an increased foot traffic after such shooting incidents, reported Fox 31 Denver. The same appears to be the case, but this time, many shopkeepers and shoppers are witnessing something they have never seen before. Gays, lesbians, and other members of the LGBT community are being increasingly spotted in gun shops.

Gun shop owners in Denver have been seeing a remarkable spike in LGBT customers. These people have been arming themselves in anticipation of an attack, say the owners, reported KDVR. Apart from the regular clientele, even gun instructors have been increasingly greeting gays and lesbians, shared Mike Smith, a firearms instructor in Colorado Springs.

“I think right now because of what happened, people are looking for answers. You walk into a gun shop and you expect to see people, frankly, who look like me. I think we forget we’re a country of all people, not just people who fit that predetermined mold.”

The Pink Pistols is an active national gun club meant exclusively for members of the LGBT community. It has always urged its members to arm themselves. The club offers guidance on the right choice of weapon, usage, and protocols that need to be followed. Aspects like proper selection of a firearm, acquisition of permit, and gaining adequate training to be comfortable with a gun in a safe environment are some of the activities the Pink Pistols undertakes for the LGBT community.

Following the deadly Orlando nightclub shooting, in which a terrorist with claimed allegiance to ISIS, butchered 49 innocent people and sent more than 50 to hospital with grievous injuries, the Pink Pistols has witnessed its membership rise from 1,500 to 3,500 within a span of few days. The club is also opening up dozens of new chapters to cater to the rising members.

With the LGBT community arming itself, experts feel the situation could get even more violent than it already is. However, pro-gun advocates claim it is a necessary step to ensure self-protection in view of the deadly massacres.

[Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images]