Colorado guns sales skyrocket after theater massacre

The recent shooting at a theater in Colorado that left at least 12 dead and 58 wounded is proving to be a boon for gun dealers.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation data show that between Thursday's shooting and Sunday, background checks for people wanting to buy firearms were up 43 percent over the same period a week earlier, The Denver Post reported on Monday.

On Friday alone, 1,216 people applied to purchase a gun. But because buyers are allowed to purchase more than one firearm, the actual number of guns sold could be even higher.

"It's been insane," Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo employee Jake Meyers told the paper. "A lot of it is people saying, 'I didn't think I needed a gun, but now I do.'"

"When it happens in your backyard, people start reassessing — 'Hey, I go to the movies.'"

Only two days after the 2011 Tucson shooting that killed six and critically injured Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), handgun sales in Arizona surged by 60 percent. As a whole, the nation saw a 5 percent spike in gun sales at the time.

Following President Barack Obama's election, the nation sold a record 9 million guns in 2009.

And as the president's possible re-election nears, sales are reportedly skyrocketing again.

Cris Parsons, who owns the Houston Armory gun shop in Texas, told ABC News that his sales were up in April by 30 to 40 percent over the previous quarter.

"He's never been pro-gun," Parsons explained, adding that Obama would have "nothing to lose" by stripping gun rights if he wins a second term.

Photo: Flickr/Pål Joakim Olsen

(h/t: Gawker)