California gun sales climbed to a five-year high in 2020
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in Burlingame, demonstrates the
HK416 rifle’s adjustable stock June 15. New figures show gun sales rose 57% in California in 2020 to their highest level in five years.Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle
SACRAMENTO — Firearm sales surged by 57% in California in 2020 to their highest level in five years.
Attorney General Rob Bonta reported Thursday that Californians legally bought 1,166,836 guns last year, the most since 2016, when 1,276,163 were purchased.
That total includes 686,435 handguns — the most in a single year since the state Department of Justice began tracking in 1996 and nearly 66% more than 2019 — and 480,401 long guns, up about 46% from the prior year.