President-elect Barack Obama's election has spurred a surge in gun sales, firearms retailers and enthusiasts say, as gun owners brace for what they believe will be a new era of gun control in Washington.

An electronic news service that covers outdoor news has even named Obama its "Gun Salesman of the Year."

Firearms associations began to suspect that political considerations were driving gun sales late last year as the number of background checks increased. But end-of-year figures showed a big spike in background checks for the last three months of 2008, and in November, the month Obama was elected, the number of background checks was 42 percent greater than in November 2007.

"It's not a hard tea leaf to read," said Jim Shepherd, publisher of the news service Outdoor Wire, which claims Obama's election has "frightened consumers into action."

Obama has repeatedly stated that he supports Second Amendment rights and will not crack down on gun owners, and in June he said he agreed with the Supreme Court when it overturned the District of Columbia handgun ban.

But gun groups are not convinced. They say Obama's legislative record in support of gun control, and his offhand remark during the primaries that small-town Americans are "bitter" and "cling to their guns," foretell a strict approach to firearms regulation during his presidency.

A December poll from Southwick Associates found that 80 percent of hunters and shooters expect the new administration and a Democratic Congress will make purchasing firearms more difficult.

"It's clear that gun owners and prospective gun owners are concerned about the incoming Obama administration and Congress," said Ted Novin, spokesman for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

According to FBI statistics, there were 12.7 million background checks on prospective gun buyers last year, compared with 11.2 million the year before. While checks typically increase toward the end of the year, they spiked sharply at the end of 2008. The figures show a 27 percent increase in the last three months of 2008 over 2007.

"We always anticipate a spike .... This year compared to previous years, the last two months there was a significant increase," said FBI spokesman Paul Bresson.

He said it's "possible" that fears about the economy and the incoming administration played a role, though he said the FBI cannot track the actual reason behind the background checks. Also, background checks are not a direct reflection of gun sales -- but since statistics on national gun sales are not kept the background checks are typically used as an indicator.

"Speculation and conclusions that economic uncertainty or a certain political leadership spurs an increase in firearm sales is anecdotal," said one source at the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

But the ATF posted a notice recently saying it was running low on the self-disclosure forms needed when firearms purchases are made, "as a result of an unprecedented increase in demand" for the forms.

Firearms associations appear to be stoking the purchasing frenzy.

The National Rifle Association's Web site recently featured a column titled, "Ready to Defend Our Rights: Are gun owners going to be a high priority target for the Obama administration?"

The Web page linked to another site devoted to Obama's gun control positions. "Obama would be the most anti-gun president in American history," the site says.

Obama stated during the final leg of the campaign that he believes in the Second Amendment, and "I will not take your shotgun away. I will not take your rifle away. I won't take your handgun away."

But gun rights advocates say one of their principal concerns is that the new administration and Congress will eventually reinstate an assault-weapons ban. Vice president-elect Joe Biden, as a senator, was a strong supporter of the assault-weapons ban, which was signed into law by President Clinton in 1994.

Under the ban, which expired four years ago, domestic gun manufacturers were required to stop making semi-automatic assault weapons and ammunition clips holding more than 10 rounds, except for military or police use.

While in the Illinois legislature, Obama backed a ban on semiautomatic weapons.

Andrew Arulanandam, public affairs director at the NRA, said gun organizations are not urging members to stock up while they still can.

"I think people are doing this on their own accord," he said.

"We hope that the president keeps his campaign promises. Nothing would make us happier," he said. "But we think he is going to have a tough time keeping those promises."

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/01/16/firearms-associations-claim-obama-drove-surge-gun-sales
===================================

One can look to Wall Street to confirm this: Business is booming

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090225/handgun_makers_sector_snap.html?.v=1

Obama said that he's not going to touch the guns. Even if he ever tried, SCOTUS won't let him.

Many times taking a stand against something (perceived or real) spurs more interest. Unfortunately, in doing so there are more guns in the hands of more people.

people around my area are stocking up on ammo

he wont have to actually, because they are configuring a new technique to keep track of every bit of amunition that someone buys with serial numbers and rfid chips. if someone fires a bullet and it kills someone, they will be able to link that bullet with the buyer of the ammo. sometimes satan comes to us looking like an angel, this time he will look like a digital angel. which is the name of the rfid chips manufactured by applied digital solutions.

I thought there was talk about an assault weapons ban? Or what about requiring registration for firearms with detachable magazines, etc.?

Here are some of his quotes:

"I believe in keeping guns out of our inner cities, and that our leaders must say so in the face of the gun manfuacturer’s lobby. But I also believe that when a gangbanger shoots indiscriminately into a crowd because he feels someone disrespected him, we have a problem of morality. Not only do ew need to punish thatman for his crime, but we need to acknowledge that there’s a hole in his heart, one that government programs alone may not be able to repair."
Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.215 Oct 1, 2006


KEYES: [to Obama]: I am a strong believer in the second amendment. The gun control mentality is ruthlessly absurd. It suggests that we should pass a law that prevents law abiding citizens from carrying weapons. You end up with a situation where the crook have all the guns and the law abiding citizens cannot defend themselves. I guess that’s good enough for Senator Obama who voted against the bill that would have allowed homeowners to defend themselves if their homes were broken into.
OBAMA: Let’s be honest. Mr. Keyes does not believe in common gun control measures like the assault weapons bill. Mr. Keyes does not believe in any limits from what I can tell with respect to the possession of guns, including assault weapons that have only one purpose, to kill people. I think it is a scandal that this president did not authorize a renewal of the assault weapons ban.

