The Gun Shop Owner says "Arms Up"

One Washington gun shop owner is experiencing an influx of new business since the November 4th election. Bernie Conaster, a gun retailer in Manassas, Virginia has seen more business in a single day than he has seen all year. In fact, on the Saturday after the election Bernie had more business than he had all week.

"I have been in business for 12 years, and I was here for Y2K, September 11th, Katrina," Conaster commented. "And all of those were big events, and we did notice a spike in business, but nothing on the order of what we are seeing right now." Although Conaster didn't provide explanation for the recent flare in business, many political strategists and gun owners themselves have attributed the spike in sales to the controversy surrounding 2nd Ammendment rights. Most gun owners believe President-Elect Obama will remove the rights of Americans to bear arms. Furthermore, many of those in rural Southern areas within Virginia feel Obama regards their right to bear arms as menial and of little importance. This skepticism still emerges after Democrats --and Obama himself-- have stated the upcoming administration will support gun ownership rights.

In terms of statistics, the FBI has reported 374,000 background checks are being conducted on possible gun owners within a period of just 6 days (November 3-9). These checks are being applied to mainly automatic weapons such as the AR-15 rifle, which many gun owners fear Obama will hit with tougher regulations and penalties.


Opinion: Personally, I find this story to be a perfect example of the type of ignorance and fear mongering that has plagued America for so long. As the rest of the country, are continuing to spread dissension and fear. The reality is that the number one issue on voters minds is the economy as people are continually losing their jobs and pensions, and having a gun in your hand won't guarantee a future for your child or savings for your retirement. To be blunt, I feel that if these same people have the money to stock up on arms, the economic crisis isn't hitting them hard enough.

Unfortunately, the people who are stocking up on arms right now fail to understand that. This type of small minded thinking is exactly what I feel a President Obama will have to conflict with as he pushes for major change in Washington. I just hope that the progressive policies of the Obama administration will overcome the fear mongering of those who still seek to divide America.