Similar to the assault weapons ban in the early 90's? Anyway just before and right after it went into effect people went nuts and bought up nearly every existing rifle, pistol, and large cap mags that were being banned figuring they'd miss out otherwise. Even many idiots who should never have owned them in the first place. The law kinda back fired (no pun) and more guns were sold than nearly any time in history. Real smart.
So my thought is that with this huge bust and all the hype that the media is playing, almost tantilizing newbs who may have delayed looking into it, now a great deal of (very) recent newcomers may be looking to get involved thinking there may not be a chance in the future. So while some people want to lay low, many new people are now interested due to all the media attention. The laws can cause as many or more problems than they often fix... Just my .02