The grand jury decision on Darren Wilson is coming any day now, and Missouri is on edge: this week, Governor Jay Nixon preemptively declared a 30-day state of emergency in order to bring in the National Guard, and St. Louis County police have been furiously buying up gear since Michael Brown was shot and killed in August. They aren't the only ones.
The Associated Press reports that just about everyone is going a little gun-crazy in advance of the decision, which is expected to spark a new round of demonstrations in Ferguson. One gun store owner told the AP that the prospect of more protests has nearly tripled his sales:
Metro Shooting Supplies, in an area near the city's main airport, reports selling two to three times more weapons than usual in recent weeks an average of 30 to 50 guns each day while the jury prepares to conclude its three-month review of the case that sparked looting and weeks of sometimes-violent protests in August.
"We're selling everything that's not nailed down," owner Steven King said. "Police aren't going to be able to protect every single individual. If you don't prepare yourself and get ready for the worst, you have no one to blame but yourself."
Another store owner, whose shop sits on West Florissant Avenue, in the heart of earlier protests, said he has "Probably sold more guns this past month than all of last year."
Evidence for the spike isn't just anecdotal. St. Louis County police report a sudden increase in in issued concealed-carry permits as well:
From May through July, the county issued fewer permits compared with 2013, records show. But from Aug. 1 through Nov. 12, officials issued 600 more permits, including more than twice as many in October as a year earlier. Fifty-three more permits were issued in the first eight business days of November than in all of November 2013.
Police spokesman Brian Schellman said "it would be naive" to say the increase has not been driven by concern over the grand jury decision.
Organizers say they plan for non-violent protests if Wilson is not indicted, but lord knows there will be plenty of armed-to-the-teeth cops and National Guardsmen pointing weapons at them just in case. I guess the only way to ensure demonstrations stay truly peaceful is for every paranoid ordinary Missourian to have a shiny new gun in his hand, too.
