In American crisis, anger and guns
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– Bernd Debusmann is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own. —
In the first two months of this year, around 2.5 million Americans bought guns, a 26 percent increase over the same period in 2008. It was great news for gun makers and a sign of a dark mood in the country.
Gun sales shot up almost immediately after Barack Obama won the U.S. presidential elections on November 4 and firearm enthusiasts rushed to stores, fearing he would tighten gun controls despite campaign pledges to the contrary.
After the November spike, gun dealers say, a second motive has helped drive sales: fear of social unrest as the ailing economy pushes the newly destitute deeper into misery. Many of the newly poor come from the relentlessly rising ranks of the unemployed. In February alone, an average of 23,000 people a day lost their jobs.
Tent cities for the homeless have expanded outside a string of American cities, from Sacramento and Phoenix to Atlanta and Seattle, for people who are living the American dream in reverse. First they lose their jobs, then their health insurance, then their homes, then their hopes. The encampments are reminiscent of Third World refugee camps.
Often former members of the middle class, tent dwellers’ accounts of their plight to television cameras have a common theme: “I never thought this could happen to me.” Unlike the victims of Katrina, the 2005 hurricane that destroyed much of New Orleans, many of the newly-poor are white.
The FBI says it carried out 1,213,885 criminal background checks on prospective firearms buyers in January and 1,259,078 in February, jumps of 28% and 23.3% respectively. Keen demand turned the stocks of publicly-trade firearms companies like Smith & Wesson (up 80% since November) and Sturm Ruger (up more than 100%) into shining stars on the New York Stock Exchange.
There are no statistics on how many guns are bought by people who think they need them to defend themselves against desperate fellow citizens.
But, as columnist David Ignatius put it in the Washington Post, “there’s an ugly mood developing as people start looking for villains to blame for the economic mess.” In November, an analysis published by the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute listed “unforeseen economic collapse” as one of the possible causes of future “widespread civil violence.”
The American economy is down but not out, and in mid-March some experts reported signs that the pace of the decline was slowing. But it hasn’t slowed enough to sweep away the sense of anxiety and fear that comes through in many conversations and commentaries about the future of this normally optimistic country.
While Obama’s approval rating remains high, at 59%, almost two thirds of the population thinks the country is on the wrong track, according to a poll commissioned by National Public Radio in mid-March.
“What is really remarkable about all this is that there hasn’t been social unrest,” remarked an executive with business interests in Latin American countries where riots and street demonstrations in response to economic squeezes are routine. “The conditions for it are all there.”
ANGER ABOUT BAILOUTS
Anger is building. Just under half of those surveyed in a poll by the Pew Research Center this month expressed anger about “bailing out banks and financial institutions that made poor decisions.” The poll was taken before details became known of the full extent of the bonus-paying spree to members of the very team that brought the insurance giant AIG close to collapse.
The government propped up AIG with close to $200 billion and now owns 80% of the company. The argument that $165 million in bonuses had to be paid under contractual obligations went down particularly badly with workers of the three U.S. car companies whose leaders appealed for support from the Bush administration last year when the economic crisis gathered steam.
One of the conditions for the billions that were dispensed to the car industry was that contracts between auto workers and their union, the United Auto Workers, had to be renegotiated to cut costs. The union agreed, and the question arises: are contracts with blue-collar workers less binding than those with highly-paid derivatives traders?
Some see this as another sign of the inequalities that Obama promised to address. Remember his famous exchange with Joe Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, during a campaign stop? “I think when you spread the wealth around, it’s good for everybody,” Obama told him.
There’s less wealth to spread around now as trillions of dollars has evaporated with increasing speed in the deepening crisis. In housing alone, more than $5 trillion has vanished. The gap between rich and poor, a gap of Third World proportions, has not changed. A full-time worker, on average, made $37,606 last year, considerably less than in 1973, adjusted for inflation.
While CEOs made 45 times as much as workers in 1973 they make more than 300 times as much today, according to Holly Sklar, author of “Raise the Floor, Wages and Policies that Work for All of US.”
To what extent those gaps will shrink under Obama remains to be seen and the outlook for swift action is not promising. There are, in fact, not many things for which the outlook is promising. Exceptions include Smith&Wesson. They expect revenue to double within the next three years.
You can contact the author at Debusmann@Reuters.com.
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Ahhhhh…Kiki! Awesome! You is one bright human. I’m with you T O T A L Y! As a Vietnam infantry vet,and student of human history, I got it… Try out http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/
Wow, some amazing stuff posted, and since it is www the world might wonder what has gone wrong here. But from my own view, a gun owner for 55 years, hunted and target shooter, whom could probably our shoot 95% of those posting, just some observations
A. Most of the paranoid posters are nearly 100% rational and echoes of the WACO bunch, AKA “they are coming to get us so we built a fort” etc.
