Firearms ownership statistics are about as easy to read as tea leaves. They should be even harder; the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) specifically forbids local, state and federal government from maintaining any sort of firearms registry. Someone should tell that to the extra-legal Illinois gun grabbers attempting to create a firearms licensing system. While I’m at it, the FBI’s NICS (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) is a clear infringement on our Fourth Amendment protections against illegal search and seizure; buying a firearm is a lawful act. And the ATF’s dictum that the FFL dealers must keep a log book of purchases . . . you get the idea. Deep breath. Anyway, what does the chart above mean? Well . . .
The Northeast consists of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont. Whenever a law-abiding citizens purchases a firearm or applies for a license to carry/weapons permit, the gun dealer or licensing authority runs a NICS check.
So, how much of this national average-beating regional trend is down to firearms sales and how much can be attributed to applications for weapons permits (another ridiculous infringement on our Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms)?
The recent carry gun law liberalization has not affected residents of Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, which remain under the spell of Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s gunrightseliminator. It’s hardly likely the sales uptick in the tri-state area is a permit/license-related surge.
Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire, however, are experiencing a significant surge in applications for a License to Carry, which are increasingly easy to obtain, unless we’re talking about the actual bureaucratic process, which has fallen behind its statutory obligations.
Back in ’09, the Boston Globe reported:
The number of gun permits issued in Massachusetts surged by more than 15 percent over the past two years, reversing nearly a decade of steady declines and marking a pronounced departure for a state known for its antigun sentiment.
Back in ’08, one out of every 14 people in Pennsylvania already had a permit to carry. Despite a huge (for Vermont) influx of liberal refugees emigrating from blue states, the Green Mountain state is a Constitutional Carry state, so no NICS needed.
Oops! We haven’t split gun buying-related NICS check into existing customers adding to their arsenal [sic] and virgin gun buyers tooling-up for the very first time.
All of which means . . . God knows what. The most likely explanation for the regional NICS surge is an unknown and unknowable combination of license to carry applications, “old” gun buyers buying new guns and firearms newbies doing what firearms newbies do (get a gatt or long gun).
But the bottom line is clear: the part of the United States that’s traditionally been the bastion of anti-ballistic BS has “turned the corner.” The momentum towards keeping and bearing arms in the Northeast is unmistakable. Every gun sold, every permit issued makes it easier to extend and defend the right to keep and bear arms for the entire United States.
Now, about California . . .