California legal gun sales on pace to set record

http://www.dailydemocrat.com/ci_21180029/california-legal-gun-sales-pace-set-record

Legal gun sales in California are on pace to set a record this year, according to state projections, although no one can say exactly why.

The state Department of Justice expects that 725,000 rifles, pistols and shotguns will be legally purchased in 2012. The projection is more than 100,000 more guns than were bought last year and nearly twice as many as were purchased five years ago.

Within the past decade, firearm sales have increased dramatically across the state, a rise that officials and experts say is difficult to explain with any precision because the state doesn't track why people purchase the weapons.