Sales of firearms in California spiked in anticipation of new gun control laws set to be enacted Jan. 1.
According to the Los Angeles Times, some gun stores in the Golden State have reported a double in sales since July when the laws passed the state legislature and later signed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown.
As a result of California’s 10- day waiting period prior to a purchase of a firearm, gun consumers are presently rushing to stores to make the deadline in time for the week and a half wait before the new laws are enacted.
California residents will no longer be able to purchase a semiautomatic rifle with a magazine release button that enables a quick removal and replacement of ammunition magazines. Semiautomatic rifles bought prior Jan. 1 can be kept by the owners but must be registered with the state as “assault rifles.”
Additionally, magazines that carry more than 10 rounds will be considered illegal and anyone who already has it must turn it over to local authorities.
“When Gov. Brown signed that bill, the first 30 days in July were just insane,” Joshua Deaser, owner of Just Guns, a store in Sacramento, told the LA Times. “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.”
Since the passage of the law back in July, 257,895 semiautomatic rifles have been bought, surpassing the 153,931 rifle purchases reported to the state in all of 2015, the state Justice Department said.
“People are angry,” Pete Brown, retail sales manager at American Gun Works in Glendale, who also said gun sales are “way up.” Brown told the LA Times, “They are angry with the Legislature because [the law] doesn’t address crime. Nothing in the law addresses criminals. It’s another way of cutting back on what’s available to law abiding citizens, and that’s why they are angry.”