Anti Federalist
07-27-2012, 10:14 PM
Many falsehoods repeated in the article, like the "declining number of households with guns" (that was hashed out here pretty throughly) and the "a gun is more likely to harm you" (based on a thirty year old "study" that has been throughly debunked).
But still, good news, even for California.
California gun purchases nearing record
Updated 10:17 a.m., Friday, July 27, 2012
Californians just can't get enough guns and are on a pace to set a new annual record for the number purchased legally.
Experts with the state Department of Justice predict residents will buy 725,000 rifles, pistols and shotguns in 2012, nearly twice the number they purchased five years ago, when 370,628 were acquired.
Over the last decade, annual purchases have increased despite the lackluster economy and a dramatic drop in crime.
The state doesn't record the personal history of those who purchase guns, nor their reasons for buying them, so it's hard to pinpoint a reason for the increase, experts say.
There are theories, however.
One suggests that sales spike whenever there is a drumbeat to tighten restrictions on gun sales and ownership.
Others fall along traditional lines taken by people on both sides of the issue.
At the gun store
Gun store owners say a diverse group of people have been buying guns recently, some moved to act by tragedies such as last week's massacre in Colorado. Gun sales have typically spiked after major tragedies, including the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Virginia Tech shootings.
Whenever there is an outbreak of violence like the "horrible incident that happened in Colorado, it makes people aware," said Gary Kolander, the 47-year-old owner of Bay Area Gun Vault in Mountain View.
While official statistics may show the crime rate dropping, Kolander said, he has customers who have a hard time believing it. That includes some who had been firmly opposed to gun ownership until they were victimized by crime. They now see street robberies and home invasions as an everyday possibility, he said.
"The police aren't there to save you," he argued. "They're there to clean up the mess and make a report after the fact. There aren't enough police to protect civilians - there just isn't."
As Kolander spoke, store employees kept busy while wearing pistols in their holsters.
Groups seek controls
Groups seeking more controls over gun ownership believe California's growth doesn't necessarily mean more individuals are buying guns.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and other gun-control advocates say gun ownership nationwide is decreasing, suggesting the increase comes from existing gun owners expanding their collections.
"I think it's difficult to know what exactly explains any increase," said Ben Van Houten, managing attorney with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which was founded in San Francisco after a gunman slaughtered eight people at 101 California Street in 1993. "If it's a short-term spike, it's not statistically significant. There could be a number of factors involved.
"What we know generally is that household firearms ownership across the country is going down," Van Houten said. "To the extent that individuals are stockpiling firearms, that's a possibility."
Regardless of who is buying them, Van Houten said, the shooting in Aurora, Colo., is proof that guns are getting into the hands of the wrong people.
"I think the incident like the terrible tragedy in Colorado put a renewed spotlight on the easy access to military-style firearms. There are a lot of concerns now about our country's weak gun laws," Van Houten said.
Background checks
On Thursday, the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, a consortium of police leadership groups, called for expanding background checks and banning high-capacity ammunition magazines.
California is one of just a few states that ban high-capacity magazines and the sale of military assault weapons like one used in Colorado.
While gun sales in Colorado jumped significantly in the days after the shooting, sales in California haven't increased as sharply, officials say. Background checks went up an average of 11 percent in the four days after the rampage compared with the same time period in June, state records show.
"If you look historically, that's not really a huge increase to correlate that with the shooting in Colorado," said Steve Lindley, head of the state Department of Justice's Bureau of Firearms, which is charged with conducting background checks on gun buyers.
On rise since 2003
But gun sales have been steadily rising in California each year since 2003, records show. Last year, the state logged 601,246 gun purchases. That is the second-highest total since 1993, when there were a record 642,197 gun sales that authorities believe were prompted by the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles a year earlier.
And this year, the number could jump to a new record based on state projections.
Historically, sales of handguns far surpassed those of rifles and shotguns. That changed after 2000, when the state restricted buyers from purchasing more than one pistol a month. There are no such restrictions for rifles and shotguns. When more than one long gun is purchased at a time, the state records it as a single transaction, meaning California's annual total may be understated.
Two points of view
For Griffin Dix, 68, of Kensington, the state's total reflects a frightening reality of more guns being brought into homes.
In 1994, his 15-year-old son, Kenzo, was accidentally shot and killed at a friend's house in Berkeley. The friend found his father's unlocked handgun and, thinking the chamber was empty, pointed the gun at Kenzo and fired.
"I'd say there are many safer ways to protect yourself, such as burglar alarms and dogs," Dix said. "Bringing a gun into your home increases the risk of death or injury to all the people who live there, including children, gun owners and their spouses."
Eric Vanzandt, 46, of Milpitas stopped by a local gun shop the other day hoping to buy a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. He left the shop empty-handed but full of conviction: Guns are important for sport and for protection.
