Posts

65.4 Million Gun Purchases Since Obama Took Office, 91% More Than Bush’s First-Term Total

Photo Credit: ElCapitanBSC There have been 65,376,373 background checks completed for Americans purchasing firearms since February of 2009, the first full month of Barack Obama’s presidency.

According to data compiled by the FBI, the number of Americans purchasing guns has skyrocketed since Obama was elected.

In 2009, there were 13,984,953 background checks for Americans buying firearms. If we subtract the 1,212,860 checks completed in the month of January, the total checks for the year under Obama were 12,772,090.

For 2010, background checks totaled 14,320,489. In 2011, checks were 16,336,732, and in 2012, 19,463,832. Background checks for the month of January 2013 were 2,483,230.

Read more from this story HERE.

Gun Sales Surge in December: Record Number of FBI Background Checks

(Reuters) – The number of FBI background checks required for Americans buying guns set a record in December, indicating that more people may purchase one after the Connecticut school massacre stirred interest in self-defense and prompted renewed talk of limits on firearms, according to FBI data.

The FBI said it recorded 2.78 million background checks during the month, surpassing the mark set in November of 2.01 million checks – about a 39 percent rise.

The latest monthly figure was up 49 percent over December 2011, when the FBI performed a then-record 1.86 million checks.

Consumer demand for guns appears to have accounted for the uptick in activity. There were no changes in FBI background check procedures that would have affected the December numbers, FBI spokesman Stephen Fischer said.

December is typically the busiest month of the year for checks, however, due in part to Christmas gift sales.

Read more from this story HERE.

Gun Stocks Surge After Obama Re-Election; Other Stocks Nosedive

Gun maker stocks surged on early Wednesday morning as President Barack Obama’s re-election has stoked fears of tighter gun control measures in his second term.

Shares of the top two U.S. gun manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger exploded early Wednesday morning, reports Investor’s Business Daily.

“The re-election of President Obama should drive political firearm sales,” said Benchmark & Co analyst Mike Greene.

Obama has said he supports the right to bear arms in the past, but in the second presidential debate he said he would support an assault weapons ban if re-elected.

“The administration has not really lifted a finger in the last four years to tighten gun control legislation,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Rommel Dionisio. “There is a consumer fear that Obama will tighten gun control legislation, but whether or not they will do it this time I don’t know.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Gun sales explode in wake of Aurora shooting

The theater shooting in Colorado last week continues to generate discussions about firearms in America, but it is doing more than just getting people to talk. Gun sales in Colorado have skyrocketed in the days since the Aurora, CO massacre.

James Holmes, 24, is being held in connection with the Friday morning outburst that left 12 people dead and injured dozens more. Authorities allege that Holmes opened fire shortly after the midnight screening of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises began at the Century Aurora 16 theater. Only hours later, though, locals were lining up in droves to equip themselves with the same kinds of weaponry.

Jake Meyers tells the Denver Post that he arrived for work at Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo on early Friday to find a line of 15 to 20 people waiting outside of the store. Three days later, he said surging gun sales yielded “probably the busiest Monday all year” and that, for the first time all year, firearms classes taught by the store’s staff were booked for three weeks straight.

“It’s been insane,” Meyers says.

“A lot of it is people saying, ‘I didn’t think I needed a gun, but now I do,’ ” Meyers adds. “When it happens in your backyard, people start reassessing — ‘Hey, I go to the movies.'”

Read more from this story HERE.