Obama's Election Fuels Firearms Sales

“The same phenomenon occurred when Bill CLinton was elected the first time,” M Aeschliman remembers. “There had been a rush to purchase firearms, because he wasn’t in favor of them.”

Firearm sales in the United States have strongly increased in the weeks preceding the election of Democratic Senator Barack Obama, because those in favor of firearms fear a restriction on what they consider an acquired constitutional right.

The most recent numbers aren’t available, according to the FBI, but the increase in rifle sales, hand-held weapons and semi-automatics started in Spring and literally exploded in October. For October only, firearm sales jumped 15%, which is 150,000 weapons more adding up to a total of 1,183 million, according to the data of the FBI department which verifies the buyers’ criminal records.

“There is no doubt that this is tied to the election. As we came closer to the election and it was seeing more and more Obama’s victory, sales exploded at the end of October,” as AFP Tony Aeschliman, spokesman of the National Shooting Sport Foundation, an association that defends sportive shooting, explained.

In the gun stores interviewed, sales were still up. “The buyers are afraid of a weapons control, the second amendment says that we may possess weapons legally. He (Obama) will try to take this right away from us,” deplored Jimmy, manager of Republic Arms store in Houston, south Texas.

“People don’t say why, they buy weapons, but I’m sure it has to do with Obama’s election, because he is anti-firearm,” noted Jan, manager of Continental Arms in east Baltimore who also saw sales increase these last weeks. During the electoral campaign, Barack Obama explained that he respected the second amendment – to the Constitution – on which weapons partisans base their right to own one, but as Illinois’ legislator, he voted in favor of several restrictions on weapon carrying. The second amendment to the American Constitution guarantees to every American citizen the right to carry weapons.

“People have the legitimate fear that with Obama’s administration and a Democrat majority in the Senate and the Chamber, there will be an attempt to ban certain types of weapons, semi-automatic sporting rifles in particular,” Dave Workman, Gun Week magazine editor, explained. “The same phenomenon occurred when Bill Clinton was elected the first time,” M Aeschliman remembers. “There had been a rush to purchase firearms, because he wasn’t perceived as someone who was in favor of firearms.”

The quick rise of unemployment (6.5%, the highest in 14 years) may be another explanation, according to the Shooting Sport association. “We know that when unemployment rises, hunters are more active. They have more time and can pile up meat to save in the freezer,” Tony Aeschliman explained.