Despite being a bastion of unrestrained progressivism, Californians bought a lot of handguns in 2014. It was a record year, smashing the previous one set in 1993 when the country was experiencing high rates of crime. Like the national data on the subject, firearm-related homicides has fallen to record lows in the Golden State (via Sacramento Bee):
Dealers sold more than 510,000 handguns in California during 2014, more than double the number sold four years prior, according to new figures from the state Department of Justice.Handgun sales in 2014 set a new California record, far outpacing the prior high of 433,000 handguns sold in 1993, around when violent crime peaked in the state.
Long gun sales slipped by 120,000 from 2013 to 2014. The 418,000 long guns sales in 2014 represent the third highest number on record, trailing behind 2012 and 2013.
Gun sales have increased dramatically nationwide and in California during the last few years following calls for more gun control in response to several mass shootings.
The rate of California homicides involving firearms continues to fall and is now at its lowest level in more than 20 years, state health figures show. Accidental deaths involving guns have also fallen.
That’s excellent news. Now, if only California became a “shall issue” concealed carry state that truly recognizes a citizens’ right to bear arms outside the home without being turned down for arbitrary reasons a la Maryland, then we’ll be talking. It’s moving in that direction. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the burdensome regulations in their concealed carry law as unconstitutional. A federal judge in the state also struck down the state’s 10-day waiting period as unconstitutional.