‘Guns are flying off the shelf.’ Permit applications up more than 500% amid coronavirus pandemic and George Floyd fallout.

Take your pick. The pandemic, the police killing of George Floyd, the presidential election. Protests, looting, calls to “defund the police.”

Any one of such similar events historically has been enough to push some people off the fence, prompting them to finally buy a gun or add to their collection.

But with a wave of crises crashing across the country, more than 40,000 Illinoisans applied for a gun permit in a little more than two weeks this month, more than 500% over this time last year, according to Illinois State...