I-Team: Obama "gun boom" may be over

[mfcorey1]

TAMPA - When President Obama first took office, gun license applications and firearm sales skyrocketed over fears of a crackdown on guns. But statistics provided by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services show that gun boom may now be on the decline.

The so called “Obama boom” is well documented. In Florida, from’08-‘09, the number of concealed weapon or firearm licenses issued rose by 23% from the previous year. In ‘09-‘10, the number exploded again, this time by an additional 41%. The year before President Obama took office, 85,937 Floridians were issued new concealed gun licenses. In his second year in office, that number was 175,555.

However, that trend appears to be changing. In ’10-’11, the number of concealed weapon licenses fell 30%, from the all-time high of 175,555 to 123,759. That’s the first decline in licenses issued since 2002.

Read more: http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/i-team%3A-obama-%22gun-boom%22-may-be-over#ixzz1YcLTqzDx

[tridim]

1. I hope a few of them realize now that the NRA and the Teabaggers lied to them.

[aikoaiko]

7. Or that President Obama didn't keep his promise to support reauthorizing the Assault Weapons Ban

I wouldn't want to say that he lied to the pro-control side.

[Atypical Liberal]

13. Exactly.

Exactly. His Attorney General, Eric Holder, did float another Assault Weapons Ban just months into his presidency, which only helped spur sales of firearm, ammunition, and permits.

But since then we have had two Supreme Court rulings that have confirmed the second amendment as an individual right and incorporated it to the states, and President Obama has acknowledged that this is now the law of the land.

Many people, myself included, feel reasonably confident that the President is politically unable to move against firearm rights anymore. My only fear is that in his second term he may feel he has nothing left to lose by trying for it.

[Atypical Liberal]

11. How did the NRA lie?

What lie exactly did the NRA tell?

[tridim]

26. They told their members that the Democrats will take away their guns.

They've been telling that lie for decades.

[DonP]

28. So that whole silly AWB thing under Clinton doesn't count?

Or are you one of those that thinks that since they were "scary black rifles" they shouldn't have been allowed anyway?

Yeah, that was all in gun owners imaginations, along with speeches by Schumer, Feinstein and others about national bans and registration.

The NRA doesn't have to lie when we've got people stupid enough to hand a winning issue to them on a silver platter sometimes.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

33. Have you ever read the gun forum over at DU?

That's all the fodder the NRA needs.

[petronius]

35. "Over at DU"? Where do you think you are right now?

:)

[Nuclear Unicorn]

38. 'twas jest, good fellow

[Atypical Liberal]

41. And that is precisely what the Democratic Party Platform espouses.

They told their members that the Democrats will take away their guns. They've been telling that lie for decades.

Except that's not a lie.

Go read the Democratic Party Platform. It advocates re-instating the Assault Weapons Ban.

Go read www.change.gov under Urban Policy. Obama campaigned on re-instating the Assault Weapons Ban.

Now the anti-gun folks like to say, "Aw, shucks, that's just a ban, that's not taking your guns away!"

To which every pro-firearm folks sounds an awful lot like pissing down our backs and telling us it's raining.

The fact is, banning future sales of a particular kind of firearm, even if you grandfather in existing ones, is just as bad as confiscation. Because it basically means that unless you already own one, odds are you never will be able to own one.

Secondly, no one knows the details that would come about from a renewed ban! It's pretty obvious to everyone on both sides of the issue that the last Assault Weapons Ban didn't accomplish anything. All the existing magazines were so numerous that banning the manufacture or import of more of them didn't do much but raise the prices. And manufacturers of assault weapons made the necessary changes in cosmetics or US/Foreign parts count so that they could continue selling basically the same weapons they did before the ban, while still complying with the letter of the law.

I have no doubt that should the political will rise again to try for another AWB, those "mistakes" of the past will not be repeated if they can get away with it.

So this whole idea that just because there has been no outright confiscation of firearms that the NRA's stated mission is a lie is bullshit.

[DissedByBush]

59. Obama's history was squarely gun control

Even worked with the rabidly anti-gun Joyce Foundation.

There was no reason in his history or statements to think he'd support 2nd Amendment rights.

I was pleasantly surprised once he got elected.

[rl6214]

19. Presidents seem to do the second term, things they wouldn't do the first

I will admit there is no plan for more gun control when his second term is over.

[Abq_Sarah]

60. Oh please....

Less than a month after the inauguration, Holder was running to ABC news to proudly proclaim the administration was going to try and reinstate the assault weapons ban.

The only reason we haven't had our rights stripped from us is because our Congress wasn't stupid enough to go down that road. 2010 was ugly enough but it would have been a complete bloodbath if we'd tried to restrict 2nd amendment rights.

