Gun dealers, hunters speak out on amendment scares
Traci White/Register & Bee
Jerry Dawson of Hurt shoots a Harrison-Richardson single shot rifle at a target at a shooting range behind Bill’s Guns Inc. in Gretna on Monday. Gun stores
nationwide have seen an increase in business following last week’s election with many customers fearing the Second Amendment may be
overturned or bans will be instated against gun ownership.
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By Bernard Baker
Published: November 10, 2008
Local gun dealers have reported soaring firearm sales in the wake of Barack Obama’s election as president.
Bill Crawley, owner of Bill’s Guns in Gretna, said sales began to increase the day after the election and have been rolling ever since. Crawley reported $7,500 in sales Saturday, where he’d normally do about $1,500 in business. Add to that another $6,000 in layaway sales from people who expect to pick up their firearms in the next few months mainly due to fear that Obama will be tougher on gun sales.
“They should be concerned,” Crawley said Monday. “You’ve got a Democratic president, a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate.”
People are buying semi-automatic AK-47s and AR-15s because they are afraid these firearms will be banned under an Obama administration, he said. They also are buying pistols with high-capacity clips that can hold up to 15 rounds of ammunition.
Dennis Alverson, owner of Old Dominion Gun and Tackle on U.S. 58 in Brosville, said he’s seen a drastic increase in sales.
“It’s nothing in particular, more a little bit of everything,” he said. The nationwide spike in firearms sales is because people don’t know what to expect from Obama, gun dealers said, even though the president-elect said he would respect Second Amendment rights.
“There’s a lot of unknowns out there,” Alverson said.
In addition to a ban on assault weapons, buyers are concerned about the possibility of a steep tax on ammunition.
“There’s been a whole lot of speculation and there’s been a whole of panic buying,” Alverson said.
Hunter Jerry Dawson of Hurt said he’s not worried about his Second Amendment rights and wished people wouldn’t panic.
“People are panicking for nothing,” he said Monday.
Dawson said Obama has more pressing issues than firearms to deal with, such as the economy.
He also said assault weapons are not high on his priority list as a hunter. Dawson does a lot of bow hunting and said assault weapons are not practical to use for hunting.
• Staff writer Traci White
contributed to this report.
Contact Bernard Baker at or at (434) 781-7986.
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Reader Reactions
Posted by ( sulu69 ) on November 15, 2008 at 6:55 pm
Toms THINGS? What is that about? I am a prod gay man not just one of Toms things! I have Toms full support!
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Posted by ( davidl ) on November 15, 2008 at 1:12 am
jimmystick—- show me that you can stand alone. or have you got to hold onto sulu who and the rest of TOMS things. do not get caught up with that
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Posted by ( jimmystick ) on November 14, 2008 at 7:12 pm
sulu69 Why don’t you get Scotty to beam you up or go fight with Shatner. Perriello has no common sense. Like most liberals he is sorely lacking.
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Posted by ( sulu69 ) on November 12, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Gee Gordie. You fire 10 guns one after the other you silly goose. That way you do not have to reload as often! It’s bad when a gay man has to tell you how to fire guns. I was a soldier boy once. Don’t ask don’t tell….
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Posted by ( Gordie ) on November 12, 2008 at 8:58 am
TaleGator, I guess you deserve an honest answer.
Check out these past articles and the names on the comments. You will find that people who were talking about GOD are also the ones now talking about guns. I do not notice your name so you would not have knowledge of past debates in the comment section.
So to me it is an example of clinging to guns and religion.
Putting aside the value the old Republican Party added to the growth of this country, I would like to point out the wedge issues of this age of Republicans. Which are;
The Second Amendment, Gays, Abortion, Is a person a Christian, and the past couple of years “Illegal Immigrants”. The last one being the reason Goode lost this race. The Legal Immigrants/Citizens rose up against him and voted him out.
Every article has Republican and Democratic comments and the Republicans are always in fear of losing some right or living next to a gay, yet they allow their Congressman to mingle in the Gay community as he used them to continue his power in the District.
Being against illegal immigrants while most of his large contributors hire them to drive down wages on the people of the southside. “That is the ones who have a job”.
You all are welcome to live in fear and go out and buy all the guns you want. I am sure Democrats are buying guns also, just to protect themselves from the radicules with all this fear.
As I said earlier. Please help the economy by spending foolishly. And yes help the American manufactors of fire arms, to stay in business so future generations have the benefit of purchasing and learning to use weapons, other then joining the Military.
Tell me something. I often wondered how difficult it is to fire 10 weapons at a time and still maintain your balance.
http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/controversy_mounts_in_5th_district_race/7175/P10/
http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/perriello_claims_victory_goode_not_backing_down/7325/
http://www.godanriver.com/gdr/news/opinion/editorials/rockingham_editorials/article/in_obama_we_have_hope/7269/
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Posted by ( Non-speller ) on November 11, 2008 at 10:52 pm
This year will go down in history. For the first time, a civilized nation has full gun registration! Our streets will be safer, our police more efficient, and the world will follow our lead into the future.“
ADOLF HITLER,1935
“When seconds count,the police are just minutes away.
