It’s looking more and more like the legalization of concealed carry in Wisconsin on November 1 wasn’t just a good thing for personal defense. And second amendment rights. It was also a boon to the local economy. The added traffic and sales at a recent gun show in Green Bay revealed just how much pent up demand there was in the Badger State. Dealers and firearms trainers there are doing land office business. So why not spread the wealth?
The gun show was seeing higher traffic and more sales than ever. And dealers from all around the Midwest were there to cash in. From greenbaygazette.com:
“I’ve been at these shows before myself and no one was looking for small guns then,” said Kurt Munchoff of Nelson Tactical, 1367 Velp Ave. in Green Bay.
Tom Hardell of Tom’s Military Arms & Gun Shop Discount Store in Fond du Lac was expecting plenty of handgun sales during the show. He sold two handguns within the first hour and a half.
“Sales are up — way up,” he said.
And it’s not just heater dealers that are seeing more shekels in the til.
Concealed carry also has triggered a new business opportunity for area gun ranges.
George Butz Jr. of Wisconsin Tactical Training has been planning to open a gun range in Grand Chute for about two years. His original plan was to use the range for law enforcement training, but the rising interest in concealed carry showed him there’s a need for a place where civilians can practice shooting.
“There’s a huge interest. I’m already getting phone calls on a daily basis,” he said. “It only made sense that I went down the civilian route.”
So why should cheddarheads be the only one to benefit? If so much business is being done in relatively small Green Bay, just imagine the economic dynamo that would be unleashed with a little gun law liberalization in – oh, I don’t know – New York? Maybe California? Those are just a couple of states that immediately come to mind.
The federal government racked up a trillion dollars in “stimulus” spending with no discernible effect. Can anyone say where those dollars went? What jobs were created? There seems to be a general correlation between states with stricter gun control laws and higher unemployment rates. Surely those cash-strapped jurisdictions would be only too happy to have the added sales taxes and jobs that would result from relaxed gun laws. Right?