Gun store sees boom in business after deadly week
PORTLAND, Ore. – In the wake of two deadly shootings at an elementary school in Connecticut and a mall here in Oregon, many families are turning to guns for protection.
At one of Oregon’s largest gun sellers the owner told us that business has been booming.
Karl Durkheimer, the owner of Northwest Armory in Southeast Portland, said that in 20 years of business, this week has been his busiest week in sales, with Saturday being the single busiest day, and it’s not holiday shopping bringing in the customers.
Durkheimer said smaller handguns that can be concealed have been the biggest sellers.
About 40 percent of households in Oregon have guns in them, although Durkheimer said he’s seeing many first-time gun owners in his shop.
He said almost all of them are coming in because they want to do something to feel safe again after this week’s news.
“They are here because they want to be able to take care of themselves and their families,” Durkheimer said. “The tragedies of this past week have really scared people. Now the people asking about concealed carry has escalated greatly.”
There wasn’t a single parking spot open in the lot when a KATU reporter stopped by on Saturday afternoon and there were more than 40 people packed into the crowded store.
During our visit, Durkheimer had to place another order to stock up before Monday.
Some customers also told us they are choosing to buy a gun now because they anticipate there may be a change in gun laws as people demand tougher gun laws.
Some of those calls have come from prominent figures, including New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.
“As the mayor has said so many times before, we need a national gun control police,” he said. “We don’t have it. Quite frankly I’m pessimistic because we haven’t seen any meaningful activity.”
Mark Kelly, the husband of Gabrielle Giffords, posted a statement on Facebook saying the children of Sandy Hook Elementary deserve a meaningful discussion on gun laws and reform, adding “we can no longer wait.”
Read more: Could mass killing be a gun control tipping point?
People are buying guns because they fear our government. In my neck of the woods after the Virginia Tech shootings the local sporting goods store ran out of virtually all types of ammo except for shot gun shells. People here are afraid some sweeping legislation is going to cut off ammo sales or ban a certain types of guns but no one knows for sure. I don't know the answer but that is the reality and now it is happening again after this latest tragedy.
i wont be wasting money on crap like guns.  i would rather pay off the mortgage early and retire to enjoy mother nature, reading, fitness, voulenteerism and staying as far away from politics and the news as possible.  thank you.
Hmmmm. I am considering the purchase of a new rifle and a shotgun.Â
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Here's an interesting web site with gun control facts....http://www.justfacts.com/guncontrol.asp
These adults buy guns to protect their children and families, not to kill more children! What part of the story you weren't able to read and understand? This is why mentally ill people are prohibited from buying weapons, but no one can't stop them from stealing it! Are you one of them?
This is so sad.  Children die and adults buy guns so more can die.
 @Hiker123 how are more going to die by law abiding people purchasing guns? Your comment doesnt make much sense.
 @commonsense33 Â
Not likely they are going to save many either. For every story you could dredge up about a private citizen using their gun to stop a crime I could give you a 1000 or more where the home defense gun was stolen by a criminal or used in an act of domestic violence or suicide. Even the guy with the gun at CTC wasn't able to use it to stop the shooter. Why are people so quick to forget or ignore that? I'll bet he is feeling a whole lot less confident about the value of his concealed weapon these days. Having a gun may make you feel safer but it's based more on emotion than actual data.
 @commonsense33  @Hiker123 Adam Lanza's mother was a law abiding citizen with and arsenal. She also had a freaky lunatic for a son who shot her four times in the head while she slept.  So much for law abiding citizens owning guns.Â
I think the net result of more people owning more guns is a general increase in paranoia, not pragmatic safety. Random shootings catch 99% of people off guard (armed or not). Home invasion scenarios are another story, but we don't want to devolve back to the Dodge City days, which were brutal to live through, but might seem alluring in movies, safe on your couch. There is a lot more fantasy than reality associated with gun ownership.
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Have a look at YouTube trophy hunting videos to see what falls victim to human evil most often. Why are those videos even allowed? They disrespect the dead animals, and also human victims of pointless carnage.
@Harry Juku. If you were confronted with a violent individual that wants to hurt or kill you, how would you respond? What if you couldn't get to your cell phone to call the police? How would you defend your family from a person that breaks into your home?
It's not meant as a 'gun grabbing" comment. I'm just curious how you would respond.
If you are going to carry a gun, please be sure to know how to use it EXTEREMELY well. This is because you don't want to miss your intended target, and kill an innocent bystander. God save America!
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Poor deluded Harry....There's 50,000 gun laws on the books right now, you think that more will help? remember (If you can) that criminals don't care about the laws
 @disgustedman neither do lunatics.Â
What I would like to see is a massive rush on training manuals, gun locks, safes and other safety devices.
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Fellow responsible gun owners, please help this happen. It's as much a part of being vigilant as carrying a weapon in the first place. There is not going to be an anti-gun or left-wing drive for gun RESPONSIBILITY so it up to us to spread that awareness and expectation among fellow proponents of the 2nd Amendment.
