WASHINGTON (CNN) - Bernie Conatser has never seen this good business.
The owner of a store of weapons in the Washington suburb of Manassas, Virginia, Conatser said sales have doubled or tripled since this time last year. On Saturday, he said, he did as much sales as he would normally do in a week.
"I've been in business for 12 years, and I was here for Y2K, the Sept. 11, Katrina," said Conatser, as a steady stream of customers browsed what was left of their stocks. "And all who were big events, and we did notice a spike in business, but nothing on the order of what we are seeing now."
The distributors of weapons in much of the United States are markedly higher reporting of sales since Barack Obama won the presidency a week ago.
Buyers and sellers attribute the rising concerns that Obama and a Democratic-controlled Congress will move to restrict ownership of firearms, despite the insistence of campaign aides that the president-elect supports gun rights and believes that the issue a low priority.
According to FBI figures for the week of Nov. 3 to 9, the office received more than 374,000 requests for background checks of buyers of weapons - almost a 49 percent increase over the same period in 2007. Conatser said that his shop, the Weapons Company of Virginia, has been left out of some models - such as the AR-15 rifle, the civilian version of the military 's F-16 - and is running low on others.
These assault weapons are among the firearms that gun dealers and customers say they fear Obama was hit with new restrictions, or even off the market.
Virginia gun owner Kyle Lewandowski said he was buying a .45-Caliber Gun to hedge my bet. "
"Every election year, you have to worry about their rights being eroded a little at a time," he said. "I also knew, because of the Democratic majority and because of the choice, everyone would have the same reaction I did," he added.
However, Peter Hamm, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, called the purchase Spree "goofy." He said widespread talk of a ban on firearms is a "sales pitch."
"With the speed that glacial progress on sensible gun laws, savvy consumers should know better weapon to think they have to go out and buy weapons," said Hamm. Similar surges accompanied by the election of Bill Clinton, the last democratic president, he added.
Dealers in Colorado, Ohio, Connecticut and New Hampshire also reported seeing large increases.
"It 's a fact that liberal Democrats who now control three branches of our government do not like guns. They want us out of business, "a resident of Connecticut Scott Hoffman said. "They do not 'do not want the average American to have a right to defend itself."
And New Hampshire gun owner Lloyd Clement said, "I think there 's going to be an attack on some of the owners of the gun."
The Clinton administration imposed a ban on several types of military style semi-automatic rifles and high-capacity magazines in 1994, but that the ban was allowed to lapse in 2004. Obama has proposed reinstatement of the ban, which require background checks for buyers of weapons at shows, and other "common-sense measures."
He has said that it supported the rights of local governments to set their own gun laws, but believes that the Second Amendment to the Constitution protects the rights of firearm.
"I believe that the Second Amendment means something. I think it speaks of an individual right, "Obama said in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in February.
With the U.S. economy in a tailspin, however, the president-elect 's advisers say the gun law is not a high priority.
"What people do is their own business, and if they decide to go out and buy the weapons they 'll go out and buy firearms, assuming they are eligible to buy weapons," John Podesta, co-chairman of Obama' s transition team, told reporters on Sunday. "But I believe that President-elect, Obama has been clear in his campaign that what he wants is to focus on the economy, trying to get jobs growing again, dealing with the crisis health care, and cope with our dependence on foreign oil. "
Some customers are specifically for storage of munitions and point to concerns raised by the National Rifle Association, which developed anti-Obama ads during the campaign.
The NRA said that support for Obama a "huge new tax on my pistols and ammunition," a reference in Article 1999 a Chicago newspaper saying that the then state senator from Illinois is promoting a plan to increase federal taxes by 500 percent in the sales of firearms and ammunition.
However, as a state legislator, Obama did not have any control over federal taxes. And as the U.S. Senator and presidential candidate, who has not submitted or promoted such a proposal.
"I don 't really believe it is fear. Moreover, there is only uncertainty, "said Virginia customer David Reynolds, who was the purchase of ammunition in the store as well as ordering online.
-----
Even in these tough economic times people will still find the money to buy guns. Have people got the "better buy now before Obama gets our 2nd amendment rights taken away" mentality. Is this what is driving people to buy now?
So what do you think?
