Gun shops report heavy business

NORTH BRANFORD, Conn. (WTNH) -- The tragedy at Sandy Hook has lawmakers on both a state and federal level talking about gun control. Certain types of weapons may end up being banned and that has gun enthusiasts flocking to gun stores to stock up.

Across the country and here in Connecticut gun shops are reporting heavy business. In fact, News 8 spoke with one owner today who tells us this weekend, the line was almost out the door.

Chances are Arnie Willhite could keep this "OPEN" sign lit for twenty-four hours, and he'd get customers through the night. 

"The increase started a number of years ago, it's been a steady increase. It seems the rate of increase is ramping up all the time," Willhite said.

The simple laws of economics, supply and demand, are in effect at Arnie's "Connecticut Sporting Arms" store in North Branford, yet for some models of weaponry, assault rifles for example, there is far more demand than supply.

"Thursday we had a full wall and more supply to go into it but at this point, it's barren," Willhite said.

It wasn't long after the tragedy that at the state level and the congressional level people started talking about gun control. What it has done though, is it's brought consumers out to buy things, order things that many think they won't be able to get anymore.

"We need to do something to effectively ban assault weapons. I'm talking about weapons that are not designed for self-defense or hunting, but rather for killing and maiming human beings often as many as possible, as fast as possible," Blumenthal said.

Opinions like those from Senator Richard Blumenthal are the reason why many are heading to gun stores.  Arnie's "OPEN" sign will stay lit, he has a loyal customer base and a diverse inventory. The question for his future, just what exactly will he be allowed to sell?

"The firearms sales seems to be growing for a number of reasons, an awful lot of it is fear. Fear of the economy, fear of home invasions, fear of legislation, it's just a very uneasy society right now," Willhite said.