Scott Kane went 38 years without ever touching a gun. That
streak would have continued had it not been for the coronavirus. In
March, fearful of the harassment his wife and child experienced
over their Asian ancestry, Kane found himself in a California gun
shop. His March 11 purchase of a 9mm would have been the end of the
story, were it not for a political standoff over shutdown orders
and background checks. Now Kane, a former supporter of gun-control
measures and AR-15 bans, is frustrated by the arduous process that
has denied his family a sense of security. The pandemic has made
the soft-spoken software engineer an unlikely Second Amendment
supporter.
“This has taken me, a law-abiding citizen with nary an unpaid
parking ticket to my name, over a month,” he told the Washington
Free Beacon. “Meanwhile Joe Bad Guy has probably purchased several
fully automatic AK-47s out of the back of an El Camino in a shady
part of town with zero background checks.”
Receipts reviewed by the Free Beacon show Kane first purchased a
firearm on March 11 from Sportsman’s Warehouse in Milpitas, Calif.
Santa Clara County shut down the shop before Kane’s 10-day waiting
period was complete. No end date was given for the order, but a
California law giving buyers just 30 days to pick up a gun remained
in effect. Kane was stuck in a legal limbo that only grew
worse.
Unable to do business, the store went belly-up in May. Kane had
no way to pick up his gun. He started the process over again at
another store in a neighboring county. He returned home with a
Springfield XD 9mm and a biometric safe on April 29, 50 days after
he first passed a background check and paid for a gun.
“I’m seriously thinking of running for office or something,”
Kane said. “This state’s gun laws are insane.”
Scott Kane’s first gun / Stephen Gutowski
Kane is not alone. An
influx of new gun owners has the potential to permanently alter
the politics surrounding guns in the United States. If industry
estimates are correct, millions of Americans across the country
have become first-time gun buyers since March. If the experience
changes their minds about the ongoing debate over gun control it
could tip the balance of political power toward pro-gun activists
and politicians.
It is not that the new buyers were unaware of the politics of
gun control. Several new gun owners who spoke to the Free
Beacon—some of whom requested anonymity citing safety
concerns—generally leaned toward enhanced restrictions, their
positions informed mostly by major news stories. But as they have
become more personally invested in the debate, they find themselves
more skeptical of gun control. Brian, a 40-year-old Floridian, used
his savings to buy a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield in March
after being laid off—the experience changed his entire approach
to Second Amendment issues.
“In the past, I wasn’t against owning a gun. However, I did
think that we had suffered enough as a country from school
shootings, and something needed to be done. I was for stricter gun
laws—no ARs, close the gun-show loophole, better mental health
regulations, etc.,” he said. “I would now oppose stricter gun
laws.”
While all of the first-time buyers who spoke to the Free Beacon
cited
safety concerns stemming from the pandemic as their top reason
for buying a gun, some said the politics of the moment played a
significant role in their decision. But they held differing and
even opposing viewpoints on which politicians concerned them the
most—suggesting the group of new owners represents a fairly
diverse political spectrum.
Aaron Eaton, a former Army MP and current sewer company
technician in Alabama, said the increasingly hostile stance many in
the Democratic Party have taken toward gun ownership helped push
him to make his first purchase.
“I figured now’s the time to buy before, God help us, a Democrat
becomes president again,” he said. “Then I would probably never get
that chance again. The only view that has changed, and solely
because I got into politics because of Donald Trump, is [what I
think of] the stance Democrats have regarding guns. I do not find
it funny how Democrats are trying to interpret the Second
Amendment.”
Andrew, a federal contractor who,along with his wife, bought a
Heckler & Koch VP9 on March 21 in Virginia, said the state’s
Democrat-controlled legislature pursuing a package of gun-control
laws this winter in the face of
unprecedented opposition directly contributed to his purchase.
He said he and his wife are currently considering buying a number
of other firearms they worry state Democrats will try to ban—or
even confiscate—in the next legislative session despite those
bills being
defeated in the last session.
“These are just the first two purchases—sidearms—and when
things settle down, we’ll likely get into long guns too,” he said.
“We know we want a shotgun and an AR (or similar) platform before
the progressives in the Virginia legislature ultimately prevail (as
I expect they ultimately will) in tightening up regulations on
ownership.”
Kane’s first shots / Stephen Gutowski
Kane, on the other hand, said his gun-buying ordeal hasn’t moved
him closer to supporting the president but has moved him to
consider the California Republican Party—perhaps even as a
candidate.
Brian from Florida said he was concerned less about the gun
debate and more about President Trump’s competence in handling the
coronavirus outbreak. “I’m just concerned, as is my wife, about
what the future holds,” he said.
For others, the coronavirus has not changed their views on gun
control or either political party. Instead, it pushed them to make
a purchase earlier than they otherwise would have or act on pro-gun
views they’d already held. Jake Wilhelm, an environmental
consultant in Virginia, said he had “always been a staunch 2A
supporter.”
Mathew Rosky, a North Carolinian who bought a shotgun for
himself and another for his wife last month, said he believes what
he always has.
“I’m generally conservative and believe the Second Amendment is
clear,” he said. “If you are a citizen that is not a
criminal/prohibited by law or has not been adjudicated a danger to
yourself or others you should be able to own a gun if you want
to.”
Still, for those who have experienced a political change of
heart, the effect has been dramatic. Kane fired the first shots
with his Springfield XD 9mm on May 15.
“Now I’m 100 percent converted,” he said.
He’s already begun recruiting others.
“I got one of my Asian-American friends to take the NRA basic
pistol class with me,” Kane said. “Signed my wife up too for a
later session so we can tag-team it. Never thought I’d be that guy
taking his clueless-about-guns buddy to the gun store.”
After firing his first shots, Kane bought two more guns—a
Smith & Wesson .357 revolver and a California-legal model of
the AR-15 he used to think should be banned. He’s hoping this time
he won’t have to wait more than two months to actually shoot
them.
The post
First-Time Gun Buyers Explain How Coronavirus Changed Their
Politics appeared first on Washington Free Beacon.
