Business is booming for Noah McConnell, the owner of Extreme Tactical in Kalispell. As a firearms purveyor and licensed manufacturer, McConnell said the past few weeks have exceeded any rush to purchase his inventory than any other time during his career.
And he would be selling even more, if the items were available.
“You can’t get AR-15 parts right now,” McConnell said last week as he set up his table at the Sports Connection Gun Show at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. “All the distributors are out of stock.”
McConnell figured he could sell gun magazines that sold for $15 in November for about $50 at last weekend’s gun show, but he’s got those on back order too. When he saw that his distributor had some in stock, he toyed with the idea of buying more for about 40 minutes, but by the time he decided on it, the magazines were already sold out.
In the wake of the Newtown, Conn. tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of 20 school children and six school staff, gun control is once again a heated topic in the United States. And as both the U.S. Congress and the Montana Legislature intend to tackle this issue, Flathead Valley firearms businesses are experiencing a boom in sales with eyes toward an unknown future.
“The biggest spike (in business) has been since a couple days after the shooting,” McConnell said.
Last week, Vice President Joe Biden updated President Barack Obama on his work leading a task force to prevent gun violence. Biden said he expected to present the president with his recommendations – which would likely include banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and adjusting background checks – by Jan. 15.
The National Rifle Association issued a statement following Biden’s meeting with Obama, saying it was disappointed with the task force’s focus.
“We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment,” the NRA wrote. “While claiming that no policy proposals would be ‘prejudged,’ this Task Force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners – honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans. It is unfortunate that this Administration continues to insist on pushing failed solutions to our nation’s most pressing problems.”
And while the president’s administration continues to move on the issue, the 113th Congress is also working on gun legislation, as evidenced by the introduction of 10 gun bills on its opening day.
Many of the bills deal with firearms purchases and registration. If passed as proposed, the various legislation would require a national database listing people who are prohibited from purchasing firearms; prohibit the transfer or possession of large capacity ammunition clips; and tighten licensing requirements.
Two bills would require criminal background checks on all firearms transactions, closing the so-called gun-show loophole. According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, 40 percent of all gun sales are made without background checks.
Requiring background checks would change how Brian Kjensmo of Sports Connection does business, but he has no plans on adding new rules at gun shows until there is legislation in place.
“As a promoter we do everything within our power to comply with all city, state, county and federal laws,” Kjensmo said. “If the federal government comes out with a very specific law that says this will be how you do business at a gun show, then we will have to comply with that.”
But preempting such laws “would be like jumping out of an airplane because you think it might quit,” he said.
According to county fairgrounds manager Mark Campbell, gun shows at the fairgrounds bring in about 1,500 people to each event, with roughly 400 of those coming from outside the valley.
“They’re very well attended and even more so lately with all the legislation and the election,” Campbell said.
Those people cause a ripple effect in the local economy, Kjensmo noted, because they stay at hotels, eat at restaurants and buy gas.
Attendance at Sports Connection shows has steadily increased since Obama was elected president, Kjensmo said. These days he promotes an average of 35 shows a year in Montana, Idaho and Washington, he said. Sports Connection is based out of Park City.
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A vendor organizes the many parts and collectibles on display at his booth at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon |
Other local firearms businesses are reporting a similar increase in demand, especially in the days following the Connecticut shooting.
Jon Sonju of SI Defense said sales have increased in the past month, though federal legislation could have a negative impact on arms manufacturers in the valley.
“(Firearms are) a driver for the economy in the Flathead,” Sonju said. “We employ over 50 employees.”
Sonju has a unique perspective on this issue, not only as a business owner but also as a state senator. He said the legislation in Congress right now is too gun-focused, and there are other contributing factors to violence, such as mental illness, that aren’t being adequately addressed.
Biden’s task force is creating legislation that might work for other states, Sonju said, but wouldn’t fit Montana.
“You have an East Coast liberal trying to make policy for the state of Montana,” he said.
