I can attest to that, the number of new gun owners is growing rapidly.
Every day people come to the counter and tell me they’ve never had a gun and want one now.
Yes, an increasing number of people are losing confidence in the police being able AND WILLING to protect them.
I'm definitely seeing more open carry (legal in my state), and from these observations I can easily assume that there is a corresponding increase in legal concealed carry.
I also note that retailers such as Cabelas (I love that place) are still wayyyy down on firearm inventory, and handgun ammo is as rare as Joe Biden remembering what he ate for breakfast.
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