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California gun sales continue to skyrocket as strict anti-gun laws set to kick in
FILE - In this Dec. 9, 2015, file photo, sales associate Mike Conway, right, shows Paul Angulo guns at Bullseye Sport gun shop in Riverside, Calif. With six new gun control bills signed by California's Gov. Jerry Brown in July 2016, sales of semi-automatic rifles have more than doubled in California over last year. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

California gun sales continue to skyrocket as strict anti-gun laws set to kick in

Last week, TheBlaze reported that the state of California had seen an uptick in gun sales. It would appear that this trend continued to see spikes in sales.

After San Bernardino, California lawmakers were quick to use the tragedy in order to push further restrictions on firearms within the state. Among the six bills signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, is a law that requires semi-automatic rifles with "evil features" to be registered upon purchase.

Naturally, even in the Smurf-blue state of California, Americans are looking to get their firearms purchased before the laws kick in, and California starts keeping track of how they practice their Second Amendment right. Chris Ostrom who manages Pacific Outfitters, a gun store in California, has been sold out of many an accessory, or gun part for weeks.

The Press Democrat has more:

The new gun controls reclassified semiautomatic rifles that have what are called “evil features” as assault weapons, which have been banned in California since 1989. The features added to the prohibited list include a protruding or forward pistol grip, a thumbhole stock, a folding stock or a flash suppressor.

The law was meant to address what’s often called the “bullet button” loophole developed as a workaround to an earlier ban of detachable magazines. The bullet button enables a shooter to use a bullet or small tool to depress a button to eject spent magazines. There’s a way gun owners can keep their so-called “evil features,” but it’s an unpopular one, according to Ostrom and others.

California residents can register the assault weapon with the state, which costs $15. Ostrom said the gun cannot be sold or gifted and must be destroyed if a person no longer wishes to have it or when the owner dies.

There are ways around it, but they aren't at all helpful.

The first method uses what’s called an AR Mag Lock, a fixed magazine lock-and-release kit that makes the bullet button inoperable and forces the shooter to partly disassemble the gun — by opening the receiver — to reload a magazine.

Another option is to replace the pistol grip with a fixed stock, which so far has been the more popular option, said Ostrom. He outfitted his AR-10 with a fixed stock and uses it as a display in the store to show customers what to do. The change does impact comfort and accuracy, he said.

“What the state calls an ‘evil feature’ is nothing more than ergonomics,” Ostrom said.

However, as seen during the Obama administration, whenever a leftist politician so much as looks askance in the general direction of a firearm, American citizens rush to purchase them. California is no different. Reports indicate that in the month of December alone, nearly 1 million firearms have been sold in California. Compare this to 700,000 guns sold in all of 2015.

The sale of semi-automatic rifles as also jumped, with 364,643 sold by December 9th.

California's hike in gun purchases follows a national trend. Gun sales have hit record highs for reasons ranging from President Barack Obama's negative view on them, to fears that failed Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton would win.

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