As we noted back in July, Americans are buying guns in record numbers, with millions of Americans buying guns for the first time in recent months. Now, the New York Post reports that California is very much part of this trend:
About 47,000 Californians bought guns for the first time because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to researchers who also found a staggering amount keep their weapons locked, loaded and readily available.
But the Post article also makes some rather odd assertions, implying people are buying guns because of a “health crisis”:
An estimated 110,000 people in the Golden State recently purchased firearms and did so because of the global health crisis, including the 47,000 new owners.
But why would people buy guns because of a public health crisis? It’s a safe bet new gun buyers don’t think guns will protect them from a disease. If we look a little further, we then see it’s the lockdowns that are the problem, not the disease:
The coronavirus pandemic and efforts to lessen its spread have compounded this burden. (emphasis added)
So there it is. By destroying the economy, social services, churches, and commerce, governments have laid the groundwork for more violence. Consequently, many more Americans now feel unsafe:
People who bought guns during the pandemic cited concerns over lawlessness, prisoner releases, the government going too far, government collapses and gun stores closing, the research found.
Not surprisingly, we have seen real-world increases in crime this year over last year. In some cities, the increases in homicide have been substantial, although overall homicide continues to be relatively low in a larger historical context. Moreover, many Americans have figured out that if civil unrest comes to your neighborhood, the police won’t be doing much to protect you. The smoking ruins of Minneapolis have made this abundantly clear to many.
So much for that mythical “social contract” the governments keep talking about whenever it demands more power over the people it allegedly “keeps safe.”
