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Hawaii gun sales shooting up

By Paul Drewes - bio | email

HONOLULU (KHNL) - More people around the country and here in Hawaii are arming themselves. As the right to bear arms is once again in the center of controversy. It's an issue that is not only sparking conversation, but also getting people to buy guns.

In fact, Hawaii gun sales are off like a shot.

"Right after the general election, immediately we saw a large crowd of people coming to buy firearms. We've seen a large increase in sales as well," said Art Ong, the owner of Magnum Firearms.

While sales of handguns have increased, more buyers are also picking up semi-automatic firearms.

Why the sudden interest? Gun dealers and owners are concerned President Obama will take aim at their second amendment rights. Obama in the past, has favored banning some semi-automatic weapons.

"I think a lot of people are feeling the assault on their second amendment rights and that is why they are trying to exercise their rights while they can," says Ong.

It's one of the reasons Vince Farkas is shopping for a firearm.

"There was a specific firearm I was looking at and I wanted to make sure I acquired that in case there were any changes to the laws or requirements," says the Honolulu resident.

Gun dealers are trying to load up on inventory, but because of the greater demand for guns, costs are shooting up.

"There is an escalation in prices as our inventory is depleted because we're having a harder time replacing inventory," said Ong.

But because of the surge in sales, Magnum Firearms is on target for profits to really pop.

Gun and ammo prices are not the only things going up. Gun registration has already reached 13,061 for Oahu this year and we're on pace to top the 15,000 mark by the end of 2008.