CFriesen - Well, the DOJ website lists about 8,000,000 firearm sales in 2004. California sales that year were 315,000. Half of those were handguns.
California sales were 3.9% (make it 4%) of all guns sold in the U.S. California pop. in 2004 was about 7% of the total U.S. pop. so our average is low for overall population. Total sales are still significant if you go by state.
For all of you members out there who expressed support for your brethren in this ever more fascist province of THE USA - much thanks. I write and write and write to my legislators and to the legislators proposing all these terrible bills. I give as much as I can afford to the NRA. They are a great organization. I also write, when prompted, to other legislators in other states to show my support for the rights of my fellow Americans facing similar hostilities.
To Big45 - As a republic, California is a cancer that we all have to live with. We're not going to break off into the ocean. I hope those of us who remain and fight can slow the spread to other states. Sure we're outnumbered and surrounded. Sure everybody hates what's going on here. But demeaning the guys who fight doesn't help anything. You never know what's going to happen. SCOTUS could give us new life with their decision in the Heller case. Arnie could divorce Maria and marry Ann Coulter. MS13 could lobby the assembly to legalize automatic weapons. We could go back to printing ballots in English. Anything could happen.
The important thing is to keep fighting, voting, writing, and maybe marching for our rights