The Law of Supply and Demand isn’t a suggestion. It is a hard and fast fact of economic life. The way supply and demand work is well understood by economists and while some like to think it can be subverted or ignored, it really can’t. They think that if you just pass a few more laws, the laws of economics will take a back seat to the laws of men.

They don’t.

One thing that does happen as a general thing is that if you have high demand, and it’s feasible, someone else will try to increase the supply.

Right now, the demand for guns is increasing and some are trying to help increase the available supply in some places.

Once indifferent to the world of guns, an instructor said he found ample opportunity to open up a business when firearms purchases and pistol permits soared.

“I never thought I would be doing this. It just kind of just fell into place,” said Joshua Serafino, owner of Lock N’ Load, a firearms academy located at 1573 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike. “I was never really into (firearms), never was really against them.”

Not until a friend of his encouraged him to obtain his carrying license did he find the notion of guns appealing. He said he reserved a particular fondness for the Beretta M9, once a primary sidearm for the U.S. military.

He gradually pursued various certifications for teaching classes, but it was a peripheral interest. He was working as a security technician full-time.

When COVID-19 broke out, the demand for pistol-permit classes increased along with firearms purchases.

“I was sold out for about a month and a half at one point running classes five days a week,” said Serafino. “Then my next thought process was: ‘Why am I sending all these students to other gun stores when I can send them to myself.’”

Makes sense to me.

Serafino is not alone. A number of other people are either opening gun stores or at least exploring whether it’s feasible to do so themselves. This is, of course, good for gun buyers. After all, competition is good for the consumer, but it’s also good for the industry as it creates more outlets for people to meet their needs.

While some will decry this, it’s important to remember that communities benefit from these openings.

Oh, sure, I can go into all the ways more guns help a community, but we all know there will be those who dismiss them out of hand. So, instead, let’s talk about how new businesses pay taxes to their local government. They generate sales tax revenue as well. They pay employees which helps spur economic growth. They rent facilities and pay for utilities, all of which also help fuel the economy.

In every way, gun stores benefit local communities well beyond the Second Amendment arguments.

Frankly, with what we’ve seen in increased gun sales this year, I’m not surprised to see more gun stores open. It was only a matter of time before someone stepped in to meet that demand.