With the Year 2000 rollover barely eight months away, firearm sales are at record levels. Across the country, dealers and manufacturers all point to a common reason: Y2K. "We've quadrupled our [civilian] sales compared to last year," said Tom Spithaler, sales associate at Olympic Arms -- a manufacturer of both civilian and military firearms.

From Colt to Mossberg, sales are reaching record levels that almost no one anticipated. Where backlogs didn't exist last year, they're now months long. Customers are having a difficult time ordering what they want, and the shortage is also hurting efforts of police departments to buy needed firearms.

With three groups getting armed this year: law enforcement, civilians and the military, one question screams out: why?

But first, on the firearms issue, today we've teamed up with www.triggerlock.com to provide free gun locks to new customers who purchase the Y2K On-Line Preparedness Community during the month of May. With every purchase, a customer receive a certificate for a free "Master Lock" trigger lock (model 90) worth $11.21. We've also issued a public safety press release on this matter. Visit Y2KSUPPLY.COM for the full text of the press release.

Triggerlock.com is funding the donation of these locks in the interest of public safety. Tony Hodge, spokesperson for the company, agrees with Y2KNEWSWIRE: safety is critical. If you're going to own firearms, learn how to safely store and use them. Restrict access to children. And use a trigger lock.

Back to the story...

LAW ENFORCEMENT GETTING ARMED
It's true: police departments around the country are getting armed this year. While few would directly state this is due to Year 2000 concerns, the timing is difficult to overlook. After all, Virgin Airways now says they'll ground their planes on December 31, but it isn't Y2K-related in any way. Just coincidence, they say. Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin, tried to explain it like this: "...both passengers and staff are telling us that they would like the opportunity to fly to be with friends and family, but that they want to celebrate the day itself in peace." Huh?

Nevertheless, police departments are getting armed because of Y2K. At least that's what we're being told by active law enforcement officials who contacted Y2KNEWSWIRE through the "tips" e-mail address. Here are the reasons why:

Reason #1: They anticipate disorder. Law enforcement officials are under-paid and over-worked. They'll also be stretched thin if things get out of hand during Y2K. Police officers are telling us they anticipate public parties getting out of hand, requiring the use of force. But that's not the biggest worry...

Reason #2: The power might go out. Most law enforcement officials probably agree with Y2KNEWSWIRE: the whole country won't go black. But power will indeed be disrupted in some areas. Police officers are concerned about what might happen if power is lost in a major city where crowds are partying in the streets. To prevent these situations from getting out of control, they may have to resort to force.

Reason #3: Opportunism. Criminals are waiting for the lights to go out during Y2K. Why? If 911 doesn't work and the power is out, Y2K becomes a free-for-all for looters and thieves. Just look at the events following the Rodney King verdict in L.A. a few years back. Police officers are extremely concerned that would-be criminals are just waiting to "test the system" during the Y2K rollover.

These are the main reasons police departments are getting armed. The money isn't all being spent on guns, either. Sales of pepper spray are up, too. Pepper spray is most often used for crowd control, by the way. We'd also bet that sales of plastic handcuffs are up, although we have no numbers on this.

MILITARY GETTING ARMED
The military is purchasing record numbers of firearms this year, too. We attempted to get actual numbers from Colt, the most popular manufacturer of military rifles in this country, but were unable to receive numbers in time for this writing. Rumors are circulating that the military has pre-empted all civilian rifle orders from Colt, but we could not confirm this. In any case, there is already a backlog on new rifles, civilian or otherwise.

We did, however, confirm an increase in the military's purchase of urban-assault training rifles from another firearms manufacturer. These military training rifles are being shipped to Fort Benning, Georgia, where they are used to help train military special forces such as Delta, Ranger, SEAL, and other SpecOps forces.

These "urban assault" weapons are configured for building-to-building fighting: collapsible stocks, fully-automatic fire, smaller calibers (such as 9mm), and so on. Essentially: SWAT guns. Of course, with the war in Kosovo going on, the military has a potential justification for an increase in firearms purchases. But why the increase in urban assault rifles? Are military leaders planning a ground assault that engages U.S. forces in block-by-block city warfare? Or is the military simply updating its armament to more modern configurations?

Many Y2K theorists have supposed that the military is actually gearing up for action in the United States in some way. We can only see two realistic possibilities here:

Possibility #1: Military help in breaking up riots. If law enforcement can't handle outbreaks of violence (see above), the military may be called in to help. Since you only have riots in cities, the urban firearms makes sense here. After all, you can't send unarmed soldiers to break up riots: they'll need firepower.

Possibility #2: Military help in delivering supplies. The military is very, very good at distributing resources. Every war, for example, hinges on the timely distribution of fuel, ammo and rations. No organization can get food and water to the people faster than the U.S. military, and they may in fact be called upon to do so. Unfortunately, with few people actually preparing for Y2K, any disruption in food or water supplies will require the near-instant help of the military. And that's likely the way soldiers will be introduced to U.S. cities: as an armed Red Cross.

