Nevertheless, guns are being bought with the feeling that they will make
the buyer safer. Scott Abraham, a Long Island investment broker in his
30's, said he never dreamed of buying a gun until Sept. 11. Last month he
bought a Mossberg shotgun because ``I don't want to be caught
shorthanded,'' and made a spot to hide it in his house. Thomas M. Iasso,
53, a former police officer who stopped carrying a gun two years ago,
bought a .40-caliber Glock after the terrorist attacks - and carries it.
``You can't sit there and tell me you can protect me anymore because you
can't,'' Mr. Iasso said, explaining his purchase.
Both Mr. Abraham and Mr. Iasso bought their guns at John Jovino Gun Shop,
the city's oldest, in Little Italy. The shop owner, Anthony F. Imperato,
said there has been a steady increase in potential customers expressing
interest in obtaining a New York City pistol or shotgun permit. Other
people, with permits, want additional weapons, and some people just want
to buy self-defense equipment, like pepper spray.
At Mr. Imperato's gun factory, Henry Repeating Arms Company in Brooklyn,
there has been a run on the Henry U.S. Survival Rifle since Sept. 11. It
was first manufactured four years ago but its ``name and style and
features make it particularly desirable'' now, Mr. Imperato said. The
components of the gun, a version of the United States Air Force AR-7, can
be disassembled and placed in its stock, which is waterproof and floats.
Gun shops and distributors across the country tell similar stories. Local
reports in several states, including Texas, Nevada and Virgina, said
officials have cited increases in gun sales, and in applications for
concealed-weapons permits in the days immediately after the attacks.
Members of the Air Line Pilots Association may soon be allowed to carry
firearms in their cockpits.
According to Andrew M. Molchan, the director of the 4,000-member
Professional Gun Retailers Association in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., firearms
retailers have seen significant jumps in sales, especially among
first-time buyers and the wealthy.
``Maybe they had more to protect or maybe they had more to lose, or,
psychologically, they thought they had more to lose,'' Mr. Molchan said.
In a survey done about 10 days after the September attacks, the National
Shooting Sports Foundation found that 15 percent of gun retailers who were
questioned had reported sales increases of more than 25 percent, said
Douglas Painter, executive director of the 1,800-member, Connecticut-based
organization. The majority of those retailers were in places close to the
attacks, like New York City and Washington, as well as in Florida, where
some of the terrorists are believed to have lived for a time, he said.
Now the big question is how long the increase in sales will continue.
Opinion is split. Many retailers say the buying habits may be affected by
global events. ``Only time will tell if this current increase in sales
will be long-term.''Mr. Painter said.
Some gun retailers say that sales have already begun to level off or
decrease in recent days, and that they do not think overall gun sales for
the year will break records.
The F.B.I. statistics show increases in the number of background checks
for firearms sales and other transactions from September through November.
But they had increased very slightly in August as well.