With the prevalence of media attention on the novel coronavirus also known as COVID-19, one may wonder the impact of a pandemic on modern society. Fear is one of mankind’s strongest emotions. It creates panic and wires the brain into a fight or flight response. One of the most prevalent ideas of panic lies in the fear of martial law and/or the possibility of anarchy should the pandemic grow out of control. While this concept alone seems far-fetched, individual actions prove otherwise. As panic over the coronavirus increases, gun sales in Southern California have sky-rocketed. Dennis Lin, owner of Gun Effects and Cloud Nine Fishing in Industry states that gun sales have nearly doubled due to the fear of coronavirus. This surge in gun sales is due to the idea that a lack of services and possible resources may cause civil unrest amongst populations. It is already apparent that many individuals are flocking to stores and buying all the home supplies and non-perishable food they can. This logic behind panic-buying is also being applied to guns and ammunition. The fact that fear is driving individuals to prepare to defend themselves with guns begs the question of how should the government intervene? And would any intervention cause even more panic?
According to the Sacramento Bee, coronavirus fears have caused many individuals to buy guns for the first time. People who tell me that they don’t like guns, but they’re here to begrudgingly buy one,” Gabriel Vaughn, owner of Sportsman’s Arms In Petaluma, told the TV station. “And if it makes somebody feel safe and they’re legal to own one, then sure Sales on Ammo.com, an online ammunition store, were 68 percent greater from Feb. 23 to March 4 than they were the preceding 11 days. In order to address panic-buying of arms, many states and individual cities are looking to legislative loopholes to potentially stop these sales. The mayor of Champaign, Illinois has included potential ordinances that would ban the sale of alcohol and guns under the Coronavirus Emergency Act. While no direct action has been taken thus far, the potential implications of a part-time ban are beginning to sprout in all parts of the United States.
Legally government officials would have the right under certain legislative acts to enact part-time bans of weapons. However, I believe that this would cause immense panic amongst the public. The current state of affairs within the United States is one that requires government officials to be wary of creating more fear. If the government were to ban gun sales, even for a short period of time, the public would see the act as “controlling.” People have already begun to panic and human nature teaches us that panic and fear breads more panic and fear. If the government responds to the increase in gun and ammunition sales with panic, the people shall panic respond and an endless cycle ensues. Nevertheless, the issue of people buying guns and ammunition at exponentially large levels is still a cause for concern. What should officials do to combat this?
I believe that the issue of panic buying guns is a symptom of a much more prevalent issue which has engulfed the United States. The symptoms of mass-purchasing any item is due to panic as a whole. Mass-media attention as well as fear mongering by misinformed public figures such as celebrities and social media influencers have created an unjustified heightened sense of fear throughout the public. When the NBA commissioner announced the suspension of the season, people submitted to their own conclusions. They identify danger in the unordinary. In order to address the issue of panic and in turn the panic-purchasing of firearms, officials should actively try to reassure the people that while we are in a pandemic the danger to most individual lives in America is small. The actions taken by officials and other large companies and corporations is a response to lessen the spread of the disease to sensitive groups who are truly at risk. The government should reassure the people that the momentary change in daily lifestyles is a precaution and not a last resort measure. If officials can succeed in spreading this narrative, then the issue of panic as well as panic purchasing will both become solved.
References
Knighton, Tom. “Coronavirus-Based Fears Sparks Gun Sales In Southern CA.” Bearing Arms, Bearing Arms, 12 Mar. 2020, bearingarms.com/tom-k/2020/03/12/coronavirus-gun-sales-southern-ca/.
Stunson, Mike. “Gun and Ammo Sales Surge in US with Coronavirus Fears. ‘Better Safe than Sorry’.” Sacbee, The Sacramento Bee, 13 Mar. 2020, http://www.sacbee.com/news/nation-world/national/article241164136.html.
The Current State of the Second Amendment 