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Concerns about terrorist attacks, violent crime and gun rights have led to a massive increase in the number of guns acquired by Pennsylvanians in 2016 compared to a decade earlier, experts said.

(File)

Concerns about terrorist attacks, violent crime and gun rights led to a massive increase in the number of guns acquired by Pennsylvanians in 2016 compared to a decade earlier, experts said.

In 2016, 797,358 guns were sold or transferred in shops and between private sellers in Pennsylvania. Ten years earlier in 2007, there were 404,528 guns were sold and transferred. That's an increase of 49.2 percent.

What happened in Pennsylvania and throughout the United States to prompt so many more gun sales?

Are people more afraid? Are they all taking up hunting? PennLive spoke to two people with gun expertise for answers.

Twenty children and six adults were shot at the Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut.

Mass shootings and terrorist attacks

Joe Staudt, owner of Staudt's Gun Shop in Harrisburg, said the prevalence of mass shootings and terrorist attacks have played a major part in the increased sales.

Last year, there were bombings in New York and New Jersey, as well as mass shootings in Florida and Texas. After each of those crimes, gun sales increased.

When mass shootings occur, people become scared and seek self protection. Their first stop is a gun shop.

"It makes people feel vulnerable," said Staudt, a former Marine.

Staudt said the biggest spike he's ever had in business came after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December 2012, when 20 kids and six adults were fatally shot.

"We, literally, sold everything we had," Staudt said.

From left to right: Hinna Zeejah, 8, Taejah Goode, 10, Julia Stokes, 11, and Grant Fritz, 8, who wrote letters to President Barack Obama about the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., watch at the White House as Obama signed executive orders outlining proposals to reduce gun violence.

Gun control and politics

Another factor that drives up gun sales after a mass shooting is proposed state and federal gun control legislation. When lawmakers begin talking about weapon bans, additional background checks or ammo limitations, gun sales skyrocket.

Shira Goodman, executive director of CeaseFirePA, said that there was a huge spike in gun sales when lawmakers began proposing federal gun laws in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting. In 2013, President Barack Obama proposed several gun control measures.

In Pennsylvania, sales and transfers spiked to 808,507 in 2013 -- the highest on record.

Goodman said sales may have been so high in 2016 because Obama proposed additional gun control measures in January. The proposals included expanding background checks, closing the "gun show loophole," improving the reporting of lost and stolen weapons, and increasing inspections of licensed dealers.

Goodman said gun owners have a concern that the government is coming to take their guns away.

"I do think there's always been this idea of 'let's drive up sales and say they're going to get their guns taken away,'" Goodman said. "Nobody is ever going to take anyone's guns away."

Goodman said the contentious presidential election between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton might have added to increased gun sales in 2016.

Those who were worried that a Democratic president would try to take away their guns might have felt compelled to make purchases last year, she said.

Police at the scene of a shooting on North 17th Street in Harrisburg. (James Robinson, PennLive.com)

Crime and violence

Staudt said reports of crime and violence also leads to increased gun sales. In 2016, there were stories of police officers being shot, violent protests, and countless murders, aggravated assaults and robberies.

As a result, people want to buy guns and feel protected. Staudt said he's seen more women buying handguns in the past two years than ever before.

The fear of crime has played a part in the increased sales of hand guns -- to both men and women, Staudt said.

Goodman said there's a misconception that if you have a gun, you're safe. During crimes, she said, victims carrying guns can freeze under pressure or shoot an innocent bystander.

"Are there people who I think are probably very safe and very proficient that I would be very safe with if they were in the same place as me and something bad happened? Sure," Goodman said. "But I don't know who those people are."

She added, "I don't know that having that gun and going to the range... is nearly the same as being in an active shooter situation."