I thought this wasn’t supposed to happen in the liberal paradise of California. While some sectors of the economy continue to tank in the Golden State, particularly tourism and restaurants and bars, another type of business is cleaning up. While not all gun shops are open, the ones that are can’t keep their products in stock. Gun sales this year have surged to levels never seen before and they’re on track to see the largest number of sales in a single year ever. Surveys conducted of those making purchases in 2020 show that nearly 40% of the people buying a firearm legally are doing so for the first time. And the reasons they give for doing so are both predictable and familiar. (Free Beacon)

According to a new study, Californians have bought guns at a record pace, many for the first time, despite recent gun-store shutdowns.

The study, which a group of researchers at the University of California released in October, found that pandemic-caused uncertainty has led to increased demand for firearms in the deep blue state.

First-time owners accounted for 47,000 of the 110,000 people who bought a gun during the onset of the pandemic, the study concluded.

As we’ve discussed here in the past, many of those first-time shoppers are running into a number of unpleasant surprises. Most Californians with no experience in exercising their Second Amendment rights previously supported the state’s many gun control laws. But now they are frequently shocked (Shocked, I say!) to learn that they have to fill out endless forms, endure lengthy waiting periods and pay for expensive permits and training courses before they can bring their new purchase home.

So what are the most common reasons cited for the decision to purchase a firearm for the first time in California? They are as follows:

• Response to the pandemic
• Worry about lawlessness
• Worry about prisoner releases
• Potential government collapse
• Gun stores closing

Dear California liberals suddenly awaking to these realizations. I have some news for you. Each and every one of the concerns you’ve listed as reasons to exercise your Second Amendment rights are completely valid. But there’s one more thing you need to understand. This is all your own fault.

You’ve elected liberal Democrats to every statewide office. You’ve made them a supermajority in the state legislature. You’ve hounded the few conservatives in your state to the point where they’ve been leaving in droves.

The lawlessness you are now panicking over is being perpetrated by mobs of people chanting the same messages that your party has endorsed. The prisoner release programs iarepart of the “Empty the Jails” trend put in place by Democrats. The gun stores were closed by endless, burdensome regulations that Democrats put in place or through executive orders issued this year by your Democratic Governor and the Democratic Mayors of all your large cities.

Having a tough time legally purchasing a firearm now that the mobs are approaching your doors and chaos is engulfing your streets? Tough cookies, moonbeam. This is what you voted for. This is what you demanded. You got exactly what you wanted and now you can live with the results. I’d wish you good luck, but I’m fairly sure you’d get the impression that I didn’t really mean it.