Posted on 06/19/2009 8:43:10 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The recession has put the brakes on all sorts of industries, but the upward spike in gun sales that began about the time President Obama was elected continues.
In California, for example, sales over a six-month period late last year and early this year are up 32 percent from the same period a year ago. And while no national figures on gun sales are available, the FBI reports a strong surge in applications for background checks — the best available indicator.
Gun retailers, consumers and politicians on both sides of the aisle attribute the spike to the election of Barack Obama and fears that his administration and a Congress controlled by Democrats will seek new restrictions on gun ownership.
On The Ground At A Gun Show
"Everybody's a little nervous about Obama and everything that's going on with him and the legislation that John Kerry and the likes of him are trying to push through," says 25-year-old Chris Urban. He was one of hundreds of customers jostling shoulder-to-shoulder at a recent gun show in Chantilly, Va., browsing among thousands of pistols, rifles and shotguns across tables.
Urban, who works in federal law enforcement, bought a Walther PPS .40-caliber handgun at the show. It wasn't his first choice though: He wanted the 9 mm version, but there were none to be found. "It has been a little bit harder to get things and the prices have gone up significantly," he says.
Jim Golden, an arms merchant based in Ivor, Va., agrees. Business is "probably 60 percent higher than it was a year ago," he says. "Sixty percent at least."
Gauging Sales Through Background Checks
Background checks are required for all gun sales through federally licensed dealers. During the last quarter of 2008, background checks skyrocketed to more than 4.2 million — their highest level in a decade, according to the FBI. For the first quarter of 2009, the number fell a little bit, but it's still far above where it was last year.
One reason for that may be the prevalence of videos like one on YouTube posted by the gun rights group Americans for Gun Safety. "Remember candidate Barack Obama," a narrator says, "the guy who wasn't going to take our guns away?" The video then cuts to a clip of the president. "I will not take your shotgun away, I will not take your rifle away, I won't take your handgun away," Obama says. The narrator concludes by saying: "Well, guess what? Less than 100 days into his administration and President Obama appears ready to eradicate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans."
Anxieties About President Obama And Congress
Democratic politicians say these messages are fueling anxieties about the new president and the new Congress: "I think many gun dealers are using it as a marketing tool, playing on the unreasonable fears that people have that Congress is going to go too far," says Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).
Durbin notes that in some ways Congress has been moving in the opposite direction, notably with a measure signed by the president in May allowing people with the necessary permits to carry concealed, loaded weapons in national parks.
That may be because the public has taken a conservative turn when it comes to gun control, according to a recent survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.
"A year ago, we had a solid majority, 58 percent, saying it was more important to control gun ownership than to protect the right to own guns," says Carroll Doherty, associate director for editorial projects with the Pew Center. "And now opinion is almost evenly divided. It's a pretty striking shift in a very short period of time — only a year."
It's a shift that has not gone unnoticed by congressional Democrats and the president.
Still, legislation was introduced in Congress this spring to close the so-called gun show loophole. The Gun Show Loophole Closing Act would require federal background checks for all sales at gun shows. In some states, it's possible for individuals to sell guns from their personal collection to others without having to run background checks on the purchaser.
Durbin, a co-sponsor of the legislation, says he supports a national standard. "Many guns are sold to people without any questions asked about criminal records or mental instability," he says. But he's also a pragmatist about its chances: "I believe it's an uphill battle to pass that legislation."
Gun retailers, consumers and politicians on both sides of the aisle attribute the spike to the election of Barack Obama and fears that his administration and a Congress controlled by Democrats will seek new restrictions on gun ownership.
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There is no doubt they will attempt to disarm law-abiding citizens. Oppressive politicians always seek a disarmed citizenry — for the exact reason the Second Amendment was added to the Bill of Rights.
So, if we got us a hugh spike in gun sales, where’s the corresponding spike in blood in the streets?
I’ve always thought that more guns = more crime.
They’re not going to go for the guns, but rather the ammo. Lead ammo poisons the earth and contributes to global warming kind of stuff.
“In California, for example, sales over a six-month period late last year and early this year are up 32 percent from the same period a year ago. And while no national figures on gun sales are available, the FBI reports a strong surge in applications for background checks — the best available indicator. “
I wonder if this has anything to do with Calif. sales
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2274858/posts
By limiting purchasers to 50 rounds per month the legislators will set off a buy spree the likes of which California has never seen before.
Where is that big earthquake that will send California sliding all the way to the arctic? Perhaps Palin can straighten them out although it would a tremendous job.
and fears that his administration and a Congress controlled by Democrats will seek new restrictions on gun ownership.
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These liberal/Marxists always get it wrong. It isn’t the possible restriction that are causing the spike in sales.
It is OBAMA. He has had long association with hard core Marxists. What drives the gun sales is concern over future civil unrest.
It’s not about “gun control” or “gun or ammo restrictions”,...it’s about the collapse of society and chaos. It’s about the government taking control over our lives.
Guns are not always about crime or law and order, they’re about survival and freedom and keeping the government in check over our lives.
Do you trust the government? Do you trust the “liberals” or Democrats? I don’t Do you trust and/or believe the leftists? Do you believe Obama, Biden, Khan, Boxer, Schumer, Reid, Bwarney Fwanks? I don’t.
They’re all dictitorial fascists. All hateful treasonous creeps.
So does hot gas from liberals..
The CEO of S & W was interviewed on CNBC today because of their record earnings. One of the interviewers asked the CEO if he “was packing” to which he responded with a glare - “I’m not gonna answer that”.
Purely anecdotal, but I would wager the sales in Mississippi are far higher than Cali. Pawn shops are EMPTY of anything that is not a very basic hunting shot gun or 22. Ammo is very hard to come to by, especially 40 cal, .223, 308. 9mm, etc.
There to two really fine gun shops in the area. They are doing a brisk business, but they have also hiked their prices about 10%. (Can’t blame ‘em)
I’ve owned rifles all my life (I’m 57), but for the first time, I see the need for a pistol.
Let's see, Sen. Durbin, we only have a century of history to see that "Congress is going to go too far."
Can you tell me another lie, quick!
The background checks are little more than a smokescreen for tracking and building a database of normal citizens that own guns.
It certainly has no value in tracking criminals with guns.
Logic and reason tell me that the only purpose in keeping records on all the “law abiding” gun owners is that the government wants the capability to confiscate these firearms at some point in the future. Logically, one must ask themselves, why would the government think it might have a need to confiscate firearms from non-criminals??
In the event of an invasion by an enemy, a well armed populace could cause great difficulties. Of course that also applies to a hostile enemy that didn’t come from without.
I guess we could do better than the citizens in Tehran. The actions of the Basij are not not lost on the present administration. Sort of a guideline for the proposed Obamajugend.
Excellent quote.
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