On Wednesday, 29-year-old gunman Ian David Long walked into the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, and opened fire with a handgun, leaving 12 people, including a veteran police officer, dead. In the wake of the shooting, the only gun shop in town has received an overwhelming response, leaving the owner stunned.
Immediately following a mass shooting, the political left inevitably plays the same tune: Guns are to blame. However, it seems that more and more people aren’t buying this baseless narrative anymore. In response to the mass shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, California, the only gun shop in town has seen an influx of people intent on purchasing a firearm.
California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation. The Borderline Bar and Grill was a “gun-free zone,” but that didn’t stop shooter Ian David Long from killing twelve people, including one law enforcement officer who was only a short time away from retirement. That being the case, even citizens from liberal havens on the west coast are flocking to gun stores to buy a firearm for personal protection.
USA TODAY sent reporter Gus Garcia-Roberts to VC Defense — the only gun shop in Thousand Oaks — and what he witnessed was surprising to some people.
Brandon Simone, a 35-year-old single dad, previously vowed never to have a gun in the same home as his child. But after the massacre at Borderline, which is just down the street from his apartment, he drove the three miles to VC Defense to purchase a 9-millimeter pistol. His neighbor, Molly, also visited their town’s only gun shop to buy a weapon. Molly insisted that her boyfriend buy a gun, as well.
“For John Von Colln, VC Defense’s proprietor, the duo were among an unusually steady stream of customers that day. Many of them expressed the same sentiment: they had come to the gun store because no place feels safe anymore, and they felt ill-equipped to confront the next mass shooter or armed home invader,” reported Garcia-Roberts. “They weren’t driven by a collector’s desire to hoard guns and accessories, but by raw fear.”
Other members of the community flocked to VC Defense, too. From small business owners to first-time buyers suddenly seeking weapons for self-defense, the shop was slammed.
According to Garcia-Roberts, “A banker wearing business casual, designer glasses and a gold Rolex inquired about concealing a sidearm under a tucked-in dress shirt. ‘I need more holsters because I am not going anywhere without my piece now,’ he announced. Asking only to be identified as John for his safety, the banker said his son was outside the bar during the shooting, and that two of his son’s friends were killed. His own fear, he said, is being caught unprepared at a mall targeted by another madman with a gun.”
It took approximately three minutes for officers to respond to the Borderline shooting; three minutes during which time patrons of the bar were basically sitting ducks for Ian Long. Had even one of them been armed, they could have confronted the shooter with deadly force and thereby saved an untold number of lives that night. But, sadly, they were prevented from defending themselves by law. Ultimately, we have leftist politicians to thank for that.
Judging by the amount of business VC Defense has done in the days following this shooting, it appears that many people are beginning to realize the need to be responsible for their own safety. All the gun laws in the world cannot stop a madman intent on taking lives from carrying out his sick plan. California and other liberal enclaves like Chicago are proof of this.
