[ti:Gun Sales Slump Since Trump’s Election] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.20]Gun store owners say they are selling fewer guns [00:05.00]since the 2016 presidential election. [00:09.72]Some are calling the drop a "Trump slump." [00:14.72]Sales of guns slowed after Donald Trump was elected president, [00:21.92]ending fears that a Democratic president would strengthen guns laws. [00:28.08]That trend has continued in recent weeks. [00:34.36]Lawmakers in Congress and some business leaders [00:38.48]are discussing new gun laws after a gunman killed 17 people [00:44.47]at a Florida high school on February 14. [00:49.60]In past years, mass killings by gunmen [00:53.28]have caused an increase in gun sales. [00:57.56]Observers think this could be because people were worried [01:02.80]about new government restrictions on gun ownership. [01:07.96]But things are different after the deadly shooting [01:11.92]at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. [01:17.64]"The day after the election, [01:19.80]it's just like somebody turned a faucet off," said David Dobransky. [01:26.20]The 67-year-old owns Dobransky Firearms, [01:31.08]a small gun shop in North Canton, Ohio. [01:36.88]Since the election, sales there have been cut in half. [01:42.60]Nothing the president or Congress has done or said [01:46.55]following the Florida shooting has helped business. [01:51.20]Gun owners believe that Trump will not increase restrictions, [01:56.08]gun show owners say. [01:58.52]That is the case even with the conflicting messages [02:02.37]Trump has sent about gun laws in recent weeks. [02:07.48]Trump has described himself as a strong supporter [02:11.60]of the National Rifle Association, or NRA. [02:17.48]But, Trump criticized lawmakers last week [02:21.44]for being too fearful of the gun rights group to take action. [02:26.94]He also announced support for positions that the NRA opposes, [02:33.20]such as banning gun sales to people under 21. [02:38.40]Soon afterward, Trump met with NRA officials [02:42.48]and tweeted they had a "Good (Great) meeting." [02:46.52]The NRA's executive director, tweeting about the same meeting, [02:52.40]said Trump and Vice President Mike Pence "don't want gun control." [03:00.00]At Rapid-Fire Firearms in Rapid City, South Dakota, [03:05.44]business is "just like normal," said owner Robert Akers. [03:10.49]He said there was no panic buying [03:14.04]that seemed to take place under President Barack Obama. [03:19.40]American Outdoor Brands says its sales are down. [03:25.04]The company, which owns gun maker Smith & Wesson, [03:29.76]told investors in a conference call recently [03:33.48]that revenue fell by one-third over the past three months. [03:39.40]That amount is similar to the overall drop [03:42.76]since Trump was elected, the Associated Press reports. [03:48.44]Stock prices for gun sellers Sturm Ruger and American Outdoor Brands [03:54.64]also have fallen since Trump was elected. [03:58.76]The companies have mostly reported poor sales in recent months. [04:05.24]Four large retailers announced new restrictions on their gun sales last week. [04:11.96]Kroger, Dick's Sporting Goods, L.L. Bean and Walmart [04:17.54]said that they will no longer sell guns to anyone under the age of 21. [04:25.00]Also, outdoor retailer REI [04:28.96]says it is ending future orders of some popular product brands. [04:35.36]The company says it is doing so because the parent company [04:40.08]that makes the brands also makes assault-style rifles. [04:46.68]Over the past 30 years, U.S. gun production has tripled. [04:52.75]Nine million guns were produced in 2015, [04:57.56]compared with 3 million in 1986. [05:02.24]Those numbers come from the Bureau of Alcohol, [05:05.84]Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a government agency. [05:11.40]The U.S. also imports millions of guns every year. [05:17.56]At Duke's Sport Shop in New Castle, Pennsylvania, [05:22.00]gun sales have risen in recent days. [05:26.32]But store owner Wes Morosky said that is because of yearly tax refund checks. [05:33.80]The family-owned business started by Morosky's father, Duke, [05:38.64]has about 2,000 firearms available at any one time, [05:44.96]including the AR-15. [05:48.84]That is the assault-style rifle used in the Florida shooting. [05:54.68]It is the subject of a new debate about a gun bans. [05:59.08]Morosky said the store had a hard time keeping the guns in stock [06:05.52]after deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School [06:09.92]in Newtown, Connecticut in 2012. [06:13.64]He said there were fears that the Obama administration would ban assault rifles. [06:20.32]"Generally, people are still comfortable [06:23.85]with the government that's intact right now," Morosky said. [06:29.96]I'm Jonathan Evans. [06:31.92]And I'm Susan Shand. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM