And those buying guns include many who have never owned a gun before.

For example, Fox News San Antonio quoted Texas Guns owners Jerry McCall saying he is seeing "people … in their 70s and 80s who say they have never owned a firearm before but … think [they] need one in the house now."

And people who might have purchased their first gun ever during the last year–amid the unrest and anxiety of the Ferguson protests or the Baltimore riots–are now buying a second gun to be sure they can protect their families in the event of an attack.

Mary Hernandez is one such customer. She said she and her husband bought their first gun last year and are shopping for their second in the wake of the Paris attacks. She and her husband "feel they can never be too protected." Hernadez observed, "I don't want to be with my kids and my family hiding under a table; I want to be protecting us and get out of there and if I had to, try to stop somebody."