Zombie Paranoia Drives Record Gun Sales
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Gun sales are up, and the federal government says zombies are the reason. The undead are everywhere, from hit TV shows like The Walking Dead to freakin’ Starburst commercials. No less than three major automobile manufacturers employ zombies as pitchmen in some capacity. They’re not just for low-budget horror anymore.
Nationwide on Black Friday more than 154,000 background checks were performed, which is a record. According to Dave Workman, a representative of the 2nd Amendment Foundation, “It was the largest number of background checks in a single day.”
The sheer number of background checks actually crashed the FBI’s system, two times. That’s how many people hit up the after-Thanksgiving sales to stock up on firearms.
Not only are zombies prominent in all facets of popular culture, but the Centers for Disease Control has even enlisted their services to promote greater disaster preparedness. Their stance is not as ridiculous as it seems at first glance. If you’re ready and equipped for a swarm of rampaging flesh eaters to descend upon your city, then you’ll be able to handle more real world occurrences, like floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, alien invasions, and giant robot attacks.
I’m all for being prepared for the worst, but the idea of a bunch of heavily armed people who actually believe that the dead are going to rise, is a little bit terrifying. Still, you can buy all sorts of fun zombie-related paraphernalia, like targets, special zombie guns, and green-tipped bullets, specifically for headshots. Gun clubs have even started staging zombie shooting matches.
While the current fixation on zombies isn’t entirely behind the spike in gun sales, but it is certainly playing a role. And that’s hilarious.