B. The “I am legal as I have a permit so I can defend me and loved ones etc” are exactly the same things the gang banger “ranger” members say, that do not have the “benefit” of being “legal with the gun”
C,NOTHING is more frightening to cops then to respond to a scene advised “crook with gun, citizen with gun”
D. Nothing is more frightening then a “ciitizen with a gun, 19 rds it and two more 19 rd clips running about town and only had fired it on “target range AKA paper punching” and is inside the theoretical “stop the robbery scenario” so many bring up and I am in same place
E. VEery amusing to see where “can use our guns to stop the government etc”..yep can just see these big mouths when a tank pulls up at their house.. or a 50 cal squirts few through there front door.
F. Observation. I NEVER met a vet after WW2 or Korea and few from NAM that actually wanted a WW2 M1 rifle-carbine, A M14 rifle or M16 or AK, although a very few did, I never met one. Most of those drafter NEVER wanted to see a military type gun ever again.. But now with no draft and only lower end and lifer families attending military, most whom can afford the guns as I have seen, never wore uniform other then a fast foods shop. Seems those that never served want to play soldier with miltary type guns then those that did serve..
G. I am amused at the fools that post and seems hung up on crime and the use of “IF” as in “if they come in, kill, you rape etc. as to hype the “I am a hero and will not let that happen, so you are scum”..probably are as dangerous to family as are the “criminal” but love to operate ih the hypathetical…
SO for all that so love their guns and need 20 round handguns, 30 round or more for their “look at me with my bushmaster, AK or M16 etc playing Minuteman defending the town, swat cop or soldier”. I can only advise you wanna be hero’s. IF YOU SHOOT SOMEONE, or as you so often put it while playing the some sort of vigilante savior of USA “bust a cap on them”
YOU CAN AND WILL ALWAYS RECALL THE SHOOTING OF SOMEONE (even in military) BUT YOU CAN NEVER RECALL THE BULLET.
In response to Van,
I’m not one who typically responds to posts like this, because I’m pretty much a ‘peacekeeper’ and don’t care too much for debate. However, I just want you to know that while your comment about racism may be correct for some people wanting to purchase firearms (as it is probably correct for many people NOT purchasing firearms)that is not the case for everbody. Unfortunately racism does exist, and from all sides. Let me just say this up front. I am white. The current state of our country and our economy has created a desire to purchase a handgun for protection, and I aim to do so soon. However, I have never once considered the skin color of the person who could potentially be a ‘threat’ to me, and have NEVER even considered such race riots like in LA until your comment.
I have operated firearms since I was a young child, and have only owned a rifle until now. However I’ve seen the social unrest that can come economic crashes, and I do intend to be prepared.
You’ll notice that in the article it made a comment that a majority of the people living in tent city’s around the country are white, seems to me that they could potentially pose greater threat than anybody else, regardless of skin color. Let’s see, moving from a 4br/3ba house with all the modern amenities to living in a tent with no running water and no sewage/facilities. It would be enough to make me pretty desperate.
It makes me sad to see so many things come down to race. Racism does exist but many people DO see past the color of the skin and see threatening people as more than their ‘race’.
Um, No. This is Not about the economy. “This” – being the rush to buy handguns. No, this is about the clear evidence that the Left is rabidly pursuing their agenda whenever and wherever possible. If you think that you might want a gun a sometime in the future, well buddy, that future is now. Your opportunity – notwithstanding the recent Supreme Court ruling – may not be here in a year. That – and only that – is the reason for the rush to buy guns.
Wow, a lot of supposition in this article. Not much support. Nice title though.
So many words have been written here about the wrong thing: guns. The base issue isn’t guns, it’s people. So yes, I’m obviously a believer in the old “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” cliche. Fortunately, there’s usually a good reason behind the existence of a cliche.
I’m an American living in Scotland for three years now, one of those “Euro-liberal Socialist States” we like to deride so much. Guess what they kill each other with here? Knives. Sure combat knives are not legal. You can’t even purchase a sharpened version of the traditional Scottish marriage knife (called a “sgian dubh” in gaelic) worn strictly for ceremonial purposes nowadays in a sheath on your sock along with your kilt during a wedding ceremony. They only sell dull versions. So the crooks buy butcher’s knives to stab with.
I’ve also lived in New Orleans (8 years), a city that beat D.C. in murders-per-capita for several years running. I was there during those years in fact, yet I feel more unsafe here in all-white Scotland. I’ve seen videos of British police “riot” vans with grating and steel shutters to protect the windows (unarmed coppers of course) being assaulted by bricks, bottles, fire bombs, and anything else a large group of deliquent teenage punks could get on-hand. Walking along streets here, I’ve been verbally assailed by the same type of punks out simply having a good laugh amongst themselves. I’m a 6’5″, 230lb. male and I’ve been fearful here. Could you imagine what a woman of small stature must feel?
Someone pointed out that it’s about fear, that gun owners are often fearful people who may need to somehow overcome it, as if it’s some type of psychological problem. I’ve met the type, having gone to college with a guy carrying an unregistered .45 everywhere he went, noting that his first reaction when someone knocked on his door was to place his hand on the grip. While it’s true that there are psychotic, paranoid people who happen to own guns (or probably knives over here), the more common owners of personal protection are simply responding to a fear justified by tens-of-thousands of years of human behavior: the robbing, raping, killing, maiming, pummeling, and otherwise violent treating of each other. Using rocks, sticks, swords, knives, and now guns. Could we ever expect apes, or porcupines, or fish killing each other off on the scale of a WWII? Nope. It’s strictly human in nature.
