As someone who sells guns for a living, I get to ask clients why they're buying, what the gun will be used for and a lot more as part of the selling process. With a very rare exception, everyone says, for self-defense. Most follow with something to the effect “things keep getting worse", “I never expected things to get this bad" or “have you seen all the crazy things happening?” I can tell you that a major proportion of them say they're buying a gun for the first time. Many say, “I never thought I'd ever buy a gun".

Not many go into specifics on any single thing, but we've all seen the deterioration of respect for law enforcement. We've all seen the political divide deepen and become heated and tribal. We've all seen a deterioration in civility, first online, then spilling into the public square. We watched riots as cities burned. Blocks of major cities have been taken over and named while they are declared no go zones for police. We've seen businesses shut down, jobs evaporate, the economy crushed.

At the same time militant groups like Antifa and BLM have risen. While our media declares violence “mostly peaceful" as buildings burn and looters scurry about behind the reporters, visible to the cameras. Then we see a rise of militants on the other side with names like Proud Boys and Qanon. We even have politicians fanning the flames with vitriolic language. Who ever thought we'd hear a congresswoman say things like this?

Did anyone doubt gun and ammo sales would explode when there are calls for de-funding and disbanding police across the nation as we watched nightly arson, looting and riots? We can't even agree on the rights of folks to defend themselves. As the McCloskey's watched a large mob destroy the gate to their neighborhood and enter their yard threatening their safety, they armed themselves and they were charged with crimes. Why? Because they feared for their life’s. They had the right to defend themselves and home from terror and the possibility of losing their life. Shame on the government for prosecuting this husband and wife.