Gun sales skyrocket following Obama win
by Multiple Authors on Nov. 17, 2008, under Local, Nation/WorldRequests for background checks jump 48%
Gun enthusiast Raul Cuestas checks out handguns Tuesday at Second Amendment Sports, 5146 E. Pima St.. He had planned to buy a Springfield EMP, which was out of stock.
Gun sales in Tucson and across the country are going through the roof as enthusiasts flock to buy firearms out of fear President-elect Barack Obama and a Congress controlled by Democrats will slap limits on ownership.
“That’s why I’m here,” said Gary Jones, 33, as he tried to buy a semiautomatic pistol Tuesday at Second Amendment Sports, 5146 E. Pima St.
But as he stood at a counter, a salesman told Jones the Hi Point brand pistol he wanted was sold out.
“I’ve been looking for a while,” said Jones, an air traffic controller for the U.S. Department of Defense in Tucson.
Last month, as an Obama win looked increasingly likely, there were 108,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in October 2007, a 15 percent increase.
Last week, requests for background checks nationwide jumped 48 percent from a year earlier, the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division said.
“It’s happening everywhere, people buying guns,” said Donna Cassity, the National Rifle Association’s field representative for Arizona and a Tucson resident. “Guns are just going out the door like crazy. They (firearms dealers) can’t order them fast enough. People are in a panic at this point.”
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 U.S. senator, Obama voted to leave gunmakers and dealers open to lawsuits. As an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms.
During an October campaign appearance in Ohio, Obama sought to reassure gun owners.
“I will not take your shotgun away,” he said. “I will not take your rifle away. I won’t take your handgun away.”
Gun advocates take some solace in the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled 5-4 this summer to strike down the District of Columbia’s 32-year ban on handguns.
For now, gun rights supporters hold a narrow edge on the court, but Obama could appoint justices who would swing it the other way.
During the campaign, the NRA warned that Obama would be the “most anti-gun president in American history.”
Although Vice President-elect Joe Biden owns shotguns, he has supported a ban on assault weapons and has said private sellers at gun shows should be required to perform background checks, according to The Associated Press.
Raul Cuestas, a 48-year-old Tucson Water supervisor, isn’t optimistic.
“They’re ready to strip the Second Amendment big time,” said the avid target shooter, who was window-shopping Tuesday for a semiautomatic pistol. “Hopefully (I’ll buy one) within the next month, because I’m afraid they might stop selling guns because of Obama.”
Scott Broyles, a 37-year-old computer specialist for an area casino, agrees.
“Based on (Obama’s) voting record, I don’t think we’ll have the right to buy assault rifles or high-capacity magazines,” said Broyles, who was shopping earlier this week at Second Amendment Sports for a DPMS Panther Arms .308-caliber assault weapon.
Gun owners also fear limits or bans on ammunition purchases, which would render useless some guns already in private hands, said Matt Janes, the owner of Second Amendment Sports.
Janes said he thinks “Obama won’t be able to get it done.”
But “I do expect him to make a strong run at the Second Amendment,” said Janes, who wasn’t sure how much his sales have increased in the past month.
At Cash Box Jewelry and Sporting Goods, 2014 S. Craycroft Road, owner Nimer Ganem estimated his gun sales have gone up about 40 percent since it became clear Obama would win the presidential race.
Ganem is not surprised.
“He (Obama) has indicated he doesn’t think people should have guns.”
Others see the new administration as helping to better monitor gun sales.
Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said his organization will continue to press for what he calls “sensible” restrictions – background checks at gun shows, a ban on military-style assault weapons and a crackdown on the illegal gun trade.
Helmke believes he has the backing of the new administration on those issues, but he said any fears of a broader crackdown are unfounded.
“The one thing that they agree strongly with us on is that it’s too easy for dangerous people to get guns in this country,” Helmke said. “I guess if you’re a dangerous person you might want to run out there and buy some more, but otherwise you should be OK.”
'That's why I want to get one now rather than later, because of the prospect of them not being available.'
SCOTT BROYLES, a hunting and archery enthusiast who said he is considering purchasing an assault rifle because Barack Obama has been elected president
Customers wait in line Tuesday at Second Amendment Sports Inc., 5146 E. Pima St. Gun store owners say they have seen a rise in gun sales coincide with the election of Barack Obama.
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ARIZONA GUN LAWS
In Arizona, purchases of rifles, pistols and shotguns do not require an owner’s permit, which would show how many people are buying guns now, said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a Pima County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman.
Under federal law, would-be gun owners buying through a federally licensed dealer are required to undergo a background check to show they are not prohibited from owning a firearm.
The FBI keeps a record of those checks, done either through the FBI or through a local law enforcement agency.
Records of checks run on people in the Tucson area or in Arizona were not available, said Stephen G. Fischer Jr., a spokesman for the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division.
As a matter of policy, Fischer said, the FBI releases only nationwide background check figures.
The checks are done to determine such things as whether potential buyers have been convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor that could result in imprisonment of two or more years, whether they have been dishonorably discharged from the military, have been adjudicated mentally defective or are the subject of an active arrest warrant, according to a federal Department of Justice Web site.
The computerized checks can take as few as 15 minutes, or three days or longer, Janes said.
According to the FBI, after three business days it is up to the dealer whether to complete the sale.
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On the Web
By David L. Teibel, The Associated Press
