You’ve heard about supermarkets running low on paper towels, toilet paper and cases of water amid growing coronavirus fears in the U.S. But now it seems gun sales in some Asian communities have also seen a dramatic spike in recent weeks.
Dennis Lin, the owner of Gun Effects and Cloud Nine Fishing in Southern California, told a local news station that his business has been “really, really crazy” since the outbreak of COVID-19, and his store can barely keep up with demand.
Lin told ABC 7 that he personally believes the fears sweeping the country are overblown. But the numbers don’t lie. Sales in his store have doubled, and he thinks the fear of racial targeting may be to blame.
“We forget, we’re all people,” he said. “We’re in America, we’re not in China.”
Todd Starnes, the best-selling author and host of the “Todd Starnes Radio Show,” said he was not surprised by the report.
“I just assumed most Asian-Americans were already armed,” Starnes said. “I believe every freedom-loving, law-abiding patriot should engage in their Second Amendment rights.”
He continued, “It’s a lot easier to protect your stash of toilet paper and canned tea rations with a Smith & Wesson. And safer.”
The report comes shortly after Dick’s Sporting Goods announced that it would stop gun sales in half its stores in part of the plan to eliminate the hunting section in 440 of its stores, according to the Wall Street Journal.
President Trump on Wednesday took the extraordinary step to ban travel from Europe to the U.S., excluding cargo shipments. He said the move will help stop the spread of the virus and pointed to his quick action on China for slowing the spread in the U.S.
Lin said that many of the gun sales in his store are from those who would normally be averse to gun ownership. But he said the virus may have been something of a tipping point.
“I think they’re more worried about themselves and their families, and there’s nothing wrong with that,” he told the station.