California: Gun Control Laws Cause Only Remaining San Francisco Gun Store To Close
In San Francisco, gun control laws are being blamed for the closure of High Bridge Arms, the last remaining gun shop in the entire city. Ironically, while California gun control laws make it even more difficult to purchase weapons, United States gun sales numbers in 2015 may actually exceed the previous record set in 2013.
In a related report by the Inquisitr, the Oregon shooting started a debate in Florida on whether college students should be armed with weapons in order to prevent such future tragedies. As the former governor of Florida, Jeb Bush gave his input about gun control laws, but some claimed he made a political gaffe when he referred to the mass shooting as “stuff happens.”
High Bridge Arms says it has weathered many California gun control laws over the years, but it is the local restrictions that have become the gun store’s killer. The breaking point came when a local politician named Mark Farrell introduced a new gun control bill, which he claimed will help police combat violent crime in the city.
“Anything that makes San Francisco safer, I support,” he said.
Was on @CBSThisMorning earlier today regarding my proposed gun control reforms: http://t.co/nAgRGR894o Public safety trumps all else.
— Mark Farrell (@MarkFarrellSF) October 1, 2015
If passed, the latest of San Francisco’s gun control laws would require High Bridge Arms to record on video every single gun sale in addition to submitting a weekly report of ammunition sales to the San Francisco police. While Farrell claims this law would make the city safer, High Bridge Arms manager Steve Alcairo claims it make his gun store customers feel like criminals for purchasing a weapon.
“I’m not doing that to our customers. Enough is enough,” Alcairo said, according to the Associated Press. “Buying a gun is a constitutionally protected right. Our customers shouldn’t be treated like they’re doing something wrong.”
High Bridge Arms plans on closing its doors on October 31, 2015.
“It’s with tremendous sadness and regret that I have to announce we are closing our shop,” the High Bridge Arms manager said. “It has been a long and difficult ride, but a great pleasure to be your last San Francisco gun shop.”
Farrell responded to the gun store’s decision by calling it “comical” since the proposed bill has not been voted on yet, and the proposed gun control law would be months away from taking effect. Alcairo says news coverage of the proposed gun control law already has taken effect. The High Bridge Arms manager says customers believed they were already being recorded back in July when the bill was first announced, and the resulting gun sales slump resulted in the layoffs of three gun store clerks.
“This is the city that defended gay marriage and fights for unpopular causes like medical marijuana,” said Alcairo. “Where’s my support?”
San Francisco’s last gun store is closing. https://t.co/XIgsIW1vdQ pic.twitter.com/s69517UEM6
— Joe McDonald (@Joe_McDonald) October 1, 2015
The situation in San Francisco is quite different from the rest of California, never mind the United States as a whole. The California Depart of Justice (DOJ) reported that 931,000 guns were sold in the state in 2014, which is three times the number of guns sold 10 years ago. In addition, the Independent reports that U.S. gun sales have soared in the wake of the infamous Oregon shooting, where Christian UCC college students were targeted.
Larry Hyatt, owner of Hyatt Guns in North Carolina, believes that all the talk about increasing federal gun control laws has caused Americans to go buy weapons and ammo in unison.
“Once the public hears the President on the news say we need more gun controls, it tends to drive sales,” he said. “People think, if I don’t get a gun now, it might be difficult to get one in the future.”
The Pew Research Center claims that support for gun rights have increased over the past 20 years, with gun control laws becoming less popular in the United States.
[Image via YouTube]
