A year into the coronavirus pandemic, and many things still haven’t changed. Municipalities continue to enforce mask and social distancing restrictions. Guns and ammo still fly off the shelves. And one minority in particular, Asian-Americans, are reportedly buying guns in increased numbers.
Asian-Americans Buy Guns to Combat Hate Crimes
We first reported on this troubling rise in coronavirus-fueled hate crimes more than one year ago; that report started in California. Now the movement appears to be happening across the country. Asian-Americans continue being targets of hate crimes, and they’re buying guns for protection.
“There are more Asians being introduced to firearms,” Jimmy Gong, the owner of Jimmy’s Sport Shop in Mineola, N.Y., told Forbes. “Before, there was never gun culture in the Asian community. But after the pandemic and all the hate crime going on, there are more Asians buying guns to defend themselves.”
The recent mass shooting in Georgia only heightens fears in the Asian-American community. A madman murdered six Asian-American women in a sad killing spree recently.
“They’re feeling a lot more unsafe in their environment and I think it’s more dramatic for them now, especially with what just happened,” Towers Armory owner Tim Hensley told Forbes, referring to the shooting.
Better still, Hensley says many Asian-American gun owners double down on their purchase. Many first-time owners spend lots of range time with their new pistol or carbine.
“They’re trying to get proficient, which is telling me that there is an urgency,” he said.
Hate on the Rise
According to Forbes, hate crimes against Asian-Americans grew 149-percent in 2020. This insane metric pairs with a 7-percent decline in hate crimes overall. Crimes spiked “amidst a rise in Covid cases and negative stereotyping of Asians relating to the pandemic,” according to the “Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernadino.”
So while the Biden White House gears up a full assault against the Second Amendment, one group continues to exercise its Constitutional right. It seems many Asian-Americans, sadly, figured out only they could protect themselves.
“We have a lot of Asian-American customers buying guns,” Jerry Hwang, a salesman at Wade’s Eastside Guns in Bellevue, Wash., told Forbes. “They’re coming because of the pandemic and the riots, of people messing with stores and messing with people’s property.”
We are all our own first responders. The Asian-American community seemingly understands this all-too well. But without a vibrant, healthy Second Amendment, how do we protect our loved ones? For it might be you the mob turns on next.
