Monday, October 16, 2017

The Electric Boogaloo

Written by: Carlos Teran

Gun rights are a hot topic in the United States today.  It is such a hot topic because gun rights are deeply rooted in American culture. When you bring up the idea of banning guns, some people can get very defensive. “Rock, Flag & Eagle” says Charlie Kelly when talking about his right to own guns, even while living in one of the most gun violent cities in the U.S.
It will be a very long time until anything happens with gun legislation. On October 1st 2017 the largest mass shooting in recent American history happened. In Las Vegas, 60 people were killed by a gunman and over 500 people were injured. One would think that after a catastrophic event like this the longing or (demand) for guns would go down. However the demand has only increased since the shooting. In addition the price for the stock of guns has gone up as well. This seems odd and like the opposite of what should happen but in a market economy anything can happen. Perhaps people are worried that with each mass shooting we will get closer to banning guns completely, and guns will become a scarce source. This is an example of change in expectations which is why the demand and price are changing.

Graph from CNBC

This is not a surprising trend, according to CNBC “Gun stocks have tended to rise after similar shootings”. It seems as though Americans are worried about what will happen to their guns and they are looking at the opportunity cost of what will happen if congress decides to ban guns. On one hand, it seems as though it needs to be done to keep people safe. Mass shootings have increased over the years and the damage they have caused has also increased. The opportunity cost would be people losing their First Amendment rights. We will see how congress responds and how the market will respond to congress.
The facts I have  laid out before you are  precisely why it will be a long time until gun laws are put in place. Mac McDonald said it best, Even in the face of a catastrophe caused by guns, people argue that we need more guns. People go out and buy more guns. Americans want guns. And this is the land where the market takes priority.

Cheng, Evelyn. “Gun stocks jump, following historical pattern after a mass shooting.” CNBC, CNBC, 2 Oct. 2017, www.cnbc.com/2017/10/02/gun-stocks-rise-after-deadly-las-vegas-shooting.html.

5 comments:

  1. I agree with you with the point made that the reason for more gun sales after a mass shooting is because of the possibility the government and congress could take away our second amendment rights to own and use fire arms. One of the reasons for people not wanting more gun regulations though is because of how it hasn't worked in American cities in resent years. The city of Chicago is one of the most gun regulated cities in the world and yet in the month of September this year there were 67 gun deaths. This the results in approximately the same deaths of the Las Vegas shooting. That is like every month a major mass shooting occurs in the city with the strictest gun laws in America. This is why the demand for guns will increase as many Americans understand why gun laws will hurt the country not help.

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  2. It's really interesting to read that the more shootings there are, the more people will want to own guns. As you mentioned, it seems as if it is the opposite of what should happen, however since the second amendment allows for people to own guns, I can see why people would feel the urge to get one. And, because of that reason of self-defense it seems more than likely that a lot of people would be against stricter gun regulations. Therefore, I agree with your statement that it will be a long time before congress will agree on a way to solve the gun issue.

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  3. This is really relevant how you tied the facts from the recent events in Las Vegas to the impact of the gun market which were shocking. The facts are truly shocking on how much the demand for guns have increased. Also, you mention the point that it will be a while before legislation takes action. I agree with that statement especially with a new president in office, this will impact the timing of setting gun laws.

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    1. It's crazy to think that the demand for guns has increased since the shooting. The government changing the gun laws would probably increase the demand for black market gun shopping. This is a really good article to relate to economics because it relates to what we have been learning these past few weeks, including supply, demand and scarcity.

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  4. I liked the quotes you used as they are relevant to what Americans are saying. I'm actually not shocked that the more shootings there are, the more people that want guns because when tragedies such as what recently happened in Las Vegas happens, people want to be more prepared for if they may need to protect themselves or others. Overall, I agree with you that the government is going to take a really long time to make a decision about what they want to do ofr gun laws, because it is not a simple fix to abolish guns.

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