HANDGUN SALES DOWN, LONG GUN SALES UP IN CALIFORNIA . . . Data from the
California Attorney General's office reported recently by the San
Francisco Chronicle reveal that handgun sales in the state dropped 23
percent last year to a record low. Meanwhile, the sale of rifles and
shotguns increased 7.3 percent. Last year Californians purchased at least
354,202 firearms ¾ 198,999 long guns and 155,203 handguns, according to
the data. However, because sales of both rifles and shotguns in a single
transaction are counted only as one purchase, the total number of long
guns sold is not precisely known. The true figure may be considerably
higher. Local gun control advocates claim the drop in handgun sales is a
result of a growing aversion to keeping such guns in the home. Critics
cite increasingly restrictive firearm legislation and bureaucratic foot
dragging, such as the attorney general's failure to timely publish a list
of "approved" handguns for sale under a so-called "consumer protection"
law that recently went into effect