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Log inGun sales shoot way up
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Gun sales shoot way up
by Outspoken on Thu Nov 20, 2008 5:10 am
Gun sales shoot way up
Buyers say they fear new restrictions under an Obama administration
By EDWARD D. MURPHY
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Forget the WiFi, flat-screen TV and GPS this year. The hottest items heading into the holiday season are guns and ammo.
Cabela's has seen "a huge increase in (sales of) handguns, shotguns, military-style weapons and ammunition," said Joe Arterburn, the company's spokesman. Demand is "probably higher than we anticipated, so we're working with manufacturers and doing what we can to supply what our customers want."
Blame – or credit – goes to President-elect Barack Obama and all those new Democratic representatives and senators who are measuring their new offices for draperies. The increase in gun sales started a month ago, about the time it became clear that Obama was probably going to win the presidential race, Arterburn and others said.
The sales pace has continued unabated, with customers saying they worry that the new president and his allies in Congress will try to make it harder to purchase firearms.
That has led to sales spikes in stores from Maine to Texas, from Florida to Washington.
"It kind of started in mid-October, when it looked like Obama was going to cruise to election, and I think there is a fear of Obama having stricter gun control," Arterburn said. "There's a lot of chatter on the Internet of going back and looking at his record and what he's done and proposed in the past."
Fox Keim, vice president of hunting and fishing for Kittery Trading Post, said gun retailers saw a similar rush after Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992 when gun owners and buyers anticipated stricter laws.
He said the percentage increase in sales of firearms is in the double digits. That category has been a bright spot in an otherwise dreary run-up to the holiday season, he said.
"Obviously, guns are a lower-margin item, but, in a down economy like we're in currently, positive sales are positive sales," he said.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=223066&ac=PHnws
Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
Buyers say they fear new restrictions under an Obama administration
By EDWARD D. MURPHY
Staff Writer Portland Press Herald
Forget the WiFi, flat-screen TV and GPS this year. The hottest items heading into the holiday season are guns and ammo.
Cabela's has seen "a huge increase in (sales of) handguns, shotguns, military-style weapons and ammunition," said Joe Arterburn, the company's spokesman. Demand is "probably higher than we anticipated, so we're working with manufacturers and doing what we can to supply what our customers want."
Blame – or credit – goes to President-elect Barack Obama and all those new Democratic representatives and senators who are measuring their new offices for draperies. The increase in gun sales started a month ago, about the time it became clear that Obama was probably going to win the presidential race, Arterburn and others said.
The sales pace has continued unabated, with customers saying they worry that the new president and his allies in Congress will try to make it harder to purchase firearms.
That has led to sales spikes in stores from Maine to Texas, from Florida to Washington.
"It kind of started in mid-October, when it looked like Obama was going to cruise to election, and I think there is a fear of Obama having stricter gun control," Arterburn said. "There's a lot of chatter on the Internet of going back and looking at his record and what he's done and proposed in the past."
Fox Keim, vice president of hunting and fishing for Kittery Trading Post, said gun retailers saw a similar rush after Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992 when gun owners and buyers anticipated stricter laws.
He said the percentage increase in sales of firearms is in the double digits. That category has been a bright spot in an otherwise dreary run-up to the holiday season, he said.
"Obviously, guns are a lower-margin item, but, in a down economy like we're in currently, positive sales are positive sales," he said.
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=223066&ac=PHnws
Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer
"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."
Plato (427-347 BC)
Plato (427-347 BC)
