BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Liberal political policies that undermine law and order will typically send citizens flocking to gun stores to arm themselves. As violent crimes spike in California, affluent residents of Beverly Hills are apparently feeling especially vulnerable.
Hence, a gun store owner in the cash-rich city says he’s seeing a massive business boom from affluent clients as a crime surge in Los Angeles has residents frightened, Daily Caller reported.
The city’s only gun store, Beverly Hills Guns, opened in July 2020 and has serviced wealthy clients from Santa Monica to Hollywood Hills following the rise in smash-and-grab robberies and home invasions, according to LA Mag.
“People want to feel protected and the liberal establishment is letting them down in a big way,” a recent gun purchaser told Law Officer. “What’s interesting is that progressive liberals don’t want us to own guns, yet their policies and all this criminal justice reform make us afraid to live without one. If they would keep criminals in jail, I might feel differently.”
Last week the Los Angeles chapter of Black Lives Matter held a “Smash and Grab” intimidation protest march in Beverly Hills on Rodeo Drive, a shopping area saturated with luxury stores, Law Officer reported.
The (unenforced) criminal activity reportedly shut down the area for about two hours on one of the final shopping days before Christmas.
The revolt was referred to as the “Smash White Capitalism and Grab Justice” protest, with BLM LA stating on their Instagram page: “It’s a different kind of ‘smash and grab!’”
“SMASH white capitalism; GRAB justice! Meet us in Beverly Hills for sign-making, justice caroling, dancing, and beloved community. Bring your family, friends, comrades, singing voices, dancing/marching shoes, Santa hats, revolutionary holiday spirit, and freedom dreams,” the post encouraged.
Consequently, heightened fears over being the victim of a crime has sent Beverly Hill residents — actors, real estate moguls and film executives — to their local gun shop with many purchasing a firearm for the first time, owner Russell Stuart told LA Mag.
“This morning I sold six shotguns in about an hour to people that say, ‘I want a home defense shotgun,’” Stuart told the outlet. “Everyone has a general sense of constant fear, which is very sad. We’re used to this being like Mayberry.”
Violent crime in Beverly Hills jumped 23% in the last two years, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Security expert and former Marine David Perez told LA Mag that “Beverly Hills is definitely a target.”
“We’re telling clients, ‘Hey, don’t go out with flashy jewelry. Try to keep a lower profile. Instead of driving the Bentley, maybe just take the SUV,” Perez, who once worked security in the Clinton White House and Pentagon, said.
Beverly Hills resident Debbie Mizrahie told the New York Post in early December that she’s “always been anti-gun” but was in the process “of getting myself shooting lessons because I now understand that there may be a need for me to know how to defend myself and my family. We’re living in fear.”
Another resident, Shirley Reitman, told the Post, “Residents feel insecure even going from their door to their car.”
The Southland’s follow-home robberies have contributed to this legitimate fear, according to Law Officer.
An LAPD spokesperson told FOX News in early December that follow-home robberies seem to be “popping up everywhere” in the city.
The department created a “Follow Home Task Force” after discovering in mid-November that they were investigating more than 110 robberies involving at least six different street gangs in which the victims were followed home. It is unknown how many similar crimes have occurred since then and/or in neighboring communities.
