State advocates for gun control and gun rights have stepped up their campaigns in response to the recent sniper shootings in Virginia and Maryland, said representatives from groups on both sides of the issue.
Following the attacks, Virginians Against Handgun Violence has continued to encourage the implementation of gun control legislation in two areas, VAHV Executive Director Gail Horne said.
VAHV is working to implement legislation that would close the "gun show loophole" and legislation that would bar stalkers from purchasing guns.
Both of these issues were on the organization's agenda prior to the sniper attacks, Horne said.
According to Horne, attendees at any one of Virginia's 100 annual gun shows are able to purchase guns from both federally licensed and unlicensed gun dealers. This situation creates a "loophole" by which customers can bypass the background checks required for customers to buy guns from licensed dealers.
"I want background checks implemented on any sale consistently," Horne said.
In the midst of sniper investigations, ballistic fingerprinting imaging and evaluation has become a "fundamental issue" for the Virginia Shooting Sports Association, association president Steve Canale said.
The VSSA is a state affiliate of the National Rifle Association.
VSSA supports the study currently in Congress investigating "the most effective use of law enforcement" in ballistic fingerprinting, Canale said.
Sniper investigations have yielded "a lot of unanswered questions," particularly in terms of court records and gun dealer inspections, he added.
According to Canale, VSSA supports further research into the problems of current gun sale legislation rather than the imposition of increased controls.
Local gun retailers have seen little significant change in the number of gun purchases since the shootings.
The sniper attacks have yielded "no appreciable change" in either gun sales or customer talk, said Steve Clark, owner of Clark Brothers Guns in Warrenton, Va.
Even at the time of the shootings in early October, the effects on gun sales were "minimal," Clark said.
Richard Lundgren, a gun seller with the Woodbrook Sports and Pro Shop in Charlottesville, compared the small increase in recent sales to the "sharp increase" in gun sales following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Last year "even people over 85 were getting guns," Lundgren said.
He said he attributed the stark contrast to the fact that there was a "visible enemy" in Sept. 11.
The sniper however, was an enemy that could not be seen and thus could not be fought, he said.
Both Clark and Lundgren said current increases in gun sales resulted from the start of hunting season.
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