Stocks of major US arms manufacturing companies rose this Wednesday, one day after the Texas school shooting what left 19 children and two teachers deadas investors anticipate an increase in demand due to fears of possible restrictions on arms sales.
At 10:27 local time (14:27 GMT), the shares of Smith & Wesson Brands -the largest manufacturer of short firearms in the United States- rose 9%, those of Vista Outdoor added 6.74% and those of Sturm Ruger & Company 3.46%.
Why does this happen?
This rise usually occurs when there is a mass shooting, as investors expect an increase in the purchase of weapons due to possible restrictions.
US President Joe Biden himself, visibly shaken by the news, said: “As a nation we have to ask ourselves when in God’s name are we going to stand up to gun lobbyists (and) do what we We really know what to do.”
The discussion of gun control is recurring every time there is a massacre, but he comes up against the right to “carry firearms outside the home in self-defense” enshrined in the Second Amendment of the Constitution.
And every time there is an indiscriminate shooting, not only the laxity of the laws that allow even teenagers to buy guns is debated, but also the responsibility of the arms industry itself for the death of innocent civilians.
Unstoppable shootouts
Last February, the families of nine victims of the 2012 shooting at the escuela Sandy Hook in Newton, where 26 people died -the most serious massacre in a school- reached a historic agreement to receive $73 million compensation by the Remington Arms Company, which had manufactured the AR-15-style rifle used in the massacre.
It was one of the most significant deals to date, as federal immunity for gunmakers provides a strong shield against litigation, according to the New York Times.
The National Rifle Association (NRA), an organization that wields great influence over politicians and consequently over gun laws, said nearly five million people they became members after the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012.
In the United States, you can own a gun and not be a member of the NRA. According to 2021 data, less than 20% of civilians who own guns in the US are members.
Las Gun sales increased across the country during the pandemicas some feared the outbreak could spark civil unrest.
Is there a law against possession of weapons?
Connecticut Democratic Senator and gun control advocate Chris Murphy said he would “get on his knees” to beg his colleagues to pass gun control legislation.
The House of Representatives approved last Wednesday a bill to increase the fight against terrorism intern just days after another massacre, a racist shooting in the New York town of Buffalo, in which ten people died, most of them African Americans.
The initiative, named “The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act of 2022″proposes the creation of specialized units in the FBI and in the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security to track and investigate potential domestic terrorism threats, including racist and white supremacist-related groups.
After its approval in the Lower House, with a Democratic majority, the bill now went to the Senate.