Gun sales are rising in Michigan. The buyers might surprise you

Rick Ector was teaching an eight-hour concealed pistol license course in early July, and his cellphone wouldn’t stop vibrating.

Ector had just resumed teaching in-person lessons the month before. He hadn’t advertised. But people were calling to ask about enrolling in future courses, he said.

“It’s an explosion of interest from people who want to learn about guns,” said Ector, who has worked as a firearms instructor in Detroit for 13 years. “The interest in personal protection is on a level none of us (firearm instructors) has ever seen.”

Those working in the gun industry and gun owners themselves say the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is spurring increased interest in gun ownership. Some firearm owners believe the upcoming presidential election and the need to assert gun rights contribute, too.

In the midst of these changes, gun owners are becoming more diverse. Nearly 15% of those who bought guns during the first six months of the year are Black, an increase of more than 50%, according to a survey from the trade organization National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The survey of the foundation’s members also found that between mid-March and May, women accounted for over 40% of their customers.

Gun sales are up around the country. Gun retailers saw a 95% increase in firearm sales and a 139% increase in ammunition sales in the first six months of this year compared with the same period in 2019, according to National Shooting Sports Foundation.

FBI background checks run on people purchasing a firearm or applying for a permit to carry a concealed gun were up 42% in March and nearly 70% in June of this year compared to the same periods in 2019.

The jumps coincide with the early days of the pandemic in Michigan and the death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a white Minneapolis police officer on Memorial Day.