With Republicans in control of the White House and Congress, gun sales have dropped and the stock of publicly traded gun manufacturers like Ruger and Smith & Wesson plunged as much as 30 percent. Put simply: "The threat is gone," as a gun store owner in Ohio told USA Today. New, more comprehensive gun control legislation is improbable as long as Republicans control Congress and the White House, and if Hillary or Obama aren't coming for our guns, there's no need to rush out and buy AR15s, extended magazines, and other popular targets of gun control restrictions."I'm trans, I'm a person of color, I'm more likely to be targeted. I'm more likely to be in a place where everyoneis being targeted, just like the Orlando folks. I was just like, damn, I need a gun more than these conservative rednecks do."
Reina Mercado shoots a custom-painted AR-15, the controversial rifle at the center of many gun-control efforts. Image: Ian Birnbaum
Mercado removes a spent shell after firing the author's shotgun.
"The news is constantly reiterating that everything is bad and everything is getting worse, but it's not really time for a civil war yet."
Jacob Kruse practices target shooting on the handgun range. Image: Ian Birnbaum
After a 45-day turnaround, Mercado got her license to carry a concealed handgun shortly after New Year's Day. "It feels better," she said. "It feels good. My friends are like, 'oh you have it on you right now?' They say that they feel better being with me." As Trump's inauguration came and went, tensions rose, and her friends started to talk with a common euphemism. "Everyone always says it the same way, I feel better being with you because of how things are. It's like a code. How things are."Kruse is also feeling the tension. "It seems like everyone's waiting for the first move to get made right now," he said. "The news is constantly reiterating that everything is bad and everything is getting worse, but it's not really time for a civil war yet."Lambert was upset by the inauguration and the aftermath of the first executive orders, so he started attending protests, where passions and anxiety run high. "At one of the protests I went to recently, these White Lives Matter guys came to Austin and they were protesting while the city unveiled an African American War Veterans memorial." The local police kept the groups separate and maintained calm, he says, "but there was one moment. I could see the White Lives Matter guys were open-carrying guns, like they do. Behind me were members of the [communist/anarchist group] Austin Red Guard with red head-coverings and a communist flag, and they were open-carrying as well." Lambert laughs. "So I'm sitting there in-between and both sides have guns, and I don't have a gun. It's not like I think more guns would necessarily help this situation, but it made me think: should I be armed? If I keep going to these protests, will having a gun make it worse? I'm still kind of debating it.""These were people with no interest in guns, not as a hobby, not as cool machines. They're scared of guns, but they feel like they need one."
Mercado shoots at a zombie hipster paper target with a sox-shot revolver. Image: Ian Birnbaum