Gun sales spike after Obama election

NBC
Published: November 6, 2008

Texas gun stores reported a huge surge in sales following the presidential election.

“It’s incredible,“ said DeWayne Irwin, president of Cheaper Than Dirt, a Fort Worth gun shop.

On Wednesday, the day after Sen. Barack Obama was elected president, sales topped $100,000, a record. Irwin said employees are having a hard time keeping the shelves stocked, and prices on some models have shot up $200 almost overnight.

“It’s a run on guns for the simple fact that Obama did win,“ Irwin said. “And people perceive him as a Democrat, a liberal.  They think ‘they’re going to come get our guns.‘“

“That’s the reason I’m here,“ said customer James McIntosh, of North Richland Hills. “Everybody is freaking out, worried about what will happen.“

Obama’s official Web site says he supports the Second Amendment rights of gun owners, but adds he also favors “common-sense” restrictions, such as making guns childproof and better tracking of guns sold at gun shows.

Obama also supports making the now-expired ban on assault weapons permanent. “Such weapons belong on foreign battlefields and not on our streets,“ Obama’s Web site says.

Irwin, the gun store president, now sells assault weapons.
“It’s good for business now, but I foresee in the future we are going to have to change our business because we won’t be able to sell these,“ Irwin said, pointing to a number of assault rifles on the wall.

He said gun sales first started shooting up a few weeks ago when it appeared likely Obama would win.

Cheaper Than Dirt sold a million dollars in guns in October, more than double the normal amount, Irwin said.