This could be viewed as a good thing, as guns sold via a gun store (Or just a licensed dealer) include a background check, unlike private party sales.<p>I'm by no means opposed to private party gun sales, and my own anecdotal private gun buying experience has been that sellers are taking more steps to ensure they're selling to legitimate parties, i.e. only to CCW holders, or requiring an in-state drivers license, etc.
It's not entirely clear from the article, but the data they're using appears to include all types of Federal Firearms Licensees. FFL01 is the license for a traditional gun store. However I hold an FFL03, which is a license to collect Curio & Relic firearms. These comprise guns over 50 years old and some special items on a federal list. With this license I can purchase C&R-eligible guns and have them shipped direct to my door, unlike the general public who must transfer Internet purchases through a FFL01 licensee. I am not, however, allowed to <i>deal</i> in guns, just to make an occasional sale when I decide I don't want a specific gun any more.<p>AMA about FFL03 if you're curious, I guess.
This is not a measure of gun stores, this is a measure of licensed dealers. Many, many dealers do not operate a "store", so the title is totally misleading.
And yet San Francisco has no gun store anymore[1]<p>[1] <a href="http://missionlocal.org/2015/10/san-franciscos-last-gun-shop-closing-after-city-passes-new-regulations/" rel="nofollow">http://missionlocal.org/2015/10/san-franciscos-last-gun-shop...</a>
This is media infusion, and political 2nd Amendment fears in the general population. NICS checks and permit requests are in high demand, so the demand-supply model general means, stores are going to pop-up because there is money to be had. Politics aside, the "anomaly" IMHO was driven by the tech industry and its enabling of EVERYONE to have a voice. It's the "meek shall inherit the Earth" to some extent, but it also makes the established news sources of the big 3-4 outlets (NBC, CBS, ABC, and maybe Fox/CNN) to be diminished in their role to inform us. This diluted the singular and make it the multiple. Again, not judging any side, but the tidal wave and saturation of market makes valued, conservatism almost a rare thing to witness. However, when people see a right possibly being restricted or removed (unlikely in our country) ... that's the fact, Jack. Ergo, where we are now.
Anecdotally, the closest gun store to my current home started in a strip mall berth, and had its own freestanding building <i>with firing range</i> within one year.