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'We can turn a sale down if we feel someone is acting strange or says something strange' | Gun shop owner talks gun reform

In Mecklenburg County, as of May 16, the sheriff’s office had under 15 purchase permit applications in cue to process. In the last four weeks, that number jumped.

MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The debate on stricter gun measures continues in response to the recent deadly mass shootings. This week, the House passed its gun reform package and its fate is now left to the Senate.

Amid these proposals, some gun shops are seeing an uptick in foot traffic.

In Mecklenburg County, as of May 16, 2022, the sheriff’s office had under 15 purchase permit applications in cue to process. In the last four weeks, that number jumped. As of Monday, the sheriff’s office had over 240 to process.

Hyatt Coin & Gun has been in business for over 60 years. The owner Larry Hyatt isn't surprised to see the store busier and guns flying off the shelves.

"Anytime you see guns in the news… proposed gun laws -- people start thinking, 'Well, I better buy one now,' thinking, 'I might not be able to buy one later,'” Hyatt said.

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For some gun owners, it’s about safety.

“You don’t live in the world that I grew up in where you can just sleep on your porch at night, leave the doors and windows open," Bishop Artie Thompson said. "That world is gone and we need to have some manner in which people protect themselves.” 

The gun measures include raising the legal age limit to buy semi-automatic weapons from 18 to 21 years old.  

"Something needs to be done, something is better than nothing," Thompson said. "So I’m down with raising that age limit because we are losing too many babies."

Over at Hyatt Guns, it has its own restrictions for that gun.

“Our requirements here is 21, unless you are with a parent, or you are in the ROTC program," Hyatt said. "We are in an urban environment and this is not a good place to shoot. So we are a little stricter with rifles.”

Hyatt wants to see stronger background checks.

“Criminal records, military undesirable discharge are in the system but there are some records with people with severe mental health issues that are not in the background check and should be,” Hyatt expressed.

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While others want to see some weapons taken off shelves altogether.

“I’m not in the army so why would I need a powerful gun like that to protect myself,” Thompson said.

"You don’t [to] hunt with an automatic weapon so there’s no reason for a regular citizen to have an automatic weapon in my opinion,” Ron Gay, a Belmont resident who's had experience with guns since his late teens, said.

"You shouldn’t have a weapon you don’t know how to use," he continued. "You ought to take classes to learn how to handle and to store it safely. That should be mandatory."

Hyatt said the majority of his staff is ex-military and ex-police officers. He adds their biggest responsibility is to make sure guns don’t get into the wrong hands and that they take their job very seriously.

“We also have to watch and listen to the customers," Hyatt said. "We can turn a sale down if we feel someone is acting strange or says something strange."

When it comes to safety Hyatt also stresses the importance of education, training and proper gun storage.

"We want the bad people not to have guns, but the good people to be able to get them reasonably easily," Hyatt said.

Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

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