Just went to the gun section of Gander Mountain

[justanidea]

I've never seen it so packed before in my life. Some were no doubt there to panic buy. However I talked to 3 people there who were buying their first gun.

One woman about my age (early 20s) was just standing around by the counter for about 20 minutes. Then the counter guy turned and said to her "Nope not yet".

Turns put she was buying her first gun and was waiting for them to call in the background check. The reason she was waiting is that the NICS (background check system) was temporarily down due to the massive amount of calls they are getting today.

Pretty crazy shit.

[kelly1mm]

1. People are stocking up on any weapons they want to get that may come under a renewed AWB,

which did not actually ban ownership, possession, sale, or purchase of assault weapons, but rather baned the manufacture/importation of those weapons. Just like going to buy milk/bread before a storm I guess.

[Cleita]

2. So I take it that this run on guns is because people believe they are going to be

banned in the future? Don't they realize that a ban might mean that people have to turn in their guns if they don't have a good reason for owning them? We all know that this is never going to happen thanks to the NRA, however, could it be all this rumor mill stuff is a ploy by the gun manufacturers to up their sales? Am I being too cynical?

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. No, that's reality.

[SomethingFishy]

8. Manufacturers of weapons and ammo

salivate every 4 years during the Presidential election because they know the GOP will run with the "Whoever my Democratic opponent is will take away your guns" thus increasing sales exponentially.

I have a friend who is.. not too bright. Nice guy but he believes all this crap. Obama's first election he ran up a $10,000 credit card bill buying guns "Obama is going to take away".
This year he only spent 5 grand.

[MineralMan]

3. That scene is repeating itself all across the country.

It's a strange phenomenon and paradoxical. Very predictable, though, and has been for a long time.

Part of it is people afraid that they will encounter one of those mass shooters, even though that is statistically almost a nonexistent risk. Others are buying more firearms, despite already having some, in the mistaken belief that someone will be coming to take them away. Oddly, they will signal that they are buying a firearm through the NICS check. Again, it makes no sense, but happens every time there is a mass shooting.

[frazzled]

5. Good, it means they're 4.5 times more likely to be

shot during an assault.

Most of us are aware of studies that show that having a firearm in the home increases rather than decreases your chance of violent injury or death — usually through accidents or suicide. I was not aware of this peer-reviewed 2009 study by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine study which concluded that people in possession of a gun were 4.5 times more likely to be shot during an assault than those who didn’t have a firearm.

In the words of the study: “On average, guns did not protect those who possessed them from being shot in an assault. Although successful defensive gun uses occur each year, the probability of success may be low for civilian gun users in urban areas. Such users should reconsider their possession of guns or, at least, understand that regular possession necessitates careful safety countermeasures.”

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/12/not_protection.php?ref=fpblg

Sorry to be so crass, but perhaps this is the only effective means to achieve attrition in the number of weapons. Unfortunately, it also means attrition in the number of people.

[justanidea]

10. The branas study is quite flawed.

Very little was done to control for previous criminal history. In other words, two gang members shooting each other during a drug deal could be included in the study.

When a study specifically addresses people with carry permits not engaged in illegal activity, then we'll talk

[frazzled]

12. No, sorry: it's the only peer-reviewed study out there

From a distinguished institution. The rest are fakes.

Your bully attempt fails, again.

[justanidea]

14. That doesnt change the fact that it is flawed.

[RB TexLa]

6. They probably read about how the president is going to have the Black Panthers going door

to door to take all the guns from whites starting tomorrow.

[jody]

7. Perhaps some people finally recognize that government is not obligated to protect them and in fact

cannot protect them.

Self-defense is a personal responsibility and they see LEO bearing handguns for one purpose, self-defense.

Then they put one and one together and conclude they have a right to keep and bear arms for self-defense and that handguns are the most effective tool for that job.

At that point, the next step is a federal firearms dealer.

[Cleita]

11. Jody, I'm not your enemy here at DU and I agree with many of your posts

on other issues, not this one. Having a gun only escalates a situation. I'm a person who has had a gun pointed at me during a robbery and trust me, evaluating the situation afterwards, I came to the conclusion that if I had pulled a gun out and legally I was allowed to be in possession of one on the job, I probably would have been dead along with others caught in the situation. (This was an armed robbery of a bar I was tending at the time. Customers were also robbed of their money and jewelry.)

Government does have an obligation to protect its civilian population. That is why we have police departments, fire departments and military. If our police departments and fire departments are underfunded and undertrained they can't do their jobs effectively, but that's what we as citizens need to do, make sure they have the resources they need to do their jobs, not have more guns.

[jody]

15. Sorry but SCOTUS says govt is not obligated to protect anyone unless they are in custody.

Self-defense is a personal responsibility and as police departments absorb budget cuts, district attorneys and mayors are advising their constituents to arm themselves.

The Second Amendment is for one primary purpose, the right of a citizen to defend self and property with arms as PA (1776) and VT (1777) said in their constitutions.

I do not mean each person must possess a firearm as is the case in one or two cities or counties, because that's a personal decision.

[bettyellen]

16. law enforcement agencies are underfunded and have a harder time protecting people because of

the Libertarian wingnuts who imagine they can protect themselves from the mayhem that would ensue if we had no police department.
the supreme court has been loaded with morons lately. i'm not sure i'd base my life decisions on their recent rulings.
but then again, I live somewhere that has rational control of firearms. and not somewhere everyone is packing heat and i need to live in fear and distrust of my neighbors.

[jody]

17. Those aren't recent rulings as you can learn easily on the internet. nt

[Tutonic]

9. Good way for the Rethugs to extend their ground game.

Register voters at Gander Mountain, Cicks, Walmart, Turners, other gun hangouts. Also outside of men's restrooms in large airports.

[nc4bo]

13. Guns Plus has been SRO since Friday.

http://www.gunsplusnc.com/

Right down the road from me on Hwy 87. Can't fit another car in the lot and I bet that some of the empty/unused parking lots across the street or next door isn't from some of their customers.

A new gun shop opened about 1/4 mile down the road from GP - this nutter proudly displays the teabagger's (except it's all white) as well as variant of this one minus the text in the store front window - in fact, the flags are so huge that they cover up most of the front windows of the business.

Business booming all over Rover don't cha know.

[PoliticAverse]

18. Unfortunately, this is not at all surprising. n/t