When terrorism strikes victims are often unsuspecting and helpless. The reports of such attacks often make others feel anger towards the perpetrators of such attacks and in some instances can motivate individuals to seek out personal protection in the form of guns. Many see reports of terrorist activities on television or read about events in the newspapers and vow that should a similar situation happen to them, they will be ready. This can result in a large increase in gun sales following a well-publicized terrorist attack. This natural response to a perceived increased threat on personal safety can help stimulate the growth of companies related to the production of guns and weapons as well as ammunition.

Training

The increase in the number of new gun owners means that there will be an influx of people who want to learn how to effectively use a gun. This translates into shooting clubs, shooting instructors, and safety instructors being supplied with a larger clientele base.

Government Response

While the number of individuals that own a gun tends to increase following a terrorist attack, there is a higher level of scrutiny on gun control. The government of a country will usually respond to terrorist activity be reevaluating their current gun control statutes in order to prevent guns from being sold to terrorists. This can result in the tightening of gun control laws and may dissuade citizens from trying to purchase a gun due to the increased amount of red tape that is associated with purchasing a gun.

Outcome

The overall economic outcome of such a combination of events makes it difficult to predict how gun sales will react in response to terrorist activities. On one hand there are more people who are motivated to buy a gun for protection. On the other hand, gun control laws usually become more stringent and can deter those that are not highly motivated from going through the necessary background checks and procedures that are created by a government in response to terrorism. Thus, each individual case is different and no country’s reaction is exactly the same in regards to gun control and terrorism. Therefore, there is no hard and fast way to predict whether terrorism has a positive or negative effect on gun sales across the board.