Home › News ›

In Crime-Ravaged Memphis, Business At Gun Shops Is Good

Posted by: Alex Pearlstein

20 November 2006 - 1:00pm

Crime-weary residents of all ages, races and sexes are increasingly choosing to protect themselves by purchasing guns and learning to shoot them. Happiest about the trend are the owners of the city's gun shops.

"Crime pays. Or at least it does for businesses dedicated to helping people protect themselves in a place rated the second-most violent in America, according to the FBI's national report for 2005. That report showed the Memphis metro area recorded 1,197 violent crimes per 100,000 residents, trailing only Florence, S.C."

Memphis' high crime rate is causing many residents to resort to new levels of self-defense. "In 2000, 3,916 Shelby County residents had handgun carry permits. Five years later, in 2005, that number had more than doubled to 7,838. This year, permits are on pace to hit 8,000."

Classes at shooting ranges are typically full, with some booked weeks in advance.

Full Story: In crime-pocked Memphis, the good guys -- and women -- get ready
Source: Memphis Commercial-Appeal, November 19, 2006
»
Bookmark and Share
“
And many of us – the majority, in fact – find ourselves living in a drive-only landscape, where we must burn gas even to reach a transit stop, if one exists.
”