Name one industry that has not gone to Capitol Hill begging for a handout from Nancy Pelosi and the Obama Administration.
If you guessed the American firearms industry, there is ample evidence to back that up, as newspaper after newspaper has reported gun sales flourishing in virtually every region of the country. Most recently, the Tulsa World notes that firearms and ammunition are going out the front door as soon as they come in the rear receiving door. There appears no end in sight.
"We've sold more ammunition in the last three months than we sold last year."
This is not a sudden phenomenon. It began even before the November election that sent Barack Obama to the White House, where he has been assembling an anti-gun “dream team” that now includes liberal Democrat King County Executive Ron Sims and Seattle Police Chief Gil Kerlikowske.
Last Nov. 7, UPI reported that gun sales in Denver, Colo. Had been strong “amid fears President-elect Barack Obama will curtail firearm laws…”
Having reported this situation in the pages of Gun Week over the past few months, and observing sales activities at local gun shops, a few things have become very evident. For example, staffers at Wade’s Eastside Guns in Bellevue noted the number of first-time gun buyers visiting their busy shop with its adjacent indoor gun range. I was present when some of these first-time sales were occurring, and high on the shopping list were rifles of the AR-15 variety, along with every round of ammunition people could buy.
More than once, gun shop sales clerks around the country have expressed astonishment at the hypocrisy of many buyers who admit having voted for Obama. Apparently, they woke up last Nov. 5 and realized that they had just elected a man to office who has a voting record decidedly against gun ownership.
When White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel – Bill Clinton’s point-man on gun control schemes during his administration – told reporters that Obama would like to renew the ban on semiautomatic rifles, it only inflamed the panic.
A recent visit to The Marksman gun shop and indoor range south of Puyallup further confirmed the buying frenzy. Staffers there acknowledged that they have been selling lots of new and used handguns. Internet chat groups complain of no ammunition available in several popular calibers. My colleague, David Codrea, shared this conversation he had recently with Tommy Milner, CEO at Remington Arms.
Gun sales are hot in New Mexico, as well. Carry permit applications are skyrocketing in North Carolina.
Amid all of this buying, a renewed vigor for the right to keep and bear arms is showing up. One man – gun rights activist and author Skip Coryell of Michigan – has announced plans for a huge gun owner march on Washington, D.C. in 2010 to remind Congress that Americans value their liberty, and a cornerstone of that liberty is the Second Amendment. The message they plan to send to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues is simple: Hands Off.
Gun rights organizations including the NRA, and the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, all report increasing support from members, and fresh recruitment. Expect the NRA’s annual members’ meeting in Phoenix in May to be a standing-room-only affair.
Voters wanted change and they wanted hope, but it appears that Mr. Obama was right about times of uncertainty. Americans cling to their guns.
Insert photo caption or credit here
For more info: National Rifle Association, Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Second Amendment March
Meanwhile, check what my colleague Howard Nemerov thinks about the problem with border security in Texas
And meet Ed Stone, the Atlanta Gun Rights Examiner
Comments
After 8 years of Republicans violating our Constitutional rights with such ususpations as warrantless wiretaps, McCain-Feingold, and the Patriot Act, (a complete list would take several pages) what do the Republicans do? They give us McCain as candidate. Hardly a posterboy for Constitutional limitations on the federal government. There was no hypocrisy in voting AGAINST the republicans in order to send them a STRONG message that OUR government was formed to SECURE rights, not eliminate them. The downside, of course, is Obama, and no, I did not vote for him or Mc Cain. And it still remains to be seen whether or not the leaders of the Republican Party have enough sense to read the Constitution and then have the integrity to obey it.
In the meantime, I'll cling to my guns, my Constitution, and my country.
I've been hoping and waiting for something like this paper and with good and honest informatin to come along. There is alot of liberal trash in washington DC doing alot of Damage to our country right now under our noses. They need to be stopped or at least let them know we like our country the way it was designed by our for fathers. That new presedent has done more damage to our country in his short term so far than all of our previous Presidents put together. We need to plan on cleaning up Washington DC Liberals.
First off a lot is two words - anyway this is nothing more than people living in fear. i never want a gun in my house and when children have guns in schools and in the streets and someone you know gets killed is your solution to get a gun too?
to Concerned: It must be terrible to have no faith in your Mother, Father, Husband or Wife, Adult Children, Mailman, Firemen, Neighbor, Friend or Stranger. Your suggestion that because there are dangerous people the solution is to render yourself and others totally helpless is utterly naive. What is your suggested response to rape? Drop your pants and lie down with your legs spread? As long as people like you continue to encourage crime by supplying helpless victims the problems will only get worse.
Concerned says:
First off a lot is two words - anyway this is nothing more than people living in fear. i never want a gun in my house and when children have guns in schools and in the streets and someone you know gets killed is your solution to get a gun too?
If you don't want a gun in your house thats your choice and I respect that, now respect my choice and my right to own guns. If a kid gets a gun your solution is to stomp on the Bill of rights? Thats brilliant, the next time some kid dies because of something said on the internet I suppose you'll want to ban that as well.
If you think banning guns is going to reduce violent crime you need to check yourself. Tell me Concerned, how's Americas ban on illegal drugs working? Yea, thats what I thought. Maybe if we just banned powerful drugs like cocaine, that would stop drug use? You getting my drift concerned?
If anyone out there thinks Democraps are any different than republicrams or Obama/Bush just look at the Veterans Disarmament Bill that good 'ol George signed last lear. IT, WITH THE STROKE OF A PEN, TOOK GUNS AWAY FROM MORE PEOPLE THA ANY OTHER BILL IN THE HISTORY OF GUN BANS. If you don't believe it then GOOGLE IT!!!!!
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