Rhode Islanders Keep Stocking Up On Guns

WEST WARWICK, RI - JULY 9: A Glock pistol on display at Heritage Gun & Coin on July 9, 2020 in West Warwick, RI. Background checks for firearms and applications to buy handguns in Rhode Island soared to new heights last month, in a tumultuous year that began with the coronavirus pandemic and a flailing economy, and now civil unrest over racial injustice and demands to defund the police. rethink police budgets. The gun-buying surge began in March, as the pandemic hit and states including Rhode Island began shutting down their economy. People were buying firearms and ammunition like they were hoarding toilet paper. Rhode Island led the nation with the biggest percentage increase in background checks that month. (Photo by David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)