Friday, November 7, 2008
Congress / Hicks From the Sticks / Kotz / Politics WTF: Gun Sales Soar Following Obama Win
Posted by Pete Kotz on Fri, Nov 7, 2008 at 2:20 PM
Pretty much every state Obama won has a vibrant hunting culture
The Associated Press is reporting today that gun sales have soared following Barack Obama's presidential win Tuesday. It seems that people from Virginia to Utah are worried that the Democratic lock on Congress will produce a new round of gun restrictions, prompting record sales across the country.
This may be sound logic if you're in the market for a new assault rifle, or you're worried about reversals in concealed weapons laws. But isn't it a little paranoid to worry about your shotgun collection?
Democrats may eventually get around to tackling assault rifles, since they're only useful in firefights with the cops. (If you need an assault rifle to hunt, it's a safe bet that you really suck at hunting, and should probably take up scrap booking instead.) And it's hard to see Obama trying to overrule state concealed handgun laws, since he'll need to spend that political capital on more pressing issues like wars and economics.
But the weirdest thing is the rush to buy hunting rifles. If you look at the map of Obama's victory, he locked up the entire Northeast and Midwest. Aside from the tiny congested states with scant open space -- think Connecticut and New Jersey -- almost all have a hunting cultures that rivals the South's.
Do people really believe that even liberal legislators in Maine or Minnesota would vote to restrict hunting weaponry, knowing the blow back they'd face at home?
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