Robyn Sandoval, a suburban mother who lives outside of Austin, Texas, says she has supported Joe Biden for many years. But not this year.
“This year, I am following the issues and my vote is going to be on the issues, and not the candidate,” Sandoval explained. “It is really frightening given the passion Biden has for taking away guns away from Americans.”
Joe Biden – who claims to be a moderate – is an extremist on the issue of firearms. His campaign website says he plans to ban the manufacture, sale, and possession of a host of popular semiautomatic firearms, including the most popular one of all, the AR-15. For anyone who currently owns such guns, Biden’s plan calls for government confiscation, unless gun owners pay a $200 tax and register their firearms with a national data base.
“It is truly frightening for someone who values our Second Amendment rights,” said Sandoval. “Biden wants to take away our guns.”
Sandoval is a firearms instructor and the executive director of A Girl & A Gun Shooting League, a group of more than 6,000 women gun owners. She said a Biden presidency would significantly impact her family.
“My daughter is battling cancer and we try to save every penny to navigate that journey,” she said. “Firearms training is my passion and career. Biden’s plan would end my career and put my family at risk.”
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, gun sales and interest in firearms training have surged. FBI data showed that 2.6 million guns were purchased in March alone (an 85% increase on the same period last year), with Illinois leading with close to 500,000 purchases, followed by Texas, Kentucky, Florida, and California. In May, Ammo.com reported about a 1,000% increase in firearm sales in Colorado, Arizona, and Texas since late February. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) surveyed firearm retailers about trends they were seeing. The May 2020 survey results estimated that 40% of sales were to first-time gun owners, and that 40% of the first-time gun buyers were women.
Sandoval’s group saw a corresponding increase in their membership. In July 2020, memberships were up 150% over the previous year. To better understand what was driving the interest in firearms, in July, the group surveyed more than 6,000 of their members. They found that 43% of women joined A Girl & A Gun to practice self-defense skills, and 92% were in the process of obtaining or already have acquired their concealed or open carry permits.
The survey showed that the number one reason new members purchased a gun and joined was for personal protection. “They are worried about riots and chaos and their ability to defend their families,” Sandoval explained.
The second most common reason was fear of gun bans in the upcoming presidential election. “The concerns among new gun owners are palpable, they are acting on them,” she concluded.
In sharp contrast to Biden’s proposed gun bans, President Donald Trump has been a staunch supporter of gun rights. During his presidency, he has resisted calls to back gun control legislation and has repeatedly promised voters he will protect the Second Amendment.
Joe Biden not only voted for the 1994 assault weapons ban, he wrote the bill. If he is allowed back into the White House, gun bans will be his top priority. As we’ve seen in recent months with the pandemic and rise of domestic terrorist groups such as Antifa, Americans are genuinely afraid for their personal safety. With his running mate, Kamala Harris, supporting cutting $150 million from the Los Angeles Police Department, this team’s policies would leave law-abiding Americans defenseless.
Catherine Mortensen is the Vice President of Communications at Americans for Limited Government.
