Gun sales have exploded in California before a Jan. 1 ban on sales of semi-automatic rifles “equipped with bullet-buttons that allow for the quick removal and replacement of ammunition magazines,” as the Los Angeles Times described them.
Gov. Jerry Brown signed the ban in the summer, leading to a surge in sales for gun retailers because guns purchased before the new year don’t fall under the ban if the owners register them in California as “assault weapons.”
“When Gov. Brown signed that bill, the first 30 days in July were just insane,” said Joshua Deaser, owner of Just Guns in Sacramento. “It died down for a while but now we are back with everyone trying to get what they can before the end of the year.”
“We have people lined up out the door and around the block,” said Terry McGuire, owner of the Get Loaded gun store in Grand Terrace in San Bernardino County.
“We can’t get enough of it,” said Manuel Hernandez, a salesman at M+J Gun Trade, per Capital Public Radio. “Our sales went up three or four hundred percent on that type of item.”
According to the state's Department of Justice, the number of semiautomatic rifles registered in California in 2016 has doubled since the previous year.
Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, said that “as of two weeks ago, 1.3 million guns had been sold in California during 2016,” adding that he expects another “300,000 to 600,000” to be sold before the year is up, noted Breitbart News.
“We expected this,” said Paredes. “Any time the government comes up with a ban on guns, the public rushes to buy them to make sure they have at least one.”
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