As the assault weapons debate rages on across the country, sales of AR-15 rifles are sharply on the rise across the state.
“Stock is good right now,” Eric Wallace of Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna recently told Fox5Atlanta.com. “I am going to buy more.”
In particular, Wallace contends the store has sold three times its typical number of AR-15 rifles since the high-velocity gun was linked to a string of mass shootings across the country, including one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas where 21 people were killed.
Wallace said the gun remains popular because of its features including a low recoil and accuracy. The weapon also allows the user to fire dozens of rounds before reloading.
“I just sold an AR to my buddy,” gun owner John Hammond added after recently making the hour-long trip from Griffin to Cobb County in search of his next gun selection. “I don’t want him to be without protection.”
At the same time, President Joe Biden has called for a ban on the weapons and if that movement falls short the White House is pushing for the age to purchase such a weapon to be raised from 18 to 21.
A growing number of republican lawmakers are already on record in being opposed to the president’s proposals out of fear it would infringe on the Second Amendment rights of many Americans.
