Firearms are a hot commodity during a national crisis such as the coronavirus pandemic, when people have concerns about their health, safety and civil liberties.
Nationwide, more guns were sold in March than in any month in our country’s history.
Even in deep-blue California, people have lined up to purchase firearms in record numbers during the COVID-19 crisis.
But now we’re hearing what it’s like to be in the firearms businesses in the Golden State during the pandemic — and the amusing and frustrating stories of Californians who are appalled at finding out the real-world consequences of their state’s continued voting for anti-gun Democrats.
Kira Davis, writing for Red State, recently interviewed Gregg Bouslog, the owner of a Southern California gun store and shooting range.
Bouslog, the proprietor of On-Target Indoor Shooting Range in Laguna Niguel in Orange County, shared some stories with Davis of his recent encounters with many first-time gun buyers.
The firearms seller told Davis that he has never seen anything like the recent influx of citizens looking to arm themselves.
“As the owner of an indoor shooting range and gun store here in California these past 14 years we have never experienced such a huge demand for firearms and ammunition — even higher than the famous Obama rush of 2012/2013,” Bouslog said, referring to the purchased sparked by then-President Barack Obama’s re-election.
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He then described how hazardous it has been selling guns in recent weeks to people with zero background or knowledge about the safe handling of firearms.
Bouslog said many of his customers have been generally ignorant about not only gun laws but also firearms safety and etiquette.
“We tried to look at just who the new firearm purchasers were and we believe that more than 60 percent of these individuals were first-time buyers,” he told Davis. “I can’t describe the amount of fear in my staff as we had the buyers show proof of safe handling as part of the purchase process as required by law. You have never seen so many barrels pointed at sales staff and other customers. It was truly frightening.”
Safety issues aside, Bouslog described how frustrated some gun buyers grow when they learn they cannot just sign a form and walk out with a gun in California.
The state’s gun laws seem nearly criminal, so it’s no surprise that a people who have slowly voted to give their rights away have had to learn the consequences of voting for anti-gun liberals — or not voting at all — the hard way.
California requires a 10-day waiting period when purchasing a gun, along with a certificate proving gun buyers understand firearm safety and basic firearms laws. They also must pass a background check to buy ammunition.
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“More than a dozen of these buyers (men and women) actually thought that since they filled out and signed everything, they could just walk out and go home with the firearm,” Bouslog golf Davis. “Several actually said they saw how easy it was to buy a gun on TV and why did they have to fill out all these forms.”
He added, “The majority of these first timers lost their minds when we went through the Ammo Law requirements. Most used language not normally heard, even in a gun range. We pointed out that since no one working here voted for these laws, then maybe they might know someone who did. And maybe they should go back and talk to those people and tell them to rethink their position on firearms — we were trying to be nice.”
Bouslog said he and his staff had to point out that they didn’t vote for the state’s oppressive gun laws when customers grew upset at how difficult it is to buy a gun in California.
“Most were VERY vocal about why it takes 10 days minimum (sometimes longer if the DOJ is backed up) to take their property home with them. They ask, ‘Why do I need to wait 10 days if I need the protection today or tomorrow?’ We pointed out again that no one working here voted in support of that law,” he said.
Upon learning that Californians can purchase only one handgun every 30 days, Bouslog said some of his customers have gotten even more upset.
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“They really went crazy when we told them that for each firearm they had to do the same amount of paperwork and they could only purchase ONE handgun every 30 days,” he said.
Bouslog again noted he didn’t vote for that law.
“We had people cuss at us and stomp out when we explained that secondary identification had to be part of the paperwork, as they felt insulted that what they had wasn’t good enough. We have a number of Yelp reviews calling us names and other things about how bad we are because of this whole new buyer rush,” he said.
While it is impossible to know how many of Bouslog’s customers have been Democrats, The Capistrano Dispatch reported that Orange County is 37 percent Democrat, 36 percent Republican and 27 percent independent.
In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump received 42.3 percent of the Orange County vote compared with 50.9 percent for Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Meanwhile, statewide, Trump received only 31.6 percent of the total vote.
That being said, it’s hard to imagine that loads of fearful Democrats haven’t had to learn the pitfalls of their state’s crusade against the Second Amendment while waiting in line to purchase a gun to defend themselves.
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One of my chief complaints about visiting the state is that it feels unsafe to walk around without carrying a concealed handgun — which is out of the question since the state does not recognize my Oklahoma handgun permit.
But for Californians, this is their everyday reality. And it is one that they are learning quickly and at a terrible time.
Elections have consequences. Hopefully, those consequences won’t prove tragic for citizens who are waking up to the fact that the world can be a dangerous place and they have to make their voices heard in every election.
The best-case scenario is that when life returns to normal, Californians will remember the lessons from this dark chapter in American history and begin voting to regain their rights.
Story cited here.