Lawmakers in Helena are also attempting to address uncertainties at the federal level as they head into the 2013 Legislature. Rep. Krayton Kerns, R-Laurel, recently requested a bill that would prohibit state law enforcement from enforcing any federal bans on semi-automatic firearms or magazines.
“They can’t force us to do anything we don’t want to do,” Kerns said in an interview last week. “If they’re going to rely on our law enforcement to enforce their decree, we will not allow that.”
Kerns said he requested the bill in case “cooler heads” don’t prevail in Congress with the proposed legislation.
But even if Kerns’ bill were to pass the state Legislature, Sonju noted that it wouldn’t help businesses like SI Defense.
“I can appreciate (Kerns’) attempt with putting out laws that work for the state of Montana, but as a businessman I would comply with all federal and state laws,” Sonju said.
NEMO Arms in Kalispell has seen a “significant uptick” in civilian sales, according to co-founder Clint Walker, but with pending legislation, the firearms manufacturer has decided to wait before filling most orders.
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A vendor organizes a collection of gun sights on display at his booth at the Flathead County Fairgrounds. Lido Vizzutti | Flathead Beacon |
Even though the company has “hundreds of thousands of dollars” worth of potential civilian orders, Walker said due to the reactionary nature of gun manufacturing, it could take quite a while to produce the inventory needed. By then, the legislation could already have been enacted, he said.
“Legislation will likely be swift,” Walker said. “We don’t want to put ourselves at risk by ramping up production.”
And while NEMO will likely survive new laws because its core sales are military and law enforcement contracts, not all Flathead Valley companies will be so lucky, he said.
“It is pretty sad that there was such an incredible potential for a real, huge, viable industry here and if things are as radical as what we keep hearing in terms of legislation, I just don’t know many firearms manufacturers that will escape that,” Walker said.
The preemptive impetus behind recent firearms purchases has manifested in other areas concerning gun ownership as well. According to Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry, applications for concealed carry permits are at three times their usual rate.
Curry’s overall take on the increase is that it has less to do with packing heat and more to do with political uncertainties.
“It’s not so much that a lot of people want to carry a concealed weapon,” Curry said. “A lot of people are just concerned about the possibility of federal gun control. And they feel that this will be one more tool in their belt to protect them from the federal government should there be any legislation enacted.”
So far, Montana’s congressional delegation remains noncommittal in regards to the proposed legislation. Both newly elected Republican Rep. Steve Daines and Democratic Sen. Jon Tester said they support the Second Amendment and hope to address violence in a thoughtful way.
“I am committed to protecting Montanans’ constitutional rights, and that includes the rights found in the Second Amendment – I will not support efforts that infringe upon those rights,” Daines said in a prepared statement. “As a father of four, I am deeply saddened by the senseless act of violence that took place in Connecticut. However, we must be careful not to make rash decisions on controversial firearm restriction proposals that many experts believe would be ineffective in preventing violent crimes.”
Tester’s spokesman Aaron Murphy said the senator “is and always has been a strong supporter of all of Montana’s small businesses – including firearms manufacturers. Regarding the attack in Connecticut, he believes Congress has a responsibility to look at all aspects of what happened – from weapons to media coverage to the how we address mental illness. He also has a solid record of support for the Second Amendment.”
While the political uncertainties surrounding gun legislation continue to evolve, Jim Gray intends to continue following his passion for buying and selling firearms at gun shows.
Gray is a veteran of the show circuit and a former president of the Weapons Collectors Society of Montana, with over 50 years traveling the state to upgrade his collection and search for rare and interesting items.
“Most of the guns I sell, I sell to people I’ve known for years and years and years,” Gray said last week as he set up shop at the Sports Connection show.
He hits about 20 to 25 shows a year these days, and Gray believes the general public doesn’t really understand that guns are collectible items, much like silver spoons.
“Most gun collectors don’t shoot very much,” he said. “People think guns are to shoot, but they’re to collect.”
Now that he’s 80, Gray said he’s seen the national conversation about gun control ebb and flow over the decades, but believes the basic premise behind human violence remains the same as ever, with factors of mental illness and societal influences.
“The bad people make guns look bad,” he said, “but bad people make everybody look bad.”