Jake Kennedy closed shop two weeks ago with one box of 12-gauge shotgun shells left.
Kennedy, owner of Gator Skeet and Trap Club, said he is always careful to keep 500 to 1,000 boxes of ammunition on reserve. But two weeks ago, he had to drive to Tampa at 5:30 a.m. to borrow ammunition from another gun range before he could open at noon.
Since gun control stepped into the national spotlight following the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, Gainesville shooting ranges and gun shops have seen large jumps in business.
Last week’s proposed legislation would reinstate a ban on assault weapons, limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds and expand mental counseling services, but that hasn’t slowed the influx of people buying guns and ammo.
Kennedy said the national conversation has drawn more locals — especially college students — to shoot at his range, located at 5202 NE 46th Ave.
Even though the legislation doesn’t deal with shotguns — such as the ones customers use to shoot targets at the club – Kennedy said it is having a ripple effect on the industry.
“We’re up probably 15 to 20 percent,” he said. “It just increases our business because people are more aware of firearms and want to come out and see it for themselves.”
Alex Rennert, co-founder of the Florida Gators Trap, Skeet and Sporting Team, said the team grew from 18 members to 30 members since the beginning of the semester.
Rennert, a 20-year-old UF aerospace and mechanical engineering sophomore, said the membership spike at the beginning of the semester coincided with the resurgence of the gun control issue and the time students typically join organizations.
Rennert said the club, which competes nationally, has helped some students view target shooting as an enjoyable pastime in safe environments.
“People kind of realize you can have fun in shooting sports, and it’s not as dangerous as people make it out to be,” he said.
Gainesville gun shops are experiencing similar boosts in business related to the proposed legislation.
For Dan Skinner, store manager of Lawful Defense Guns & Transfers, located at 9420 NW 13th St., it’s been hard to keep up with customer demands.
“People are coming in and buying whatever they can, which makes guns and ammunition very hard to acquire,” said Skinner, 28.
The proposal served as a push for those on the fence about buying a gun because many are afraid they won’t be able to buy one later, he said.
“An industry joke is that Obama is the No. 1 gun salesman of the year,” he said.
On Friday, Skinner said the shop was out of AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, which is one of the guns targeted in the recent assault weapons ban.
However, Skinner said he defines assault weapons as firearms used by military and law enforcement that, with one pull of the trigger, shoot multiple rounds. With a semi-automatic rifle, one pull of the trigger equals one shot from the gun.
“The whole terminology of an assault weapon ban is very misleading,” he said. “That’s kind of disheartening.”
Another aspect of the proposal would provide more mental health services and more thorough mental health background checks, an idea Skinner agrees with.
Federally licensed shops like Skinner’s require customers to fill out a Firearms Transaction Record form, which includes a question asking if the buyer has “ever been adjudicated mentally defective” or has “ever been committed to a mental institution.”
However, unless someone has been declared criminally insane, it wouldn’t show up on a background check, he said.
Even with legislation changes, Skinner said he believes those with the intent to kill will find other ways.
Butch Ford, owner of Sapp’s Pawn, Gun and Archery, agreed.
“It’s not the gun,” he said. “It’s the person.”
Ford said he believes the Second Amendment exists for citizens to protect themselves from the government. He compared the government to cowboys and the people to Indians.
The cowboys are allowing the Indians to keep their bows, he said, but the cowboys are keeping their rifles.
“I love my country,” he said, “but my government is just about to piss me off.”
Contact Kathryn Varn at kvarn@alligator.org. Contact Kelcee Griffis at kgriffis@alligator.org.
