Gordon Friedman

Statesman Journal

Gun sales in Oregon increased dramatically in the days after the massacre at a nightclub in Orlando, Fla., reaching nearly three times the daily average in the week following the attack.

Data from the state police shows that 573 guns were sold June 12, the day of the shooting. Just five days later, 1,364 guns were sold in a day. On average, 558 guns were sold in Oregon each day of June 2015.

To buy a gun in Oregon, purchasers must undergo a background check. The Oregon State Police keeps data on the background checks — including how many were denied and for what reason — which is published online each month. Background check numbers obtained via a public records request were used to tally daily guns sales.

Information detailing what kind of guns are sold isn't readily available. State Police spokesman Cpt. Bill Fugate said the unit that conducts gun sales background checks destroys data on what guns are being sold.

What is clear is that people buy guns for different reasons today than in previous decades. A 2013 study from the Pew Research Center found that nearly half of American gun owners say they own a gun for protection. In 1999, nearly half of gun owners said their gun is for hunting.

But why do people buy guns after a national tragedy such as the Orlando shooting?

"If I were to speculate, people who already own guns buy more after mass shootings because they fear that mass shootings will lead to regulation limiting their ability to buy certain types of guns," said Allison Anderman, staff attorney for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that promotes gun control.

Anderman's reasoning falls in line with the anecdotal experience of local gun shop owners. Fear of gun control is one reason why some gun owners buy more guns after a mass shooting, said Doug Raaf, co-owner of Guncrafters on Pringle Road SE.

That sentiment was echoed by Martin Weiss, owner of Tritac Shooting Range on Sunnyview Road NE. Use of the gun range and requests for concealed carry training are "going through the roof" this year, he said.

"I think people are more worried about the election than anything else," Weiss said.

Raaf said politics has a definite influence on gun sales, which increase at his shop every presidential election year. Weiss said some gun owners he knows fear disarmament, but also realize that concern is likely unfounded. (President Obama has said he will not try to ban firearms or confiscate guns from lawful gun owners.)

Mass shootings keep happening, but lawmakers have been unable to pass gun control measures. That's true nationally and locally.

Congress is in a stalemate about gun control; last week four firearms reform bills failed in the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. Democratic members of the U.S. House then staged a sit-in to raise attention to the issue. The protest lasted 25 hours and only ceased after the House went into recess.

After the October 2015 shooting at Umpqua Community College that killed nine people, Democrats in the Oregon Legislature pursued a bill to tighten background check requirements. It passed in the state House but never got a vote in the Senate.

Send questions, comments or news tips togfriedman2@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6653. Follow on Twitter@GordonRFriedman.

From the candidates: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on gun control*

Clinton:

Supports "background checks, cracking down on illegal gun traffickers, holding dealers and manufacturers accountable when they endanger Americans, and keeping guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and stalkers."

"Repeal the gun industry’s unique immunity protection. Hillary believes the gun industry must be held accountable for violence perpetrated with their guns."

"Hillary will fight to improve existing law prohibiting persons suffering from severe mental illness from purchasing or possessing a gun."

"Military-style assault weapons do not belong on our streets. They are a danger to law enforcement and to our communities."

Trump:

"The right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed upon. Period."

"Law-abiding people should be allowed to own the firearm of their choice. The government has no business dictating what types of firearms good, honest people are allowed to own."

"The right of self-defense doesn’t stop at the end of your driveway. That’s why I have a concealed carry permit and why tens of millions of Americans do too. That permit should be valid in all 50 states."

"All of the tragic mass murders that occurred in the past several years have something in common – there were red flags that were ignored. We can’t allow that to continue. We need to expand treatment programs, because most people with mental health problems aren’t violent, they just need help."

*Statements taken verbatim from the official websites of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.