Obama and guns
In the days leading up the the presidential election and in the time since Obama has been elected, there has been a serious increase in gun purchases as well as ammo sales. I don’t have any hard numbers to back me up on this, but I do have a personal experience. I went to a local Sportsman’s Warehouse store. Whenever I go there, being someone who likes guns and believes the 2nd Amendment is a RIGHT, not a priveledge, I always walk by the gun counter. This day, I was totally surprised by what I saw. There were hardly any handguns on display. In fact, there was probably well over 50% less handguns maybe as much as 75% less on display than the last time I had been there which was a couple of months before. I was astonished. So much so that I just stood there and stared in awe. I thought to myself, “They must be not going to carry handguns anymore” as I’ve seen other stores take this stand (Walmart and Sports Authority) for fear of being sued if a wack job uses a handgun that was purchased in their store to do harm to someone illegally. I stood there so long, and I must of had a strange look on my face, because one of the salesmen behind the counter who was actually helping a customer interrupted his conversation with that customer to ask me if I was OK. I told him I was fine, but I took the opportunity to ask him if they were not going to carry handguns anymore. His reply? “No, we’re still carrying them. There’s just been a huge run on them.”
I have also been watching the run on ammo and the price increases that have gone along with it. 5.56 Nato ammunition used to be available for about $.35/round. I received an advertisement the other day that was touting military grade 5.56 ammo at $.97/round. Unbelievable!
But this is what happens when people believe that their right to own a firearm or even just ammunition is about to be taken away. We saw the same thing happen when Congress put the assault gun ban in place in the 90s. As there was a time lag between when it was passed and when it went in effect, people went crazy buying guns that were going to be on the banned list. By the way, an assault rifle is a rifle that fires fully automatic. Those are already heavily regulated. The ban that was in place was a ban on assault “looking” rifles. If it looked mean, they banned it.
Is this run on guns and ammo justified? I guess time will tell. What each person needs to do is take heed to what Obama says and make a personal judgement as to whether he can be believed and trusted. He has been saying all along that he won’t take anyone’s guns away. But, by the same token, he has NEVER supported pro-gun legislation and has in fact supported every piece of anti-gun legislation that he’s seen, both at the state and federal level. He’s also loading up his administration with a bunch of anti-gunners. Here’s a good read on it. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,479367,00.html
Personally, I bought a bunch of ammo almost a year ago. Anybody want to buy some? I’ll sell it to you cheap.
Definitions on assault rifle differ. The definitions that I hold to are that an assault rifle is a selective fire weapon that generally is shoulder mounted by an individual. From wikipedia: An assault rifle is a selective fire (automatic and semi-automatic) rifle . Assault rifles are the standard small arms in most modern armies, having largely replaced or supplemented larger, more powerful battle rifles, such as the World War II-era M1 Garand and SVT-40. Examples of assault rifles include the AK-47, the M16 rifle, and the Steyr AUG. Semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15 and civilian versions of the AK-47 are not assault rifles, as they are not selective fire. Nor do belt-fed weapons or rifles with fixed magazines meet the definition of an assault rifle.
I think where you may be coming from is the definition of “assault weapon” which was created during the Clinton administation. From wikipedia: Assault weapon refers to a broad category of firearms, including military-style semiautomatic rifles derived from assault rifles, and also including some pistols and shotguns. Assault weapons are often similar in appearance to military firearms, but are capable of firing only one round each time the trigger is pulled.
I realize that wikipedia is not the end all for definitions. And I wouldn’t be willing to argue too hard with you on this either.
Ultimately, I think we pretty much agree.
“By the way, an assault rifle is a rifle that fires fully automatic.”
Your blog’s premise is fine but you are in error with your description of ‘assault rifles’…
The term was invented by the media to characterize military style/civilian version rifles that shoot semi automatic, not full automatic.
For example, the HK’s and Colt Ar’s that shoot single shot and semi automatic have been termed ‘assault rifles’.
……….
Consistent with your blog, watch to see how President Obama, backed by his AG, Brady, Feinstein, Boxer and Clinton all push for UN compliance with a no-gun society.
Paul
Plastic forks? I’d be interested to hear details of that!
I am also concerned about the future of gun rights for citizens in this country. It was made clear during the Clinton Administration that certin politicians think that this is some sort of solution to the problem of gun violence in this country. I have worked many years in the ER and have seen directly the outcome of gun violence. The problem with anti-gun legislation is that it only applies to individuals who go through the legal process of gun purchase. They are not the problem! It will have absolutely no effect on criminals who buy guns from the backs of car trunks and other non-traceable avenues. The criminals will always be able to get guns. Where does that leave the law-abiding citizen who uses guns for sport, self defense, or is a collector? Perhaps proper and strict enforcement of laws that already exist is a better solution to gun violence in this country. In my experience, if a person REALLY wants to kill someone, a gun is just one of many options available. Hell, I’ve seen people killed with plastic forks, 2×4′s, pens, pencils, you name it. Attempting to disarm the this country will never work; there are already zillions of guns out there. Leave our Second Amendment rights alone!
There’s a little time left yet before the anti-gun hammer drops. Obomination will want to ensure that he has his Supreme Court replacements in place so that when the anti-gun laws are challenged the president set last year will be changed (he did promise “change”).
There’s another angle of this people like to keep in the back closet of their mind and not talk about… the “Red Dawn” scenario. With a President like Obomination will likely be the chances of a that scenario actually happening increase dramatically. Perhaps thats why you see people stocking up on ammo; if it was just an “assault” weapons ban they’re worried about why not spend the extra money on additional “assault” weapons? Or maybe it just “romantic” wishful thinking… LOL.