A couple of days ago I covered the sharp rise in sales at gun shops in states like Florida and Texas that have taken place since Hamas terrorists launched a large-scale attack against Israel. Gun stores have seen a steady influx of Jewish customers who are looking to purchase a firearm and get some training, but as I noted at the time, most of the reports we were seeing were from red states.

I found it curious that I hadn’t run across any similar reports in states like California or New York, and I couldn’t help but think that the onerous and burdensome gun control regimes in those places are having a chilling effect on would-be gun owners.

It took a little longer (maybe because of California’s 10-day waiting period for gun purchases), but we’re now starting to see evidence that the sales spike isn’t confined only to conservative states. In news that I’m sure will break Gov. Gavin Newsom’s greasy little heart, gun shops in the Bay Area say they’re seeing an influx of new customers as well.

It’s been busy at Coyote Point Armory in Burlingame, with sales up in recent weeks.

“The ammo sales is up, we got wiped out over the weekend and I’m expecting a lot more ammo to come in later this week,” said owner John Parkin.

Also going in and out of his shop at a higher rate are first-time gun buyers — about a 25% increase, just this month.

A trend Parkin says is expected when tensions are high on a local and global scale.

“I just think people finally come to the realization that it doesn’t hurt to have a firearm in their home to protect themselves and their loved ones, a lot of people are on the fence,” he said.

Other gun shops in the Bay Area say they’re seeing a similar trend as hostility grows across the region.

Of course, given that this is California we’re talking about, local media outlets like NBC Bay Area and the “experts” they interview see this as a bad thing.

“The violence that we’re witnessing in terms of the bombings and violence overseas is causing folks to take things into their own hands rather than really focusing on our shared humanity and the devastating loss on all of the victims in Gaza right now,” said Dr. Jennifer Tran.

She is a professor of ethnic studies at Cal State East Bay and said that during times of war, it’s easy to blame and demonize others.

All of the victims in Gaza? What about all of those victims in Israel? You know, the ones who were gunned down by terrorists on kibbutzes and in homes, or who were taken by force and are being held as hostages by Hamas? We shouldn’t focus on them at all?

I’d argue that the folks who are showing up at places like Coyote Point Armory in search of a self-defense firearm are thinking about their shared humanity, but they’re also aware of the fact that there are people out there who see them as sub-human and deserving of eradication. And what “things”, exactly, does Tran believe these new gun owners are taking into their own hands? Buying a gun isn’t a sign of vigilantism or criminal intent. For Parkin’s customers, it’s a sign that they want to protect themselves and their families from harm, and they don’t think that California’s restrictive gun control laws are up to the task.

I’m not happy about the reason behind these increasing gun sales, but in a time of increasing insecurity and threats against Jewish people across the globe, I’m glad that some folks are taking reasonable and common sense steps to ensure their safety. #ArmLove, as my friend and colleague Ranjit Singh says, because you’ll never disarm hate.