What's the matter with Arizona?

From Bloomberg today, "Arizona Shootings Trigger Surge in Glock Sales Amid Fear of Ban" (all emphasis mine):

Greg Wolff, the owner of two Arizona gun shops, told his manager to get ready for a stampede of new customers after a Glock-wielding gunman killed six people at a Tucson shopping center on Jan. 8.

Wolff was right. Instead of hurting sales, the massacre had the $499 semi-automatic pistols -- popular with police, sport shooters and gangsters -- flying out the doors of his Glockmeister stores in Mesa and Phoenix.

To be fair, Arizona isn't alone:

One-day sales of handguns in Arizona jumped 60 percent to 263 on Jan. 10 compared with 164 the corresponding Monday a year ago, the second-biggest increase of any state in the country, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data.

Handgun sales rose 65 percent to 395 in Ohio; 16 percent to 672 in California; 38 percent to 348 in Illinois; and 33 percent to 206 in New York, the FBI data show. Sales increased nationally about 5 percent, to 7,906 guns.

And apparently, this isn't unusual:

Federally tracked gun sales, which are drawn from sales in gun stores that require a federal background check, also jumped following the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech, in which 32 people were killed.

Still, I find the reaction of at least one Arizonan a little disturbing:

Wolff called the shooting “horrible.” Nonetheless, it has created a surge of publicity for the gun, he said.

“It’s in the news now. I’m sure the Green Bay Packers are selling all kinds of jerseys today as well,” he said. “I just think our state embraces guns.”

He's right about one thing: in the Midwest we prefer football jerseys to guns. (You can't harm anyone with a jersey.)

Had enough? Wait, there's just one more thing you should know about Arizona:

Arizona law allows anyone to carry a gun in public if it’s in full view, making it what’s known as an open-carry state. Until recently, gun store owners say, it was common to see people carrying weapons in grocery stores or coffee shops. That’s less true today, because last year that state passed a law allowing individuals to carry a concealed weapon without a permit.

Common to see people carrying weapons in grocery stores? What, in God's name, are these people so afraid of? Do people in Arizona think they're living in a Quentin Tarantino movie, or something?

Is Arizona really that lawless, or is everyone there just a little kooky?