“I carry a gun,,,cause a cop is to heavy”
“If fire arms were outlawed then only outlaws would have fire arms”
“I ask sir, who is the militia? It is the whole people…To disarm the people, that is the best and most effective way to enslave them…“ - George Mason
A. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
B. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.
C. Remington, the “Original” point and click interface.
D. Gun control is not about guns; it’s about control.
E. If guns cause crime, than pencils cause misspelled words.
F. Free men do not ask permission to bear arms.
G. If you do not know your rights, you do not have any.
H. Those who trade liberty for security deserve neither.
I. The United Stated Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved
J. What part of “shall not be infringed” do you not understand?
K. The Second Amendment is in place incase they ignore the others.
L. 64,999,987 firearm owners killed no one yesterday.
M. Guns have two enemies: Rust and Politicians
N. Know guns’ know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.
O. You do not shoot to kill. You shoot to stay alive.
P. 911 - Government sponsored Dial a Prayer.
Q. Assault is a behavior, not a device.
R. Criminals love guns control. It makes their lives safer.
S. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?
T. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson,
U. Only a government, afraid of its citizens tries to control them.
V. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.
W. Enforce the “gun control laws” in place. We do not need more!
X. When you remove the right to bear arms, you create slaves.
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Posted by ( mdowdy ) on November 11, 2008 at 10:22 pm
Maybe I can give an example some of these “this is unnecessary” people can understand. Say there was a rumour or a reason to believe the only grocery store in the area was closing. You would stock up on groceries not knowing if it was going to happen or not. sure guns and food are not the same but people need food and those who are buying these guns need them for one reason or the other. Whether it be for sport, protection or hunting. People are saying Obama just wants stricter laws ok but who are those laws affecting, the law abiding citizens. Criminals are criminals for a reason, they don’t obey the law so they are not going to obey Obama’s stricter laws either. The fact is the criminals are going to have these weapons and I for one would rather be on equal ground then going up against a criminal with an AK47 with that watergun someone mentioned was the most powerful thing they have. True it is based on whatifs but people do a lot on whatifs. Have a savings account for a whatif rainy day? Have groceries for whatif I get hungry? The world is full of whatifs preparing for whatifs is not paranoia its survival.
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Posted by ( Eeltee ) on November 11, 2008 at 8:37 pm
MIDLOTHIAN, Va. – When 10-year-old Austin Smith heard Barack Obama had
been elected president, he had one question: Does this mean I won’t
get a new gun for Christmas?
That brought his mother, the camouflage-clad Rachel Smith, to Bob
Moates Sports Shop on Thursday, where she was picking out that special
20-gauge shotgun — one of at least five weapons she plans to buy
before Obama takes office in January.
Like Smith, gun enthusiasts nationwide are stocking up on firearms out
of fears that 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 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 108,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in
October 2007, a 15 percent increase. And they were up about 8 percent
for the year as of Oct. 26, according to the FBI.
No data was available for gun purchases this week, but gun shops from
suburban Virginia to the Rockies report record sales since Tuesday’s
election.
“They’re scared to death of losing their rights,“ said David Hancock,
manager of Bob Moates, where sales have nearly doubled in the past
week and are up 15 percent for the year. On Election Day, salespeople
were called in on their day off because of the crowd.
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 gun-makers and dealers open to
lawsuits; and as an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on
semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms.
During an October 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.
Franklin Gun Shop outside Nashville, Tenn., sold more than 70 guns on
Tuesday, making it the biggest sales day since the shop opened eight
years ago. Guns & Gear in Cheyenne, Wyo., also set a one-day sales
record on Tuesday, only to break that mark on Wednesday.
Stewart Wallin, owner of Get Some Guns in the Salt Lake City suburb of
Murray, Utah, said he sold nine assault weapons the day after Obama
was elected. That same day, the gun store Cheaper Than Dirt! in Fort
Worth, Texas, sold $101,000 worth of merchandise, shattering its
single-day sales record, store owner DeWayne Irwin said.
One Georgia gun shop advertised an “Obama sale” on an outdoor sign,
but the owner took it down after people complained that the shop
appeared to be issuing a call to violence against the country’s first
black leader.
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.
“I don’t think he’ll be able to stand up to that anti-Second Amendment
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Posted by ( sulu69 ) on November 11, 2008 at 8:24 pm
Have NO FEAR Tom will defend your rights in a “common sense” way. The Goode days are over.
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Posted by ( Eeltee ) on November 11, 2008 at 8:08 pm
Really?, why is it paranoia, constant fear that someone would want to be prepared?
We are just talking about the constitutional right to own firearms, to be prepared; you don’t have to be paranoid.
I keep guns the same way as someone gets a flu shot, changes the oil in their car, puts sunscreen on at the beach. Paranoid, nah, but smart.
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