Gun sales rise sharply in wake of Arizona shooting

[cali]

While the killing of six people and the wounding of 14 others in Tucson, Arizona, last Saturday has led to nationwide soul-searching about the nature of the political debate in the US, one group of Americans have profited from the shooting rampage: gun dealers.

In the days since the tragedy, gun sales have increased dramatically. According to figures obtained from the FBI by Bloomberg, some 263 handguns were sold in Arizona the day after the killings, a rise of 60% on a year ago. Handgun sales were up 65% to 395 in Ohio and nationally increased by about 5% to 7,906.

The spike in sales has been particularly pronounced for precisely the model of gun and ammunition deployed by the shooter, Jared Lee Loughner, on Saturday: the Austrian-made Glock 19. The handgun is used by many law enforcement agencies in the US, including the NYPD.

It is light, powerful, accurate and easy to shoot at high speed. Since a ban on assault weapons was allowed to lapse in 2004, it can legally be equipped with an extended magazine that holds 33 bullets.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/12/gun-sales-rise-arizona-shooting