[gratuitous]

2. Now is the time

Go back to your friends (if you're still in touch with them) who were hyperventilating about teh Scary Black Man who was going to confiscate their guns, and ask them how scared they still are. That is, if they'll answer the door to their underground bunker, and you can convince them that you're not a brain-eating zombie.

The puzzling thing is how these fools ever got together with money in the first place.

[Atypical Liberal]

14. This was never about race.

Go back to your friends (if you're still in touch with them) who were hyperventilating about teh Scary Black Man who was going to confiscate their guns, and ask them how scared they still are.

The fear about restrictions on firearm ownership has nothing to do with race for most people.

It is about past history.

The last time there was a Democratic President (Bill Clinton), he gave us the Assault Weapons Ban. Reinstating this ban is part of the Democratic Party Platform. It was also part of President Obama's campaign pledge. It is still up on www.change.gov under urban policy. It was only removed from www.whitehouse.gov a few months into his presidency. President Obama's Attorney General, Eric Holder, floated the idea of a new Assault Weapons Ban just a couple of months into Obama's presidency, though he was roundly shouted down by the then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and others, who borrowed the NRA line of, "Let's just enforce the laws we have."

All of this, none of which was about race, was sufficient to scare gun owners into buying while they knew they could.

[gratuitous]

18. No, of course it wasn't

Can't even imagine why I'd have mentioned it, considering the melting pot that comprises the NRA membership.

[Atypical Liberal]

20. I can't imagine why, either.

No, of course it wasn't Can't even imagine why I'd have mentioned it, considering the melting pot that comprises the NRA membership.

I can't imagine why you would have mentioned it, either, unless you are propagating racist stereotypes about people.

I am a member of the NRA. In the last election, all of my Democratic candidates except one had high marks from the NRA, and three of them were the endorsed candidate.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who did not vote for President Obama because he was black.

But to say this was all about race and to dismiss any other legitimate reason, such as the the professed intentions of Obama and the Democratic Party, is incorrect.

[gratuitous]

27. Oh ick

This thread got moved to the gungeon. Shoulda noticed that before.

[PavePusher]

50. Thanks for disguising your bigotry so well.

Irony, it is delicious....

[rl6214]

22. "teh Scary Black Man"?

First of all, only 15yo girls use "teh" and second, it was and is always about his stands on gun control, not his race so don't play the race card. You can't deny his voting record on gun control or the plank in the Democrat platform when he ran.

So yeah, most of them still believe there may be some sort of legislation until we are through the second term.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

3. Gun shows, as of late, have been particularly slow in attendance.

[rl6214]

23. No surprise considering the economy.

While an excellent investment, you need to have disposable income for firearm purchases.

[SteveM]

4. No surprise, as long as gun-controller/prohibitionists shut up...

This is an issue that always gets the Democrats into trouble. And it's an issue that has been grafted onto liberal and progressive thought rather recently; before the late 1960s, there was little or nothing said about gun-control within the Democratic Party. Gun-control DID evolve from the ante-bellum South, through Jim Crow days, and remained intact into the 1960s. Jim Crow laws were uprooted by the civil rights acts of the 1960s. Ironically, much of the structure (and its eventual impact on "select" citizens) remained, but now in cities like New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. It is unfortunate that many liberal Democrats running in competitive districts were made to suffer because of these ill-conceived prohibition politics.

I would point out that Speaker Pelosi and A.G. Holder have called for reinstitution of so-called "assault weapons ban" after Obama assumed the presidency. This may have contributed to high sales for longer than would have occurred otherwise.

Let's drop these modern prohibition politics, an issue that has been around for less time than the Zombies rock group.

[Cali_Democrat]

5. Republican paranoia abounds.

The fact that so many guns are in the hands of these folks is downright scary!

[SteveM]

6. Millions of Democrats also own guns...

I own seven. Why are you so scared? It wouldn't be that "paranoia" you speak of, would it?

[Cali_Democrat]

31. No

I'm referring to the folks that loaded up on firearms after Obama's election.

[SteveM]

56. To keep it consistent, there were a lot of loaded Democrats as well.

:toast:

[Kennah]

43. Of the seven Democrats you own, how many guns between them?

[PavePusher]

51. Really bad typo there...

just sayin'...

:evilgrin:

[We_Have_A_Problem]

8. Ahem....

Democrats are armed too...

It isn't really a Democrat/Republican issue. Its really more of an urban/suburban/rural issue.

[rl6214]

24. What about the guns in the hands of those that aren't republicans?

[Cali_Democrat]

30. I'm not as worried

They aren't as crazy.

