Cinnaminson Gun Shop Owners Preach Safety As Sales Increase

CINNAMINSON, NJ — At a time when sales of firearms are reaching what some call unprecedented levels, a gun shop in Cinnaminson and a local firearms instructor are both delivering the same message: stay calm and be safe.

“People are genuinely afraid,” said Melissa Deeney, who co-owns Legacy Indoor Range and Armory with Andrew Proctor in Cinnaminson. “We spend a lot of time with our customers when they first come in. We ease that fear. We want them to make an educated decision. We don’t want people to let panic or fear overtake their decision. We want them to get the instruction they need.”

“I tell them what they see on TV is just that,” said Corey Jones, who runs Safetyman Security Consulting in nearby Marlton. “I tell them it’s not likely to happen in their neighborhood. I bring them back to reality. I don’t want them running around scared, thinking something’s going to happen to them.”

Amid a global health pandemic and a period of social unrest across the country, people are afraid. It’s showing in sales of firearms.

Jones was in law enforcement for 27 years and has been a firearms' instructor for 18, and he has one word for what he has seen the past few months: “Unprecedented. I never expected anything like this.”

Sales of firearms increased in New Jersey when the pandemic began, but they made a big leap when the summer months began.

According to the FBI, firearms sales in New Jersey went from 8,548 in February to 10,922 in March. It dropped slightly in April and May, but hit 13,578 in June; 14,414 in July; and 16,954 in August. Last year, there were 7,721 gun sales in New Jersey in August, and sales never exceeded double digits in a single month.

And sales are already set to exceed what they were for all of last year in the Garden State. New Jersey has already seen 91,482 firearms sales for the first eight months of 2020. For all of 2019, there were 91,257.

The increase in sales appears to have coincided with the protests that followed George Floyd’s death. While protests in New Jersey were mostly peaceful, there were instances of violence surrounding the protests, including in Atlantic City and Trenton.

“People are afraid of lawlessness,” Jones said.

“People are genuinely afraid,” Deeney said.

Increased demand has also caused a backlog, Deeney said. New Jersey has strict background checks that can take up to 30 days in normal circumstances. Now, it can be months, and that scares people who are already afraid, she said.

“Panic begets panic,” Deeney said. “It becomes a wave, and then that wave gets bigger.”

This makes it even more crucial to make sure each person has the right firearm for their needs, Deeney said. They will train new and experienced firearms owners at Legacy, which has been open in Cinnaminson for four years. They also send some to Jones.

Deeney said she’s seen homeowners who are concerned about protecting their homes and their families, and business owners who are concerned about protecting their businesses.

Jones said he recently began training an older woman who is buying a firearm for the first time because her husband is no longer able to protect their home.

He said he’ll make different recommendations to people based on their needs. For someone who is out and can’t bring a firearm everywhere they go, he might recommend carrying a taser. He said what he offers is an emergency action plan, and a gun is just another piece of that.

“Before you purchase anything, you should speak to a professional to make sure you get the right answer for your security and protection,” Jones said.

“When people are afraid, we work hard to make sure we can put them at ease,” Deeney said. “We want people to make an educated decision.”