Trump’s commitment to 2A bumps share prices for gun makers

Share prices for gun makers bumped up Thursday after the president promised the Second Amendment was here to stay.

American Outdoor Brands and Sturm, Ruger and Company were trading nearly 4 percent higher as of mid-morning. Vista Outdoor likewise increased almost 2 percent.

The market shift comes after Trump tweeted early Wednesday in an apparent response to a now-infamous editorial from retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens demanding Congress repeal the Second Amendment.

“It would make our schoolchildren safer than they have been since 2008 and honor the memories of the many, indeed far too many, victims of recent gun violence,” he said in the New York Times piece, published Tuesday.

“THE SECOND AMENDMENT WILL NEVER BE REPEALED!” Trump responded via Twitter.  “As much as Democrats would like to see this happen, and despite the words yesterday of former Supreme Court Justice Stevens, NO WAY,” Trump tweeted in the predawn hours Wednesday. “We need more Republicans in 2018 and must ALWAYS hold the Supreme Court!”

The gun industry faces ongoing public relations struggles as major corporations and financial institutions distance themselves from manufacturers in the wake of a school shooting in Parkland, Florida that claimed 17 lives. Remington even delayed bankruptcy proceedings and cycled through more than 30 lenders in search of emergency funding — all expressing uneasiness in working with the iconic gun maker in the current political atmosphere.

Estimated gun sales in the first two months of 2018 trail last year by 5 percent, according to federal data. The FBI releases  tallies for applications submitted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System — a recognized proxy for gun sales — once a month. March data is expected to be published next week.

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