Source: Illinois Senate Debate #3: Barack Obama vs. Alan Keyes Oct 21, 2004



Q: You said recently, “I have no intention of taking away folks’ guns.” But you support the D.C. handgun ban, and you’ve said that it’s constitutional. How do you reconcile those two positions?
A: Because I think we have two conflicting traditions in this country. I think it’s important for us to recognize that we’ve got a tradition of handgun ownership and gun ownership generally. And a lot of law-abiding citizens use it for hunting, for sportsmanship, and for protecting their families. We also have a violence on the streets that is the result of illegal handgun usage. And so I think there is nothing wrong with a community saying we are going to take those illegal handguns off the streets. And cracking down on the various loopholes that exist in terms of background checks for children, the mentally ill. We can have reasonable, thoughtful gun control measure that I think respect the Second Amendment and people’s traditions.

Source: 2008 Politico pre-Potomac Primary interview Feb 11, 2008


and, here are some past actions:

FactCheck: Yes, Obama endorsed Illinois handgun ban
Obama was being misleading when he denied that his handwriting had been on a document endorsing a state ban on the sale and possession of handguns in Illinois. Obama responded, “No, my writing wasn’t on that particular questionnaire. As I said, I have never favored an all-out ban on handguns.”
Actually, Obama’s writing was on the 1996 document, which was filed when Obama was running for the Illinois state Senate. A Chicago nonprofit, Independent Voters of Illinois, had this question, and Obama took hard line:

35. Do you support state legislation to:
a. ban the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns? Yes.
b. ban assault weapons? Yes.
c. mandatory waiting periods and background checks? Yes.

Obama’s campaign said, “Sen. Obama didn’t fill out these state Senate questionnaires--a staffer did--and there are several answers that didn’t reflect his views then or now. He may have jotted some notes on the front page of the questionnaire, but some answers didn’t reflect his views.”

Source: FactCheck.org analysis of 2008 Philadelphia primary debate Apr 16, 2008

Obama sought moderate gun control measures, such as a 2000 bill he cosponsored to limit handgun purchases to one per month (it did not pass). He voted against letting people violate local weapons bans in cases of self-defense, but also voted in2004 to let retired police officers carry concealed handguns.
Source: The Improbable Quest, by John K. Wilson, p.148 Oct 30, 2007

He sounds like he's about gun control. When he said he won't take them away, he means he won't take them away completely.

But he firmly believes in restrictions, and they are pushing legislation in favor of restrictions.

Pretty sturdy RFID chip!!

I know they are working on that technology already for "manufacturing purposes". Which, i will not argue, will make thing more efficient for big business. The downside is, everything you buy can be tracked. I imagine it won't take long before they start hiding them in guns...

let's say they do track the ammo. if you did nothing wrong then so?

they can figure things out now. if you shoot someone is self defense etc...then nothing to worry about. now the criminals need to worry

most people I know reload anyway

This is all a moot point.....

When someone walks up to your door and demands you turn your fire arm over.......then you should worry.

Until then, you should worry if you are being talked into walking up to my door to force me to hand over my british Sterling 9mm. (Isreali Army issue 1984)

If you have ammo than you must have a gun right?

Personally i am more worried about them tracking and eventually confiscating firearms, but we would still be pretty defenseless if they can find and take our ammo...

i think Texas will put up a fight about that
but no I don't have a gun....no one will teach me to shoot or wants me to have one...dunno why

They won't come out and do that, not until enough restrictions are in place.

They will slowly restrict most of them away, and because they would all be registered they'd know right where to look when they come knocking.

Gun Control is unconstitutional.


BTW i like that quote.

Maybe they're afraid you will shoot them in the butt....

i wear boots for the buttage area lol. and all i can do is throw the bullets at people. it doesn't hurt them....but i get funny looks

"Address Gun Violence in Cities: As president, Barack Obama would repeal the Tiahrt Amendment, which restricts the ability of local law enforcement to access important gun trace information, and give police officers across the nation the tools they need to solve gun crimes and fight the illegal arms trade. Obama and Biden also favor commonsense measures that respect the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, while keeping guns away from children and from criminals who shouldn't have them. They support closing the gun show loophole and making guns in this country childproof. They also support making the expired federal Assault Weapons Ban permanent, as such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets." - http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/urban_policy/


I'd like to know why someone thinks they need an assault rifle? I'm a hunter, and I don't see anything wrong with wanting to trace weapons and/or ammunition. The only people that deserve automatic weapons in this country are the ones serving it.

Not to mention they will never confiscate all firearms because there are too many people to argue it unconstitutional.

Why do you think "Many times taking a stand against something (perceived or real) spurs more interest"? Possibly human nature?

It's not my nature to be like that.

Not sure if I am the exception to the rule...there are 5.1 guns per human in the state of Texas...(more than any other state) I only got three...My Sterling 9...my Remington 870 that shoots 1oz slugs..and the nylon barrel 22. swat.

I personaly, know for a fact...that a paintball gun can make someone surrender.

Guns ain't the worry...

it is not only the Red Necks......(who would kick the living crap out of any foriegn militants)

The real worry would be..every American who has watched Rambo, Rocky, Star Ship Troopers or McGuyver.

We, as a national populace, know alot more about blowing sh*t up than we realize.

God help the world when, Americans become terroristic.

That makes sense to me.