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I vow that the next thing I purchase involving firearms will be an additional safety device. Gun safes are cheaper than guns themselves.
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 @HarryJuku The irony in your statement is awesome! Molon Labe, Harry.
These children that were killed, should be reason enough for you evil gun owners, to TURN IN YOUR GUNS!
 @j j jumpÂ
Not going to happen.
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I prefer to be an evil gun owner that is alive than a dead guy that you liked.
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 @HarryJuku  @RalphCramden That's so not related to gun control... Harry's posting this instead of explaining how he's going to take people's guns.
 @HarryJuku  @RalphCramden What Harry hasn't figured out is that insulting people isn't going to change their mind about carrying guns. In fact, it's only going to polarize them into fighting harder.
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As if verbal abuse is somehow going to bully Ralph into agreement.
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It's all you have, isn't it Harry? Call me some names too.
 @HarryJuku  @RalphCramden You know that school was a gun free zone that people like you would keep people safe. It didn't stop the gun man and political correctness of keeping armed professionals out of schools allowed this evil person to kill people so easily. There are so many laws on the books and NONE of them stopped this evil person.
 @HarryJukuÂ
I wouldn't know since I don't have a TV.
 @HarryJukuÂ
Only you can understand your comment Harry and I even have doubts about that.
 @j j jump Come and take them.
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It's time for evil murderers not to commit murders, and evil rapists to turn in their penises, and politicians to turn over their paychecks. It's time for meth dealers to turn in their labs, and gang members to stop doing drive by shootings.
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Okay...ready? GO!Â
 @Playanekes  @j j jump You can have my penis when you pry it...
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 @That_One_Dude  @j j jump LOL! That's cute.
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I would hope you're the kind of dude who wouldn't let somebody take his penis without a fight, but, it happens.
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I had a drummer once... his wife probably keeps it in a jar somewhere so she can take it out and abuse it once in awhile.
 @KKStJohn  @That_One_Dude Are you sure it's your coffee and not his...
 @That_One_Dude Laughing so hard I'm choking on my coffee.Â
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 @HarryJuku  @RalphCramden Get used to the expression Molon Labe.
 @HarryJuku Harry, you are such a jerk but sometimes you are really hilarious.Â
 @HarryJuku  @PlayanekesÂ
Not going to happen Harry.
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Get used to the words 2nd amendment.
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Plus there are over 300 million guns in private hands in the US and billions of rounds of ammo. Many of those folks will not give them up willingly.
 @HarryJuku  @PlayanekesÂ
Intelligent retort Harry. Not only are you against guns you are against free speech.
Please explain to us how once you outlaw them, you're going to go and take them.
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Until you can do that, suck your thumb and hope you don't die because your laws, along with all the insults you can heap on law-abiding gun owners, isn't working.
For Playanekes: The whole concept of "law abiding" is largely irrelevant to the danger posed by these random incidents. Many (if not most) mass killings are perpetrated by "law abiding gun owners" until the minute they snap.
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Ironically, the GOP is the Party most eager to cut funding for mental health programs, which could actually improve the situation. I favor ongoing monitoring of all gun owners for mental health problems, not just domestic abuse and such. And nobody with a mental health history remotely hinting at violence should get a gun. If that's not reasonable to the NRA, they are sick pups.
 @Alec Sevins
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You're not going to "monitor gun owners for mental problems" anymore than you monitor pilots, cops, brain surgeons, bus drivers, politicians or teachers. But at least you know which ones are teachers. You seem to be assuming that all gun owners are NRA.
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Does my uncle have a gun or not? We inherited my grandmother's 30.06s, my grandfather's hunting rifles, his service revolvers. Nobody knows they exist but the family.
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We'll be sure to run right down to you gun-tugging government and give them the serial numbers and our addresses so you can come monitor our mental health and let the state determine if we're competent, even though none of my family have killed a person with a weapon since World War freakin' II when he was drafted to do it.Â
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If you'd have told my uncle Bob, retired Sgt. Major of the 8th Infantry Division and veteran of three wars, that some Sam Adams thumbsucker was going to going to come to his house and measure his mental competency and then decide whether he could keep his .45s and his Garands, you'd have needed more than you showed up with. OR, he'd have giving you one or two of his x-amount of guns and said "Here it is. This is all I have." But most likely he'd have just smacked you and told you to get off his lawn, and, then what would you do?
Wow!!! Too bad we can't channel all the action on this comment board into a renewable energy source! 180 and counting!
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I think it's great to protect yourself but I'm worried that people without training may be putting themselves in danger by buying a gun they don't have the training to use correctly. Â It also worries me that it might be open season for home break ins' also.
