Tacti-Cool Guns and Gear closed its doors in Santa Maria after the owner said he could not compete with California’s restrictive gun laws.
“A lot of people are not spending money in the firearms industry right now because it is so frustrating,” said Brian Anton, owner of Tacti-Cool Guns and Gear.
Anton says stringent California gun laws have taken a toll on profits.
The State of California has some of the strictest gun regulations in the nation.
Anton says purchasing ammunition has become harder. Buyers now have to go through background checks before buying bullets.
The closing of the business sparked quite the reaction in the tight-knit community.
Erin Brogdon started shooing five years ago with the Tacti-Cool team.
During that time she said the local gun community has treated her like family.
"Just to think that it's gone now and I am going to be missing my family all the time, miss going in, hanging out, shooting, and I was thinking where am I going to go now? I don't have any place to go,” said Brogdon.
Robert Huguenard is the owner of Coastal Professional Services in Nipomo and has been in the firearm business for 13 years.
Huguenard said he has not seen a drop in sales because of California’s gun laws, it has just gotten more difficult for people to get a gun in their hands.
"I don't attribute it entirely to the laws. I attribute it more to the political winds,” said Huguenard.
While gun shop owners may be feeling the effects in their wallets, others in support of the regulations say it is for the public’s safety.
Tacti-Cool did close its doors, but Anton said he sold the business to a firearms chain company that will continue to sell firearms.
Anton also mentioned that his business had contracts with several law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, those agencies will have to now look elsewhere to train and certify their officers.
