Controversy surrounding gun control raised in wake of Orlando shooting
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — California already has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, including a ban on assault weapons, but in the wake of the mass shootings across the nation, more people are frequenting gun ranges and buying guns.
A gun shop in Georgia has seen a spike in AR-15 sales — from two a day to 15 an hour. A Pennsylvania dealer has sold 15 thousand AR-15’s since Sunday’s massacre.
A gunman stormed pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida Sunday in what has been called the deadliest shooting in American history — 49 killed. 53 injured. The AR-15 used was legally obtained, but some say this could have been prevented with stricter gun laws.
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut launched a filibuster Wednesday to try to force a vote on a bill to keep terrorists from buying guns.
“Having come through the experience in Newtown, I’ve had enough,” Murphy said on the Senate floor.
Related Link: Connecticut senator takes the Senate floor, demands decision on gun control
The owner of the Florida gun store where the AR-15 was purchased in the Orlando slaying says he followed proper protocol. A background check is required by law to obtain a handgun.
“We do a background check with the Department of Justice,” Ari Belkin from the Gun Range San Diego said.
One local gun shop owner says every gun store has the right to refuse service to anyone.
“When a customer comes in to pick up their firearm we don’t have to give them their gun,” Stephanie Gilreath from Imperial Beach Guns said. “If they are acting out of character, if they’re angry, if they’re fidgety, if we just get that weird feeling that something’s not right, we do, as the last ditch effort to protect the people, have the right to refuse to give this person a firearm, whether they pass that background check or not.”
With gun sales on the rise- she suggests that it’s not from the increase in gun violence, rather from the threat of limitations.
Some gun enthusiasts aren’t convinced that stricter laws will eliminate other tragedies from happening.
“If you look at history, criminals are always going to obtain weapons, illegal or not,” Belkin said. “Criminals don’t follow laws. They’re going to obtain a weapon, and stricter gun laws aren’t going to prevent that.”