Here's a prime example of many in the anti-gun camp tweeting their "intellectual" thoughts:
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http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?398689-Gun-Grabbers-Call-for-Murder-of-NRA-President-Supporters-in-Wake-of-Mass-Shooting
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Reading these comments Mr "Harry-Juku", tell me, who are the unbalanced individuals in society?
good. if i had the money i would buy too. stupid democrats are going to take away our rights like they always due and outlaw gun sales. stupid democrats are only going to make it impossible to carry or own guns for law abiding citizens to protect themselves from criminals.
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the thing these stupid democrats do not know is, regardless of if you band guns, criminals will still be criminals and law abiding citizens will have very little rights.Â
 @phyllis21 That's like saying stupid republicans are going to outlaw marijuana sales.
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Everybody who has ever been to a Rush concert or a motorcycle rally is laughing their asses off at the idea.
If you are anti-gun, which means anti-freedom, then pack up and go to North Korea or China. Â You'll be right at home there, Â as a slave. Â The sooner you leave, the better for those of us who actually enjoy living in a free country.
 @boomer Geez, Boomer, North Korea or China? How about Finland, Canada, England, The Netherlands, Japan, Iceland, and others, to name a few.
 @drosen  @boomer Those will work fine too. Nobody's stopping anybody from leaving America.
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 @Solipsist01 Wow. Is that the sharpest rebuttal you've got?
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Tax advantage?? LOL! the criminals will LOVE that, means less guns in the hands of their VICTIMS!!!!
can i buy a nucular warhead to go with my obomba shelter?
OMG, what a bunch of hypocrites the USA has. We cry and show sadness and grief toward those families who have lost innocent children to guns and we respect that loss by buying more or these weapons. For those of you who think this is not about you, maybe the definition might describe you better: a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
 @leffy59 Come and take them. Until then, you insults are a waste of oxygen. Go do something productive, like volunteer school security patrols or something.
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Your insults are not going to change the fact that I carried a .45 into my daughter's school on Friday when I picked her up.
 @leffy59 A good friend lost her daughter in a car accident. Does that mean I shouldn't buy a car? Car's kill many times more people in the U.S. than guns. Where's the call to ban cars? Medical errors kill many times more people in the U.S. than cars. Where's the outrage?
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It dawns on me that the peoples' wishes (as proven by "hypocritical" increased guns sale), in reality, is vastly different the "peoples' wishes" portrayed by the media and certain "elite" figures in D.C.
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 @Solipsist01 Given suicides are method independent, you might want to look at a different set of statistics, like from the FBI which shows only 8,583 homicides. http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-8
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@Solipsist01 Your rants show you know nothing about the people who own guns! You think the women who own guns want a larger penis? What, women don't own or use guns - give me a break! You are clueless!!
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I'm very happy with myself and my life in all respects. I have wonderfull kids, wonderfull grandkids and even great-grandkids. I have all the power I want in my life - I've turned down positions of power because I don't want more - I actually enjoy not having all the power I could, should I so desire. Does that mean I don't like my guns? No way! I love shooting my guns for recreation and hunting. And I certainly wouldn't give up my self-protection guns.
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Studies have shown that the AR-15 type rifle is actually a better gun to own for self defense than most pistols or shotguns. The new bullet technology allows the bullet to fragment upon hitting thin wood or sheetrock, preventing them from going completely thru a house like a shotgun or pistol can.Â
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Let's find out what causes these people to go off the deep end and solve that issue. We don't need more gun regulations - it didn't help the unfortunate victims of these very sad events!!
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 @Razor1  @Solipsist01Â
Nothing finer that a woman who can take care of herself.
 @RalphCramden  @Solipsist01 Ralph that woman in the center of my avatar is my wife. She's a LT. Colonel so she is still considered a "Field Grade" officer. Every year we have to qualify with our weapons, and every year she qualifies "Expert" with both the M4, and M9. She has even used the M203, but not an expert yet. 2 years ago her Surgical Unit came under fire, and a Buffalo 50 feet from where she was working was blown to shreds. Her crew went on working while their m4s were slung from their shoulders. She got the first Bronze Star in our family. I don't worry about whether she can protect herself, as I am more worried what she would do to the poor sucker that was stupid enough to take her on.
 @Solipsist01Â
Who cares?
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Woman have traditionally looked to men to protect them. But don't underestimate my wife. She can filed strip all of our weapons and take out a sage rat at 200 yards.
 @Solipsist01 I don't know but maybe we should pass a law prohibiting women from owning firearms because, obviously, she couldn't control hers, right?
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None of my family's weapons have, in the last five generations, been used to commit a crime.
@Solipsist01 The last statistic that I looked at listed female ownership of guns to be 43% (and this was from 2011)Â http://www.gallup.com/poll/150353/self-reported-gun-ownership-highest-1993.aspx.Â
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Seems like a whole lot of women want a large penis!!!!
 @Solipsist01 Aren't you late for your local feminist meeting? Shooo, now run along...
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