Despite the typical antipathy and critical rhetoric from liberals and leftists exhibit for bearing arms, a lot of them are buying guns during the coronavirus crisis.
As Bearing Arms points out, “Even The New Yorker is recognizing that many of the 1-million or more new gun owners around the country don’t fit neatly into the anti-gun stereotype of the typical Second Amendment supporter.”
The New Yorker related a story from Gorge Guns in Hood River, Oregon, where owner Erika Bales said one new customer decided to buy a firearm:
At noon, a woman in her sixties came in. She wore plastic gloves and had a scarf wrapped around her face, and she traced a wide arc around the only other non-employee in the store. “I’ve been doing this since the beginning of March,” she said, referring to her protective gear. “I don’t feel sick at all. I’m self-quarantining.” She left her house only for essential activities. This was one. “I’m buying a gun,” she said. “I can’t believe it.” … Unlike many of the shop’s regulars, she was no fan of Trump: “He’s a divider all the way.”
The customer bought a Key-Tec PMR30 pistol. Bales noted, “I think she’s a liberal. There’s so many coming in. First-time-gun-owner liberals. I’ve probably seen ten this week. It’s so funny, because I hope it just turns them on to liking the Second Amendment. I mean, the Constitution was created for a reason. To protect us.”
Bearing Arms quoted an article from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette describing a self-described “liberal Democrat from New York City” who bought a gun, then segued to noting, “His purchase last week occurred during a nationwide rash of firearm sales to people who had never considered gun ownership until becoming rattled by concerns about COVID-19’s impact on America’s social infrastructure. Last week, many southwestern Pennsylvania gun shops ran out of stock. Owners said they sold firearms of all types to many first-time buyers.”
On March 16, KUNC reported:
Anthony Navarro, the owner of Colorado Shooting Sports in Greeley, said his computer system was showing over 3,000 background check requests in CBI’s queue … “When people are scared, there’s that sense of grasping and hoarding mentality,” Navarro said. “It’s part of our DNA as cavemen.” He said many of his customers are worried about the government limiting or banning gun sales. “We’re seeing everything from your standard client that we see all the time, all the way to liberal, democratic anti-gun people, buying guns for the first time.”
CNN Business reported on March 19:
The ammunition website Ammo.com said it has recorded an unprecedented surge in bullet sales over the last three weeks. Administrators for the site, which ships ammunition to all but four states across the nation, released sales figures late Monday night showing a 77% increase in website visits between February 23 and March 15. Those visits led to a 222% increase in transactions over the same period when compared to the first three weeks in February.Revenue has increased 309%, according to the site, which said coronavirus fears are fueling the sales surge.