Americans face the Corona crisis with weapons

Mohammed Al-Minshawi-Washington

With the rapid spread of the emerging corona virus (Covid-19) in the United States, the acquisition of weapons has increased in fear of instability, and this may be affected by American films that talk about similar scenarios.

"I do not know how to use the weapon that I had to buy, because I did not receive military training in the past and did not join any of the hunting clubs deployed here." With these words, an American citizen of Arab origin - Al Jazeera Net - spoke to a number of shops.

The businessman who lives in Ohio and refused to mention his name revealed that the developments he sees around him led to the announcement of the movement ban and the closure of shops, prompting him to buy a 9 mm pistol, noting that he chose this type according to the advice of his neighbor who understands the types of weapons .

American laws do not prohibit the purchase of weapons for semi-automatic rifles, as are the quantity and type of ammunition and bullets that are permitted to be purchased or stored at the state level separately.

The second amendment of the constitution allowed the "right of the people to possess and carry weapons", and the Supreme Constitutional Court held that individuals were entitled to possess firearms in their homes, but it left the states responsible for organizing the process of possession and carrying them.

Purchase and justifications
In an attempt to understand the reason for the increase in arms sales, Al Jazeera Net spoke to retired teacher Mitt Merrill, who lives in the northwest of the capital, and expressed his understanding of this rise in the acquisition of weapons due to the spread of the emerging Corona virus and the accompanying panic.

"I have witnessed various crises since the 1960s, and the act of buying weapons reflects an American instinct that does not trust much in the federal and state governments, especially in times of major crises," he said.

"The nature of most of the rural states that are not crowded with cities in the west and middle of the country helps with this phenomenon. People do not live next to each other, as in crowded cities, so some people feel insecure in times of crisis."

Press reports indicated that many law enforcement agencies from the police and the army are ready to supervise hospitals and health care centers, which reduces the role of crime control in the coming days and weeks.

"In various states, it has been agreed that all cases in which asylum is sought to apprehend criminals will be eased, and police will not be dispatched in all cases that call for help," tweeted Friday Steve Castevins, director of the American Friday Police Force.

Reports from several US states indicated that drug smokers, prostitutes and petty criminals that do not include violence will be tolerated.

For its part, the major institutions of the US arms lobby (NRI) tweeted the National Society of Lovers - last Sunday, at its expense on the Twitter platform - by saying, "Americans are scrambling for gun stores now because they realize the importance of the ability to defend themselves in times of crisis."

The organization accused Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who commented on the tweet by saying, "What is happening is deplorable," and said, "The Senator does not care about the millions of law-abiding citizens who possess weapons."

Out of stock
Weapons purchases have increased dramatically since the embargo began, partial closings in some states, and complete embargoes in other states.

Al-Jazeera Net tried to enter one of the arms stores located in the Silver Spring area in Maryland, which is adjacent to Washington, but the shop had closed its doors.

A resident of the area told Al-Jazeera Net that the store was forced to close after it had run out of all its weapons and ammunition a few days ago, and that it was unable to meet any new purchase order.

And some news reports had talked about the doubling of arms sales and high prices, and the Arab businessman told Al-Jazeera Net that he had bought the pistol for five hundred dollars, and that the price of two weeks ago was not more than two hundred dollars.

A report published on the US National Radio website indicated that ammunition sales increased by 20% during the past few days, while sales of light and medium weapons increased to 400% in the same period.

The boom in arms sales was followed by a significant increase in the share of AMCO, which specializes in arms sales, so that the stock rose in March by 40%, while the shares of most American companies declined due to the consequences of the spread of the Corona virus.

Prior to the Corona crisis, sales of firearms had decreased in the past few years, partly due to a series of mass shootings across the country, which neither encouraged the purchase of weapons nor made their purchase an acceptable behavior among traditional liberal groups.

Security concerns
Al-Jazeera Net businessman expressed his annoyance with the purchase of a weapon, but stressed that he "lives in a state where weapons are spread by the occurrence of the Corona crisis, and with the expectation of thousands of citizens losing their jobs, and the possibility of imposing a full emergency, I do not know what the poor will do to those who will not be able Providing basic needs for their families. No doubt, the crime rate will increase, and I hope that the presence of weapons will increase my personal security and that of my family.

Last week, US Treasury Secretary Steve Minoshin predicted that the unemployment rate would jump from 4.5% today to more than 20% in the coming days.

The Arab businessman mentioned that some of his friends drove more than 400 km to buy weapons that were not available in Ohio.

The state of Ohio saw a significant rise in jobless claims during the first four days of last week.

More than 111,000 people in Ohio alone filled government jobless claims during the past week, to take advantage of government support for those who lose their jobs, while the number did not exceed 3,800 requests during the previous week.

"I vote for the Democrats, and I used to stress with the ease of possessing weapons, especially machinery, from them, but because of Corona and what you do in our societies, it is now more accepting the right to own arms," ​​the Arab businessman told Al Jazeera Net.

At the same time, banners were placed in front of a number of homes in the northwest Washington area - which is known for the liberalism of its residents and their rejection of the right to bear arms - calling for the non-justification of purchasing weapons at these times.