[Blue_Tires]

9. They've gotten quiet even in Virginia

and many here literally believed Obama would show up on their doorstep and personally take their guns away...The local fishwrap screamed about it for months; especially when there was that overhyped "shortage" of stock ammo...

The fear gauge petered out just as I predicted from the start once it was no longer an issue and the RWers got some other shiny new issue to get hysterical about...

[SteveM]

10. Good development: Now I can afford the ammunition again. nt

[ProgressiveProfessor]

42. I have similar thoughts

[Doctor_J]

12. I guess it penetrated the gunsters' skulls that the NRA's

"Kenyan Muslin gonna take yer guns soes his buddies in the hood can come & rape yer woman" meme was complete horse shit. I will give the NRA credit. They've found a niche market of easily bamboozled folk who will give them money.

[Atypical Liberal]

15. See post #14. n/t

[DonP]

16. So, it was the NRA that wrote the AWB renewal into the platform?

Wow! Who knew Wayne LaPierre was sitting on the DNC platform committee that included renewal of the AWB and called for handgun registration. Did he keep it on the President's web site for 2 years too?

I guess record gun sales had nothing to do with Eric Holder repeatedly calling for AWB renewal either or Hillary claiming the Mexican cartels were getting their guns from the US either. Oh wait, they were, direct from the BATFE.

But don't let facts and history mess up a good condescending rant for you. It makes you seem so intelligent and "well informed".

The real issue is a lot of gun owners actually thought he'd actually do what he said too, just like many Dems did.

[Atypical Liberal]

21. "The real issue is a lot of gun owners actually thought he'd actually do what he said"

Bingo.

[petronius]

32. Yep. How many dozens (hundreds?) of threads are in GD and GD:P right now

expressing surprise and or dismay that President Obama didn't do something he said he would or was expected to do? Gun-owning DUers are just surprised as everyone else, it's just that in this one narrow instance we're happy about it...

[rl6214]

25. Has the NRAs membership gone up at all?

[DWC]

29. Don't worry about the 4 million NRA members who vote

Be highly concerned about the 76 million gun owners who vote but do not pay NRA dues.

Semper Fi,

[rl6214]

34. This was the point I was inquiring about

"I will give the NRA credit. They've found a niche market of easily bamboozled folk who will give them money."

If the NRA is all about making money, then their membership surely has gone up since they get their money from memberships right?

[X_Digger]

36. Only by about 200k.

At least that was the delta from 2007-2010.

[Doctor_J]

37. I consider them to be much like the Fox addicts

pretty much a lost cause

[GreenStormCloud]

39. NRA NEVER said anything about Obama's race, religion or citizenship.

The issue was entirely his record on gun control. Here are some facts for you:

FACT: Supported ban on concealed carry; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-4jqZSEo0Q
FACT: He voted for 2005 Kennedy Amendment Intended by Kennedy to ban all common center-fire rifle ammo. Kennedy, in his speech named the .30-30, first made in the mid 1890s, as a cop-killer to be banned. The .30-30 is one of the most common hunting rounds in America. Reference to Kennedy’s speech, Congressional Record: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgibin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2004_record&page=S1634&position=all

“Another rifle caliber, the 30.30 caliber, was responsible for penetrating three officers’ armor and killing them in 1993, 1996, and 2002. This ammunition is also capable of puncturing light-armored vehicles, ballistic or armored glass, armored limousines, even a 600-pound safe with 600 pounds of safe armor plating. It is outrageous and unconscionable that such ammunition continues to be sold in the United States of America.”

A ban on the .30-30 would have banned ALL common hunting ammunition. Since Kennedy wrote the amendment, and since he specifically named the .30-30, then we must assume that he did intend to ban the .30-30, and ALL hunting ammo.

Obama voted FOR the amendment.


FACT: Obama voted AGAINST the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005

FACT Obama supported a ban in Illinois on semi-auto guns

FACT: As a state senator he voted against a bill that would have given amnesty for a person who used a gun in self-defense, even if it was illegal for them to have the gun. In New York, Goetz was about to be mugged by four young men. He shot them all, none fatally. The jury accepted his claim of self-defense (The evidence was overwhelming.) but he was also charged with having a concealed weapon illegally and was convicted of that. The Illinois bill would have granted amnesty for gun possession if the gun was used in genuine self-defense. Obama said, “NO”.

FACT: On his website he supported permanent reinstatement of the so-called Assault Weapons Ban.

FACT: Obama said that he believed the DC gun ban was a good example of constitutional local control of guns before the Heller decision.

