A new UC Davis study shows that California gun sales have spiked since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of these buyers are first-time gun owners.
The UC Davis study estimates that 110,000 Californians bought guns because they believed there was an increase in violence due to the pandemic.
Of those who bought guns due to concerns around COVID, 47,000 had never owned a gun before. That statistic shows how almost half of all gun sales during the pandemic went to first-time gun owners.
New gun owners in California are required to pass a written safety test, but there is no state-mandated training course to teach new gun owners how to safely fire their weapon.
