COVID-19 has changed a lot of things for a lot of people. Among those who saw change were prisoners who were suddenly released from their incarcerations, all so some politician could cover their butts.

However, it wasn’t just them who saw the difference. In fact, most of us are experiencing some differences in how life works.

For many people, there’s a requirement that they wear a mask in order to go about their day. The idea is that while cloth masks aren’t nearly as good as N95 masks, they’re still better than nothing and if everyone wears them, we can go about our days in relative peace.

There’s just one hiccup to that.

And Santa Ana police confirmed Thursday that robberies in the city have increased by 50% since the lockdown.

In an April robbery, a thief hid his face with a bandana at a doughnut shop on Bristol. The cashier was caught off guard when the thief pulled out a gun and placed it on the counter. The thief then emptied both registers before getting away.

“It’s the norm,” Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, with Santa Ana PD, said. “So we’re seeing more an more suspects wearing the mast and using that to their benefit.”

Police said they were not exactly sure why there has been such an increase in robberies, but said it could be related to the number of inmates released from area jails due to the pandemic.

You’re shocked, right?

I mean, who could have seen that releasing a bunch of criminals might cause a rise in crime? It’s un-possible!

Couple that with a requirement that everyone wear masks, which means it’s harder for them to be identified after the crime, but also makes it so potential victims aren’t alerted to a problem until it’s too late, and you have a recipe for a problem.

Robbers are able to hold up a store or individual, then escape while keeping their face covered, making identification difficult, if not impossible. Plus, as they leave the store, they don’t need to uncover their faces in order to blend in with the public. They can protect their identity indefinitely.

Now, am I saying that people shouldn’t wear masks? No, I’m not.

What I am saying, though, is that when you couple a mask requirement with thousands of recently-released criminals, ou are going to get a recipe for disaster, which is what we’re seeing.

Frankly, is it any wonder that so many Americans have flocked to gun stores to arm themselves? Right now, it’s businesses being robbed, but how long until they turn their attentions to the rest of us? That is why people are buying guns, ladies and gentlemen. That right there.

The crime statistics for 2020 are going to look a little weird, to say the least, but we can at least rest a bit easier knowing how many more law-abiding citizens there are with guns today than there were just three months ago.

In fact, there are so many that these guys complying with the mask law to hide their identity might start decreasing their numbers the hard way if they’re not careful.

Armed citizens aren’t likely to become prey.