Posted by
ProudAmericanJesusFreak on Saturday, November 08, 2008 9:49:22 PM
Dena Potter - Associated Press Writer - 11/8/2008 6:45:00 AM
MIDLOTHIAN, Va. - When 10-year-old Austin Smith heard
Barack Obama had been elected president, he had one question: Does this
mean I won't get a new gun for Christmas?
That
brought his mother, the camouflage-clad Rachel Smith, to Bob Moates
Sports Shop on Thursday, where she was picking out that special
20-gauge shotgun - one of at least five weapons she plans to buy before
Obama takes office in January.
Like Smith, gun enthusiasts nationwide are stocking up on firearms out
of fears that the combination of an Obama administration and a
Democrat-dominated Congress will result in tough new gun laws.
"I think they're going to really try to crack down on guns and make it
harder for people to try to purchase them," said Smith, 32, who taught
all five of her children - ages 4 to 10 - to shoot because the family
relies on game for food.
Last month, as an Obama win looked increasingly inevitable, there were
more than 108,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in
October 2007, a 15 percent increase. And they were up about 8 percent
for the year as of Oct. 26, according to the FBI.
No data was available for gun purchases this week, but gun shops from
suburban Virginia to the Rockies report record sales since Tuesday's
election.
"They're scared to death of losing their rights," said David Hancock,
manager of Bob Moates, where sales have nearly doubled in the past week
and are up 15 percent for the year. On Election Day, salespeople were
called in on their day off because of the crowd.
Obama has said he respects Americans' Second Amendment right to bear
arms, but that he favors "common sense" gun laws. Gun rights advocates
interpret that as meaning he'll at least enact curbs on ownership of
assault and concealed weapons.
As a U.S. Senator, Obama voted to leave gun-makers and dealers open to
lawsuits; and as an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on
semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms.
During an October appearance in Ohio, Obama sought to reassure gun
owners. "I will not take your shotgun away," he said. "I will not take
your rifle away. I won't take your handgun away."
Gun advocates take some solace in the current makeup of the U.S.
Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 this summer to strike down the District
of Columbia's 32-year ban on handguns. For now, gun rights supporters
hold a narrow edge on the court, but Obama could appoint justices who
would swing it the other way.
Franklin Gun Shop outside Nashville, Tenn., sold more than 70 guns on
Tuesday, making it the biggest sales day since the shop opened eight
years ago. Guns & Gear in Cheyenne, Wyo., also set a one-day sales
record on Tuesday, only to break that mark on Wednesday.
Stewart Wallin, owner of Get Some Guns in the Salt Lake City suburb of
Murray, Utah, said he sold nine assault weapons the day after Obama was
elected. That same day, the gun store Cheaper Than Dirt! in Fort Worth,
Texas, sold $101,000 worth of merchandise, shattering its single-day
sales record, store owner DeWayne Irwin said.
One Georgia gun shop advertised an "Obama sale" on an outdoor sign, but
the owner took it down after people complained that the shop appeared
to be issuing a call to violence against the country's first black
leader.
The president of a Montana gun manufacturer stepped down last month
after word that he supported Obama led to calls for a boycott of the
company.
While Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle
Association, attributes some of the sales boom to the tanking economy,
he thinks the Democratic sweep is the top reason why guns are suddenly
a hot commodity.
"I don't think he'll be able to stand up to that anti-Second Amendment
wing of the Democratic party that's just been spoiling for chance to
ban America's guns," LaPierre said of Obama.
During the campaign, the NRA warned that Obama would be the "most
antigun president in American history." And while Vice President-elect
Joe Biden owns shotguns, he has supported a ban on assault weapons and
has said private sellers at gun shows should be required to perform
background checks.
But Mark Tushnet, a Harvard Law School professor who has written a book
about the gun debate, said new firearms regulations will be a low
priority for an Obama administration and Democratic Congress facing a
global economic crisis and two wars.
"Maybe the gun-show loophole will be closed, but not much else," he
said in an e-mail. "I'd be surprised, for example, if Congress enacted
a new assault gun ban."
Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence,
said his organization will continue to press for what he calls
"sensible" restrictions _ background checks at gun shows, a ban on
military-style assault weapons and cracking down on illegal gun trade.
He believes he has the backing of the new administration on those
issues, but any fears of a broader crackdown are unfounded.
"The one thing that they agree strongly with us on is that it's too
easy for dangerous people to get guns in this country," Helmke said. "I
guess if you're a dangerous person you might want to run out there and
buy some more, but otherwise you should be OK.