Some gun rights figures seem torn about whether to wholeheartedly welcome the newcomers, many of whom they see as their longtime cultural adversaries.

[Lee] Williams began a recent post, entitled “Now, even anti-gun Californians want a gun,” with a dictionary definition of “hypocrisy.”

[David] Codrea uses a different term. “I see some resentment,” he told VICE News. “I personally am not sympathetic to someone who votes for politicians who infringe on the Second Amendment, then turns around and is deciding their hindquarters are important enough that they want something they’ve been denying to their countrymen.”

It’s also not at all clear that any shift in public opinion, if it’s real, will last beyond the current crisis. certain that the surge will lead to a meaningful shift in public opinion.

“I think that what we’re seeing is an immediate reaction — how much of that will stick will remain to be seen,” Codrea said. “Whether or not they are going to change long term politically, whether they’re going to think deeply enough, and say, ‘My rights have been eroded,’ I don’t know.”