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That increase in gun sales following the Newtown shooting might have had a little bit to do with Christmas season, as a lot of people are flaunting their new firearms on social media today, a trend first-noticed by The Verge's T.C. Sottek. As the AR-15 is a popular rifle of choice these days both for consumers and murderers, we decided to take a look at all the brand-new owners of that make of semi-automatic. Some have suggested the increase in sales had to do with fears that gun control will soon take these off the shelves. Or maybe all the talk about Bushmaster and guns inspired these Christmas gifts. No matter the motivation, as Sottek notes, the "sales boost appears to have manifested under the Christmas tree." And, thanks to Instagram, we get to see that manifestation, as these new owners post photos of their new toys on the Internet today. So without further ado, we present pictures of people standing in front of Christmas trees with their brand new guns.

@Lizabajew got an AR-15 from her step-mom, "#loveher."

"Merry Christmas"

"Don't break in this place."

EbHapa got an AR-15 from her hub who "is the shit."

"He loved it."

The McGill Family got dad a Bushmaster. There he is being "sooo stoked."

Instagram user @Slpdesigns had what she calls a "red neck Christmas."

And there's more of this kind of flaunting to be found on Twitter and elsewhere on Instagram. Gun control didn't stop these people from getting what they want for Christmas—at least not this year.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.

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