Gun store owners say they are selling fewer guns since the 2016 presidential election. Some are calling the drop a “Trump slump.” Sales of guns slowed after Donald Trump was elected president, ending fears that a Democratic president would strengthen guns laws. Lawmakers in Congress and some business leaders are discussing new gun laws after a gunman killed 17 people at a Florida high school on February 14.

In past years, mass killings by gunmen have caused an increase in gun sales. Observers think this could be because people were worried about new government restrictions on gun ownership. But things are different after the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida: “The day after the election, it’s just like somebody turned a faucet off,” said David Dobransky. The 67-year-old owns Dobransky Firearms, a small gun shop in North Canton, Ohio.

Since the election, sales there have been cut in half. Nothing the president or Congress has done or said following the Florida shooting has helped business.

Gun owners believe that Trump will not increase restrictions, gun show owners say. That is the case even with the conflicting messages Trump has sent about gun laws in recent weeks.

Aliqismet BADALOV,
“Khalq qazeti”