[Doctor_J]

44. Well, duh

Of course they didn't say it out loud. But if you don't think the majority of the ammo hoarders in the time periods listed were moved at least somewhat by the president's race, you're spending too much time reading NRA literature and too little time reading the splc web site.

You're pretty much proving my points about the NRA membership. I don't blame the brass - they're making tons of money spreading fear and lies. But the people who send them money I must admit I have grave doubts about their grip on reality. Clue: Renewing the ban on assault weapons does not mean that pretty soon all guns will be confiscated

[jmg257]

46. It should...otherwise it will once again accomplish nothing.

"Clue: Renewing the ban on assault weapons does not mean that pretty soon all guns will be confiscated"

Didn't anyone learn last time that it seemed to be pretty much a failure in controlling crime, or AW gun violence, or deaths due to magazine capacity, or whatever else it was intended to do?

Now its been 7 years of a HUGE proliferation...if a new AWB is to accomplish anything more then pissing off people who like buying, owning and shooting new so-called assault weapons (& regular capacity mags), it would have to go much further.


Hmmm...what do you suggest, if anything?

[GreenStormCloud]

47. You completely ignored the FACTS and claim racism without any evidence.

Try taking a look at Obama's gun record. The AWB that was being reffered to was not a mere renewal of the 1994 AWB but was HR 1022 http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h110-1022 , which greatly expanded the list of forbidden weapons from those listed in the original AWB.

Try discussing facts instead of wild accusations.

[We_Have_A_Problem]

49. Hm....

So they've never actually said it, but since you believe that is what was meant, that is all that matters?

You're just going to ignore what has actually been said and done by others too, apparently.


And you wonder why your side keeps losing more and more often.

[PavePusher]

52. Quote, please.

There are plenty of real things to hang around the NRA neck without making shit up.

[SteveM]

57. Gun controllers/banners made the modern NRA. nt

[S_B_Jackson]

17. Keep in mind they're discussing NEW Concealed Gun Licenses, they're not discussing renewals

of existing licenses. As usual, the press can't wrap their heads around the fact that the number is continuing to increase, but at a slightly slower rate than last year....but still significantly higher than before Obama took office.

[X_Digger]

40. 2011 is on it's way to being a record year for NICS checks. (15M)

A few things to remember, there can be multiple firearms with one NICS check, and many states don't require an NICS check for some of the 10M+ concealed carry licensees.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/090111TotalNICSBackgroundChecks.pdf

[ileus]

45. The gun boom isn't over until I acquire at least 10 more.

I have 10 or so that are on my short list....but that list is forever changing.

Pistols:

I want a TC contender to hunt with.

A g36 for SD

686/586 for collecting / shooting

draco for plinking fun

Rifles:

A 6.8 AR (at least an upper)

Nice lightweight bolt action in 7mm-08 or 243 (Something to double as a coyote and deer gun)

AK clone for a range/farm plinker.

Shotguns

Nice coach gun

Model 11

12ga Model 12

tossberg pump for a truck gun beater

[GreenStormCloud]

48. I plan to contribute to the gun boom too.

I want:

Siaga .410 shotgun (That is a semi-auto shotgun on the AK-47 design by the same company that made the first AK-47s. It takes a 20 round magazine. When loaded with 000 buckshot it is an awesome home-defense piece.)

SIG-Sauer P220 .45ACP

Charter Arms Pug .44 special

A .45/410 revolver

Hi-Point .45 carbine

Ruger Blackhawk .45LC/.45ACP convertible

Kel-Tech PMR-30 (That is a .22 Magnum semi-auto pistol that holds 30 rounds in a standard magazine.)

Ruger single-six .22LR/.22M convertible.

[Abin Sur]

54. My want list

Kel-Tec KSG (14-shot 12 Gauge!)
Steyr model 08 .32
The best Mauser Broomhandle I can afford
AR57 SBR in 5.7x28 (to which I'll add my SWR suppressor...sweet!)
French M1935A (only if Nazi marked) 7.65 Long
French MAC 50 9mm

[ileus]

55. I looked at a siaga 410 and 12 a few days ago.

didn't catch the price on the .410 but the 12 was 669.

Wouldn't mind having a Hi-point in the 45 that could be some serious fun.


Our surgery director bought a poly judge last week...I liked it. Light and not overly huge, he bought it as a ATV sidekick when out hunting and riding.

[GreenStormCloud]

58. You can make an extended mag for the Hi-Point...

...from an extended 1911 mag. The modification is easy and minor. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE-mmc03g60

or: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9VXNvcSO9A&feature=related

[PavePusher]

53. "tossberg pump for a truck gun beater"

:rofl: :rofl: