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OBAMA WIN SPARKS FEARS OF TIGHTER GUN LAWS
Americans rush to buy firearms
November 10, 2008
OFF THE RACK: Mr Curtis Irwin with a .50 calibre rifle in a Texas gun shop.PICTURE: AP
GUN lovers in the US are reaching for their wallets.
They're stocking up on firearms because they fear 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 MsRachel 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 100,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in October 2007, a 15per cent increase, according to the FBI.
'They're scared to death of losing their rights,' said Mr David Hancock, manager of Bob Moates Sports Shop, where sales have nearly doubled in the past week and are up 15 per cent for the year.
On Election Day, salespeople were called in on their day off because of the crowd.
Mr 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 senator, Mr Obama voted to leave gun-makers and dealers open to lawsuits; and as an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on semi-automatic weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms.
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.
During the campaign, the NRA warned that Mr Obama would be the 'most anti-gun president in American history.'
But Mr 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.
'I'd be surprised, for example, if Congress enacted a new assault gun ban.'
AP.
OBAMA WIN SPARKS FEARS OF TIGHTER GUN LAWS
Americans rush to buy firearms
November 10, 2008
OFF THE RACK: Mr Curtis Irwin with a .50 calibre rifle in a Texas gun shop.PICTURE: AP
GUN lovers in the US are reaching for their wallets.
They're stocking up on firearms because they fear 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 MsRachel 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 100,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in October 2007, a 15per cent increase, according to the FBI.
'They're scared to death of losing their rights,' said Mr David Hancock, manager of Bob Moates Sports Shop, where sales have nearly doubled in the past week and are up 15 per cent for the year.
On Election Day, salespeople were called in on their day off because of the crowd.
Mr 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 senator, Mr Obama voted to leave gun-makers and dealers open to lawsuits; and as an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on semi-automatic weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms.
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.
During the campaign, the NRA warned that Mr Obama would be the 'most anti-gun president in American history.'
But Mr 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.
'I'd be surprised, for example, if Congress enacted a new assault gun ban.'
AP.