CIVILIANS GETTING ARMED
Not to be forgotten in all this, the civilian population is also getting armed: and it's not just people who already own guns. Y2K is encouraging new people to obtain a handgun or shotgun. In an interesting twist, some of these are people who previously supported gun bans.

Civilian gun sales are so high, in fact, that backlogs are widespread and ammunition is becoming more difficult to purchase. The .223 caliber cartridge, for example, has been in high demand. One importer of high-quality ammunition recently sold out of an entire container-load (a large international shipping container) of ammunition in just two weeks. The next shipment isn't expected for at least a month.

Clearly, civilians are buying up firearms and ammo. But why, exactly?

Y2KNEWSWIRE talked with gun shops, firearms customers, and preparedness members in an attempt to answer this question. We're basically hearing three answers:

Answer #1: To shoot pests who are disturbing my garden. This is the "guns-as-tools" answer, and it's a legitimate concern. When pioneers settled the American West, most had a firearm of some sort. Why? Because you starve if some critter eats your garden... or if the fox gets your chickens. A gun was a survival tool then, and now.

Answer #2: To defend my family against criminals, because the police won't be able to help. Here again, we see a legitimate concern. What if the law enforcement scenario mentioned above actually happens? Criminals may decide to "test the system" and see how much they can get away with before the police can stop them. In this scenario, the general public will be helpless. That is, unless they are armed -- and that's the reason they're getting armed. In an interesting twist, the local police may actually end up thanking these armed citizens for stopping criminals.

Answer #3: To defend against tyranny. A smaller number of people are purchasing firearms to defend the people against what they perceive as potential "government tyranny." They are supposing that the U.S. government will use Y2K as an opportunity to suspend the Constitution, declare martial law, and turn the USA into a dictatorship. Historically, the people arming due to this concern are not out of line: the 1st Amendment was created to protect freedom by removing control of the press from the government. The 2nd Amendment, likewise, was created to protect freedom by removing overwhelming firepower from the government. Didn't know this? During the Revolutionary War (circa 1775), it was an armed colonial population that drove off the out-of-control British government and established a basis for freedom that would later become the United States of America. Read up on it by clicking here.

So, historically, this doesn't seem as bizarre as it might first sound. However, by far more people are stating reasons #1 and #2 for their firearms purchase rather than reason #3.

These are the primary three reasons, then, why people are purchasing firearms. As a result, more American civilians will be armed after 1999 than in any recent year.

All these activities by the police, the military and the people have some side-effects. We've identifies potential problems and benefits:

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS
The only major problem here seems to be the new ownership of firearms by people won't take the time to properly learn how to use them and store them. Some accidents will occur, no doubt. These accidents will be blamed on the guns rather than their owners. In reality, however, it is each person's responsibility to use and store firearms in a safe manner.

We will probably also see isolated incidents of some person shooting a family member they mistakenly thought was a looter. At the same time, firearms will certainly be used in many cases to actually warn off (or shoot) criminals. But these will largely go unreported because a non-event isn't "news."

POSSIBLE BENEFITS
Benefits? What benefit could possibly come from an armed military, police force and population? On the civilian side, here's one: the crime-stopping effect of firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens. While the recent school shooting in Denver has grabbed headlines, what's never mentioned is the armed school administrator in another school-shooting incident who actually shot the rampaging student, preventing him from killing even more people.

Should criminals have a free run during the Y2K rollover, the positive impact of law-abiding, armed citizens could be tremendous. These people, of course, will only use guns in self-defense, not out of aggression. As a result, any looter working a neighborhood where people have guns is bound to be wounded or killed sooner or later. For example, if every 10th house is armed, the looter basically stands a 10% chance of meeting an armed defender in each house.

This will encourage looters and other criminals to attack people in cities and counties where they think guns are not widely owned. And this, in fact, is the mechanism of how guns dissuade criminals. Looters aren't idiots. They think about these things. They want to reduce their risk of getting shot while maximizing their risk of finding good loot. Simply put, that means hitting areas where they think people don't have guns but have lots of jewelry.

If things do get out of hand, armed citizens could prove to be a great help to the local police until the National Guard arrives.

BOTTOM LINE
By the time we reach 1/1/2000, there will be more guns in this country than we've seen in recent years. The effects of this mass-armament may determine the tone of the gun control debate for years to come. If firearms are actually used to stop criminals and protect communities, for example, this will support the notion that criminal control is a lot more effective than gun control. But if guns are used by criminals to shoot policemen and civilians, the guns will take most of the blame and we'll hear new calls to remove guns from the hands of law-abiding citizens.

Interestingly, many people who are for gun control are actually buying guns this year. The possibility that local police cannot protect their families seems to have changed their thinking on the issue. Their new line? Those people shouldn't have guns, but it's okay if I have one.

Y2K is likely to throw yet more sparks on the gun debate fire. Our advice: if you're going to buy a gun for Y2K, take the time to learn how to use it. Most important: buy the book, In the Gravest Extreme. This book forces you to understand how and when to apply lethal force. Basically, it's a primer on responsible gun use and conflict avoidance. In fact, we think this book should be required reading for all gun purchasers in every state. #1 rule: avoid all conflict if possible. That's good Y2K advice, too, come to think of it.