Crisis Can Cut Through the Propaganda, Sometimes

So we all know people have been stocking up on, of all things, toilet paper in many areas.  Of course also many other things, first among them dry goods, OTC meds, and of course soap and cleaning products (including Everclear).  Some people, seeing the lack of preparedness among their neighbors, and how easily they are spooked into panic, have suddenly come to see the wisdom of perhaps owning a firearm- just in case.
Guns were also a popular item among panic-driven shoppers on Saturday.
At Martin B. Retting Gun Shop in Culver City, a line of prospective customers stretched outside the door. Inside, they were shoulder to shoulder, waiting up to five hours for service. A fast-food truck was taking orders at the curb.
The managers of the store declined to comment. It was a rare windfall of business for the store, but some people got tired of waiting and left empty handed.
Among them was a medical doctor who would give only his first name, Ray. He said he’d come to buy his first gun.
“I want to buy a handgun, I think they call it a Glock, but I’m not sure,” he said. “I have a house and a family, and they’ll need protection if things get worse.”
“The fear,” he added, “is that civil services will break down.”

He's going to be a bit disappointed to discover that there is a 10-day waiting period in California.  I suspect gun rights support is going to grow as a result of all this, even here in deep blue Los Angeles.  At least, one hopes.

4 comments:

Grim said...

We should re-institute militia training. A man ought to know what he wants, at least more than "I think they call it a Glock but I'm not sure."

You should own a Glock, fine, but you also need a rifle. The rifle: an AR-15 variant in 5.56 NATO. That is the rifle the American militia will be using if it is ever called up, because it shares many parts, ammo, and most training with the standard military rifle.

Assistant Village Idiot said...

It would be a good thing to see a spike in gun safety courses over the next year or so.

Anonymous said...

I'd be more likely to stock up if it looks like the (D) are going to do well in the upcoming election. But I live in Texas, in a part of the state that tends to be forgotten by Austin. We don't mind, most of the time. :)

LittleRed1

Grim said...

"It would be a good thing to see a spike in gun safety courses over the next year or so."

We should definitely resume neighborhood militia training and service. Pretty much every neighborhood in the nation has a veteran or two who knows how the rifles work, and can teach safe and effective usage to their fellows. Every American citizen who isn't a violent felon should own a rifle like this, know how to fire it and clean it, and so forth. Once the militia is comfortable with all that locally, you can move on to other tasks that you might want to have a trained and trusted neighborhood group to manage (for example, flood rescue in some areas where the so-called 'Cajun Navy' operates; other places it might be wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes).