In three months the USA bought enough firearms...

[spin]

to outfit the armies of China and India!

You also bought 1,529,635,000 rounds of ammunition in just the month of December 2008. Yeah that is right, that is Billion with a “B”. This number takes no accounting of reloading or reloaded ammunition.

This is an evaluation of overall firearms and ammunition purchases based on low end numbers per Federal NIC instacheck data base Statistics. The numbers presented are only PART of the overall numbers of arms and ammunition that have been sold. The actual numbers are much higher.
http://www.ammoland.com/2009/04/22/usa-buys-enough-guns-in-3-months-to-outfit-the-entire-chinese-and-indian-army/

WOW!

If the object of the gun control groups is to reduce the amount of firearms in this country, the best thing they could do is to ask Obama to make a flat statement that he will not sign into law any legislation that would restrict the availability of currently manufactured firearms or ammunition.

It's amazing that in such a bad economy people are willing to spend their money on firearms and ammo. It would be my bet that these same people will show up the polls for the midterm and the next Presidential election and vote Republican. I fear our party will lose the chance to make a real difference and instead shoot itself in the foot once again over "feel good" gun control laws.

[JDPriestly]

1. The Supreme Court spoke on the 2nd Amendment,

but if the gun sales get out of hand, people who don't have or want to have guns will become afraid and, if the people buying the guns start to use them, there will be a problem.

As long as the explosion in ammunition and gun sales does not cause or coincide with an explosion of crime, I doubt that there will be legislation regarding guns. Anti-gun legislation is a fearful response to a perception of increased gun violence, not a particular hatred of guns in my opinion.

Pro-gun groups would be wise not to couple their pro-gun campaigns with anti-crime campaigns. The natural response of a lot of people to anti-crime campaigns is to become anti-weapons. Makes sense, after all.

[Caliman73]

4. The problem with the "natural response" is that it is not logical

It is like a swimmer getting caught in a riptide. The natural response is to swim against the current and toward the shore. People who know better know that this is the EXACTLY WRONG thing to do. You swim out of the path of the current and then to shore.

The problem with perception is that it can be easily influenced. The perception of increased gun crime rarely ever coincides with any actual increase in the rate of violence. It often coincides with the portrayal of violence in the media. Despite declining crime and violence rates of up to 30% in the past 2-3 decades many people think that society is more dangerous because reporting of violence by the media has gone up over 400%. The media also tends to report the event, but not the actual factors leading up to the event. Yes the firearm was used to commit the violence, but what actually lead the person to decide on their course of violence and what might be done to mitigate the actual motivation for violence future. Those things are never discussed by the media.

If you look at the number of firearms in this country and the number used to commit crimes it actually doesn't make sense that decreasing the number would decrease gun violence. What you have to do is decrease the number of people who would use those firearms to harm themselves or others. It only makes sense to those who already have antipathy and fear towards firearms that if they are restricted or eliminated then violence would be reduced.

[JDPriestly]

11. The word "perception" is key. That is why I used the words

"coincide with." Usually, when we get a Democratic president, the press and the right-wing start screaming about the rise in crime. The government (at all levels) tries to show that it is taking responsibility and responding. It does two things. The first is to crack down on criminals which leads to ever higher numbers of Americans in jail and sometimes for ever less serious offenses. The second is to crack down on guns.

While it is true that people kill, not guns. It is also true that people kill easily with guns. That is the problem with guns. Drive-by stabbings or poisonings or beatings don't happen. But drive-by shootings do. That is, I suppose, why more people want to ban guns than want to ban kitchen knives even though people can kill with either weapon.

[Tejas]

12. Your perception is flawed

Though many forecasted it, there was no "explosion of crime" after the '94 AWB ended, nor did "blood run in the streets" after CCW laws were passed in state after state. Face it, arms sales are through the roof but the violence rate hasn't so much as spiked, much less exploded.

The glass is half full. ;)

[Caliman73]

15. Same stupid perceptions that have people believing the recent flu is the "end"

while the average flu kills 35,000 people a year. Fear and hatred of guns is Manufactured and inflated. Why not instead knee jerking and playing to the tune of the media, doesn't the administration bring out the facts that crime has gone down? People want to ban guns because they are kept scared and ignorant, not because of any great conspiracy, but because fear and ignorance sells more airtime and keeps them tuning in to see just how much their lives are in danger, even though the danger is less than at anytime in the last 3 decades.

[Pullo]

6. Another reaction has been to liberalize concealed carry laws

Its been going on on a state level across the country.

None of the non-discretionary CCW permit laws has been revoked, there hasn't been even a significant push in that regard. In fact, these laws are being expanded with several states adopting the Castle Doctrine, and extending the places where citizens can carry, such as parks, and lots of debate about allowing them on college campuses, etc.


If crime shoots through the roof, it will be because of the economy like always, and that will only all gasoline to the raging gun sale inferno.

[ContinentalOp]

2. So...

guns are out of control, but hey, stop talking about gun control or I'll freak out and buy some more guns. Gotcha.

[hack89]

5. As long as their owners remain in control

there will be no problem. Since the last decade or two seem to indicate an inverse relationship between the number of guns in America and violent crime, I don;t think you have anything to be concerned about.

[SteveM]

7. "guns are out of control"? Mine are still locked up and hibernating...

Now that everyone is caught up on the gun-control debate (owners and non-owners alike), when there is loud and visible talk about more gun control, then there is a reaction to buy now when supplies have yet to be restricted.

I think much of the gun purchasing is a direct tweaking of the nose for gun-controllers; a demonstration that pro-2A folks are following every last move of the debate and making loud & clear statements about the other side's proposals. Some call it near checkmate.

[Statistical]

18. "guns are out of control"

Never seen an out of control gun....
well I take that back a full auto that fires from closed bolt can go out of control if barrel gets too hot. It will keep on firing until out of ammo or jammed. Pretty easy to solve though (once you get over the initial shock of weapon firing and trigger isn't pressed) just turn the ammo belt 90 degrees and force a jam.

Got any videos of "out of control guns". My guns tend to be pretty dormant. They mostly sleep in the safe and I have to transport them to the range myself every couple months. They have never fired on their own. Maybe my guns are broken?

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Reverse Psychology

works.

[gorfle]

8. LOL

As it turns out, President Obama has done more to proliferate firearms and ammunition than could have been done by nearly anyone else.

It's good to see the gun control measures taken down from whitehouse.gov. What would be even better would be a public statement that he will veto any anti-firearm legislation that comes his way.

[pscot]

9. There are some future Darwin Award winners

out there just waiting for their moment to arrive.
:popcorn:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

10. You are right. Most of them will be criminals who try and hurt those who bought firearms.

[pscot]

13. I think we can safely assume

that the criminals will have guns too, so I gues it evens out.

[dairydog91]

14. Well, "even" is not necessarily the right word...

http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1993-06.html

[virginia mountainman]

16. Amazing...

Gun control nuts, must be crapping their pants, forcefully and often..

Seems, like all their posturing, and BS talking, has had the WRONG effect, for them.

It is amazing, that even talking about constitutionally abhorrent, gun control laws, is a sure fire way to sell, lots of guns, very quickly.

Seems, like the more they trot out BS Laws, in most states, it almost assures PRO GUN LAWS, being passed, as legislators go to prove, that they, are not "anti civil rights", in effect, not only killing the abhorrent anti gun legislation, but relaxing much older controls.

It has happened here in Virginia, every year, for the past several years, like clockwork...

The harder they push, the more they loose. Now if we could get California, and Illinois to follow this same trend.

Honestly, by reading the news, the number one thing, a gun control advocate could do, to help their cause, is to sit down and STFU...... Because, when they talk, we win...

I think it is about time for another post in GD.

[jody]

17. Obama could make political capital by saying "I will veto any bill to renew AWB or infringe on the

right of citizens to keep and bear arms for self-defense."