SMYRNA, Ga. — Sales have spiked at some gun stores in Georgia – a backlash to efforts to write stricter gun laws.
"The way this president is driving this country, everybody need to be carrying at this point," Carl Brecker, a Powder Springs gun owner who'd just completed a purchase at Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna, said.
At the firearms superstore, sales are up 30% since last week. Assault rifle sales have tripled, Eric Wallace, a manager at the store, said. "Especially first thing this morning, folks were waiting at the door to purchase AR-15s," Wallace said Friday.
AR-15s top some lists for those who want to restrict gun sales in light of their use in mass shootings across the country. Yet the assault rifle's deadly qualities also draw gun enthusiasts seeking a self-defense tool.
"If you deal with a mob of people possibly trying to take over your home," Wallace said, "to protect your family, you’ll want as much firepower as you can get. I think it’s a great choice."
Trevor Gainey walked out of the store with a new AR-15.
"It's America's rifle," Gainey said. "It’s a good choice to defend your home with," adding that he bought it more "as a collector's item."
Some buyers say there is room for greater government control over firearms sales.
"I do think we have to have more stringent laws when it comes to keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill," gun owner John Fulcher of Mableton said.
But others view compromise on gun laws as dangerous.
"This is crazy what's going on right now," Carl Brecker of Powder Springs said. "People want to give up their second amendment rights? Might as well just put the handcuffs on everybody."