Assault weapon ban discussed; sales up

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - At Silver Bullet Firearms in Wyoming, the lines were long Tuesday. It took up to an hour and a half to get to the counter.

Many of those gun enthusiasts were making purchases after comments have been made about a possible ban on semi-automatic rifles.

In the wake of the Friday Connecticut mass shooting that killed 26, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein promised Sunday on NBC's Meet The Press that she would call for a reinstatement of the federal ban on semi-automatic rifles that expired in 2004.

The president has said he favors its reinstatement, though the administration has so far not made that push.

And in Michigan Tuesday,  Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed a bill that would have expanded concealed carry permits, allowing those who underwent enhanced training to carry a concealed weapon on school property.

At a city commission meeting Tuesday, Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell called out the gun lobby and called for a ban on so-called assault style weapons.

"No sportsman or sportswoman needs to possess a weapon capable of firing dozens of rounds of deadly ammunition per minute," Heartwell. "No rational human being in light of the slaughter of the innocence in Newtown should raise a voice of objection to such a ban."

He demanded gun control at the state and national level.

"Now is the time to end the violence," he said. "Now is the time to get behind meaningful gun control. let's not sacrifice even one more child in our national obsession with guns."

High-profile shootings the one at Sandy Hook Elementary may serve as a catalyzing moment in what has been a fairly dormant gun debate.

All of this has had sports shooters heading for the front door of local gun shops to get ahead of a potential ban.

There were records set Monday for one-day gun sales in several states. Michigan State Police said Tuesday that they do not track requests for background checks.

One Silver Bullet Firearms employee told 24 Hour News 8 the Tuesday long lines were unusual. Customers waited around an hour and a half to make their selections.

"In the seven years that I have been at Silver Bullet this is the biggest rush I have ever seen," said Mike Visser, an instructor at Silver Bullet.

Several people were seen purchasing the AR-15, a semi-automatic rifle. One employee behind the counter told a customer that he anticipates the store will be sold out of that model of firearm by the end of the week.

James Arnett was one of the few who bought an AR-15 who agreed to express his sentiment on camera.

"It looks like the government is getting ready to step all over our rights again and I don't like that, so I am here to exercise my right as an American," said Arnett.

The AR-15 is a popular firearm. It is a gun of choice among target shooters and law enforcement.

Firearms professionals and sports say that there are many who enjoy the AR-15's attributes as a competition firearm and hunting rifle. They say now those shooters are concerned that soon they will not be able to legally purchase semi automatics.

While it is an inescapable fact that the AR-15 was one of the weapons used in the Connecticut shooting,  gun professionals and sports shooters do not consider the AR-15 a weapon.

"These are not weapons," said Visser. "Anything can be used as a weapon. These are strictly a tool."

The renewed call for a ban is taking its toll on gun makers. Stock prices of the two publicly-traded manufactures have taken a tumble since the Sandy Hook shooting. Should the ban become law, those companies could be facing economic disaster.

It is to soon to tell what a ban may look like or when it could take effect.