"Unfortunately, some people just can't handle the responsibility. You can't put all of us in the same boat," he said. "I can have a really fast car and kill people in it, too."
But still, good news, even for California.
California gun purchases nearing record
Updated 10:17 a.m., Friday, July 27, 2012
Californians just can't get enough guns and are on a pace to set a new annual record for the number purchased legally.
Experts with the state Department of Justice predict residents will buy 725,000 rifles, pistols and shotguns in 2012, nearly twice the number they purchased five years ago, when 370,628 were acquired.
Over the last decade, annual purchases have increased despite the lackluster economy and a dramatic drop in crime.
The state doesn't record the personal history of those who purchase guns, nor their reasons for buying them, so it's hard to pinpoint a reason for the increase, experts say.
There are theories, however.
One suggests that sales spike whenever there is a drumbeat to tighten restrictions on gun sales and ownership.
Others fall along traditional lines taken by people on both sides of the issue.
At the gun store
Gun store owners say a diverse group of people have been buying guns recently, some moved to act by tragedies such as last week's massacre in Colorado. Gun sales have typically spiked after major tragedies, including the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the Virginia Tech shootings.
Whenever there is an outbreak of violence like the "horrible incident that happened in Colorado, it makes people aware," said Gary Kolander, the 47-year-old owner of Bay Area Gun Vault in Mountain View.
While official statistics may show the crime rate dropping, Kolander said, he has customers who have a hard time believing it. That includes some who had been firmly opposed to gun ownership until they were victimized by crime. They now see street robberies and home invasions as an everyday possibility, he said.
"The police aren't there to save you," he argued. "They're there to clean up the mess and make a report after the fact. There aren't enough police to protect civilians - there just isn't."
As Kolander spoke, store employees kept busy while wearing pistols in their holsters.
Groups seek controls
Groups seeking more controls over gun ownership believe California's growth doesn't necessarily mean more individuals are buying guns.
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and other gun-control advocates say gun ownership nationwide is decreasing, suggesting the increase comes from existing gun owners expanding their collections.
"I think it's difficult to know what exactly explains any increase," said Ben Van Houten, managing attorney with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, which was founded in San Francisco after a gunman slaughtered eight people at 101 California Street in 1993. "If it's a short-term spike, it's not statistically significant. There could be a number of factors involved.
"What we know generally is that household firearms ownership across the country is going down," Van Houten said. "To the extent that individuals are stockpiling firearms, that's a possibility."
Regardless of who is buying them, Van Houten said, the shooting in Aurora, Colo., is proof that guns are getting into the hands of the wrong people.
"I think the incident like the terrible tragedy in Colorado put a renewed spotlight on the easy access to military-style firearms. There are a lot of concerns now about our country's weak gun laws," Van Houten said.
Background checks
On Thursday, the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, a consortium of police leadership groups, called for expanding background checks and banning high-capacity ammunition magazines.
California is one of just a few states that ban high-capacity magazines and the sale of military assault weapons like one used in Colorado.
While gun sales in Colorado jumped significantly in the days after the shooting, sales in California haven't increased as sharply, officials say. Background checks went up an average of 11 percent in the four days after the rampage compared with the same time period in June, state records show.
"If you look historically, that's not really a huge increase to correlate that with the shooting in Colorado," said Steve Lindley, head of the state Department of Justice's Bureau of Firearms, which is charged with conducting background checks on gun buyers.
On rise since 2003
But gun sales have been steadily rising in California each year since 2003, records show. Last year, the state logged 601,246 gun purchases. That is the second-highest total since 1993, when there were a record 642,197 gun sales that authorities believe were prompted by the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles a year earlier.
And this year, the number could jump to a new record based on state projections.
Historically, sales of handguns far surpassed those of rifles and shotguns. That changed after 2000, when the state restricted buyers from purchasing more than one pistol a month. There are no such restrictions for rifles and shotguns. When more than one long gun is purchased at a time, the state records it as a single transaction, meaning California's annual total may be understated.
Two points of view
For Griffin Dix, 68, of Kensington, the state's total reflects a frightening reality of more guns being brought into homes.
In 1994, his 15-year-old son, Kenzo, was accidentally shot and killed at a friend's house in Berkeley. The friend found his father's unlocked handgun and, thinking the chamber was empty, pointed the gun at Kenzo and fired.
"I'd say there are many safer ways to protect yourself, such as burglar alarms and dogs," Dix said. "Bringing a gun into your home increases the risk of death or injury to all the people who live there, including children, gun owners and their spouses."
Eric Vanzandt, 46, of Milpitas stopped by a local gun shop the other day hoping to buy a .45-caliber semiautomatic handgun. He left the shop empty-handed but full of conviction: Guns are important for sport and for protection.
"Unfortunately, some people just can't handle the responsibility. You can't put all of us in the same boat," he said. "I can have a really fast car and kill people in it, too."