SALENA ZITO: New firearm owners shaking up gun culture and American politics.

Despite the millions spent in digital advertisements by gun control advocates like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the appeal of gun ownership is only increasing. Of all the firearms sold last year, 30% — 5.4 million purchases — went to new gun owners, according to a retailer survey conducted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

A new interest in self-sufficiency, caused by collapses in our supply chain, has also led to an explosion in applications for hunting licenses.

According to Stateline, a Pew Trust initiative, many states across the country saw a dramatic rise in both men and women taking a hunter safety class for the first time — with states like Michigan seeing a 67% hike in new hunting license buyers in 2021 compared with 2019, including a 15% increase in female hunters.

People who would never have considered owning a gun were now curious about hunting to provide for their families — and about target practice to learn how to defend themselves and their homes.

This expansion of gun culture is also reflected in the demographics of the new gun owner: The same survey showed a 58% increase in firearm purchases by Black people and 49% by Latinos, compared to 2019.

Further, one-third of people buying their first firearm in 2021 were women.

Those changes were evident in the cavernous halls of the outdoor show, which at times was filled shoulder-to-shoulder with a melting pot of all races, ages and genders.

Dems and the press will continue to portray gun owners as bitter clingers, though.