The lockdown has affected a lot of people in a lot of ways. For most of us, it’s been an annoyance. However, for millions of Americans, it’s been an outright trial. Jobs are gone, wealth destroyed, lives lost, all because of a pandemic.

Among the industries impacted has been the firearm industry. While gun sales have been brisk, that’s only in places where gun stores have been open. That’s not everywhere, unfortunately.

Also, many gun ranges are still closed, thus meaning even if people buy a gun, they can’t necessarily learn how to use it properly.

However, it seems those days are starting to come to an end.

From the spinning of the slot machines in casinos to the straightening of clothing racks in stores to the crashing of the waves on the shore, there are so many sounds starting to return to the rhythm of our daily lives.

As the phased re-opening continues from business to business, casinos from Mississippi to Las Vegas are taking a gamble with new social distancing measures will help keep people safe.

“A customer can’t even stand here and play this game because the game is not even active,” Tony Rodio, CEO of Caesars Entertainment, told CNN, previewing how slot machine-social distancing will work.

In upstate New York, construction jobs put on pause are slowly coming back as well.

“I think the most i’m going to have on the job is four,” said Joseph Dundon, the owner of Dundon Construction in a recent interview. “That’s a lot different than we used to have, seven or eight. Things might take a little longer but at least we’re going to be safe moving forward.”

In the next 48 hours, 48 states have plans to re-open in some capacity. Most are making progress battling the spread of COVID-19.but numbers in some states, moving in the wrong direction, with new coronavirus cases on the rise in places like Texas, Alabama and Arkansas.

While not specifically mentioned, it should be noted that a lot of the places that will be reopening to some degree will be places dealing with the outdoor industry. That may mean gun stores, but also fishing tackle shops, hunting apparel companies, and other places. It also suggests that many parks where people like to engage in hunting or fishing will also be open to the public.

In other words, with the lockdown ending, it’s going to be even more possible to engage in some of your favorite outdoor and firearm-related pastimes. It also means that you’ll be able to engage in new training to better handle your personal firearm. You can take a friend to the range and show them how to operate their brand new firearms safely.

Perhaps more importantly, people can get out of the house.

That’s arguably more important because it may well save lives. It’s been noted before that the quarantine has led to an increase in people considering suicide. While some are looking to blame increased gun sales for this, it’s bull. The fact is that humans are social animals, and being cooped up by yourself for weeks on end isn’t good for anyone.

Further, domestic violence rates have gone up as well. That’s not good for anyone, but particularly for the abused partners. Being able to get out and get away from their abusers may allow these victims to muster up the courage to seek help in getting away permanently. That may well help save even more lives.

While the virus was nasty enough, it’s time to start looking at the big picture. With all these states opening to some degree, it’s a good time to do just that.