Fear of stricter gun laws spurs surge in sales

[unhappycamper]

Case Vermillion answers a customer’s question at a gun shop in Fort Worth, Texas, on Nov. 6, 2008. The Cheaper Than Dirt gun store recorded a record day of gun sales the day after the election of President Barack Obama.


Fear of stricter gun laws spurs surge in sales
By Ken Perrotte - Special to the Times
Posted : Sunday Feb 15, 2009 17:39:33 EST

Concern that the Obama administration and Congress might try to clamp down on specific styles of firearms is credited with driving a huge spike in gun sales recently.

Data reported by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and derived from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, required for a firearms purchase, showed 12.7 million background checks reported in 2008, up 14 percent from 2007.

FBI background checks are required under federal law for everyone buying firearms from federally licensed retailers, and they serve as an indicator of actual sales, according to the NSSF.

Sales evidently soared in November, with a 42 percent increase in background checks over checks in November 2007. This momentum carried into December, which notched a 24 percent jump.

The surge comes despite an economy in recession and a steep decline in retail sales sinking deep all over the country.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/02/military_gunsales_021509w/%2e