State Gun Sales Drop 6.6%, Ending 3-Year Rise, Study Finds
Total gun purchases in California dropped 6.6% last year, led by a large decline in handgun sales, state Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren said Friday.
The attorney general said 599,672 firearms were bought last year, compared to a record 642,197 in 1993. Sales of handguns were down nearly 12%, from 433,822 to 382,085. Purchases of rifles and shotguns, however, were up 4.4%, from 208,375 to 217,587.
Lungren, a Republican, attributed the drop to renewed public confidence in law enforcement’s ability to do its job, a decline in the crime rate over the last two years, and legislative passage of tough anti-crime bills, including the “three strikes and you’re out” law that is sending more criminals to prison.
The latest numbers reversed a trend that began after the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
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