Look, I've been running this shop for over a decade, and I can tell you one thing for certain: you want to sell a bunch of guns? Just let a bunch of anti-freedom politicians start pushing gun control bills. The news out of Virginia and New Jersey this week is proof positive that their policies don't just fail—they backfire spectacularly.
In Virginia, where Gov. Abigail Spanberger and the Democrats have been pushing a slate of gun control measures including a so-called "assault weapons" ban, the numbers don't lie. According to FBI NICS data, there were 79,846 background checks initiated in Virginia in March alone—one of the highest monthly totals since the chaos of 2020. One firearms retailer in Henrico County told reporters his sales have quadrupled since the Democrats started their gun control push. That's the free market at work, folks—legislators attack our rights, and gun owners respond by exercising them.
Meanwhile, up in New Jersey, where the state used to practically ban concealed carry, the Bruen Supreme Court decision changed everything. And guess what? Since 2022, the state has issued more than 88,000 new carry permits—more than the years 2019 through 2023 combined. Ten times the permits in just four years. That's citizens telling their government they refuse to be disarmed, and good for them.
Spanberger's approval ratings are already tanking after only a few months in office, and she's got 10 gun bills sitting on her desk waiting for signature. Legal challenges are guaranteed—the bills even include provisions letting current owners keep their "assault firearms," which tells you they know these laws are constitutionally shaky.
In Massachusetts, they've rolled out new requirements including written exams and live fire exercises for permit applicants. While that's not the worst thing—actual training is good—it's another example of layering requirements to make exercising our rights harder.
The pattern is clear: every time anti-gun politicians push restrictions, Americans respond by buying more guns. The genie is out of the bottle, and it's not going back in. My advice to politicians? Stop wasting everyone's time with laws that get struck down in court and drive up your constituents' firearms purchases.
At my shop, we'll keep serving customers who want to protect themselves and exercise their constitutional rights. That's what we do.