There are a few consequences of this gunless society. There appear to be many more robberies, thefts, and other property crimes here (probably increasing insurance rates overall for everyone). It’s also a much less polite society here (another cliche I feel that I’ve proven to myself to be true), having been treated in ways that Southerners (American that is) especially would immediately take offense to, if not downright prepare to throw a punch. But it’s simply the way it is for these people. Also, there are obviously many fewer fatal violent acts.
I suppose this last item could be the main logical selling point for those of “liberal persuasion” to argue against guns. But since most “shootings-in-anger,” or at least it was this way in New Orleans, involve members of the criminal class anyway and not your “general citizenry,” is there truly any benefit to preventing them? It happens here with knives, or bottles, or boots leaving people with lifelong injuries in many cases. Is it necessarily a good thing to lower the chance of death among the criminal class? Is it a good thing to increase the numbers of less-fatal injuries amoung lifelong delinquent addicts requiring ongoing State services?
My point is that guns are irrelevant. We’ve been killing each other for thousands of years. We’ve simply improved the numbers of each other we can take out at a time, or the effort to do it. Without guns, we’d still be doing it.
KiKi,
it is hard to disagree with you on your point about reaction to danger. Combat veterans know. Some police know. Most civilians do not know. So you are absolutely correct. I am hobbyist gunsmith. I say that because I don’t earn any income from it. I reload my own ammunition and I understand firearms. I am proficient with many light arms. I am an experienced speed shooter and with my 45-70 I can take down any large game in North America within 500 yards with iron sights. But, I have never been in a situation where lives depended on my reaction with a firearm. I truly hope I never am. But, like the Boy Scout, I will be prepared.
As for the hunting for food, some of us live in areas that are not as populated as a big city. A Bull Elk or a few bucks would provide 6 to 8 months of meat to my family. I also think it is a moot point. Game could not support the entire US population and wild game alone is not a balanced diet. Without carbohydrates ketoses sets in and that can be lethal. I doubt the situation will stretch to that point. Even if we reach 25 to 30% unemployment there is still 70 to 75% still working and earning an income. The cattle ranches and farms and canneries still need to provide food to those working and earning so, I doubt there would be any long term disruption to the supply of food staples. This is why I would think that the black markets would grow especially drugs and prostitution and why some will turn to property crime so make sure they, the jobless, can feed their families.
I have written to the White House and my Congressmen regarding the need to ensure that the displaced are housed, fed and medical needs taken care of. In my opinion the Stimulus package didn’t do enough in this area.
Your point regarding the City/State is historically correct but, I doubt it will apply to the current global depression. Crime will rise and most will be in the cities. Sure the rural areas will see a rise but, I doubt it will be like what will happen in the city. I would hope that this situation will not cause cities to die. As you said the rural areas depend on the city.
I find your opinion regarding the moral character of our politicians flowing down by example to our citizenry to be very insightful. I believe there are many good people here but, it only takes a few bad ones to cause unimaginable trouble and since way to many are unwilling to stand up and protest (a rebellious friend of mine says the country is populated with sheeple) those few are rarely challenged.
As for all of you who came to my defense, thanks. Ian obviously has some issues that caused him to read more into my comment than was there. And for the record I am not a Dubya fan. I am not a Democrat fan either. But I might dare say that they seem to be a shade better than the last bunch of Republicans. At least so far. And I am counting on Obama’s promise not to place new restrictions on our firearms. For all that is worth.
You are all reading too much into this author’s tenous link. President Clinton was white,there was no economic depression going on, but gun/ammo sales went thru the roof during his first administration. The issue is simply fear of additional restrictions/prohibitions. Obama’s legislative history is strongly ani-gun.
Regarding hostility and fear of social unrest,conditions were a lot worse during the Great Depression, but there weren’t mass violent uprisings.
Here in the rural areas we have always looked after the less fortunate. We may live farther apart but we are highly networked thru fraternal organizations,churchs, Grange and 4H, volunteer fire companies, veterans’ clubs, gun clubs ,etc. When someone’s house burns down, or their kid needs an operation, we take up collections to help them out. We have a guy at work whose daughter was severely wounded in Iraq. The parents had to rush off to be with her, leaving behind a working farm. Within days a volunteer group had formed that fed and watered the animals, harvested the hay crop that was ready, baled it and stored it in the barn, and even kept the lawn mowed. We help each other, we are not going to turn on each other, even though we have lots of guns, probably 4 or 5 per household on average.
With the high percentage of hunters and veterans, any nonsense that starts in the urban areas has little chance of getting very far into the rural areas. We’re not losing sleep over this.
This column is dead wrong and exploits the situation for a juicy story. It’s an embarrassment to journalism. Fact is that people bought guns in higher numbers as they thought that Obama was going to crack down on gun laws. That’s all there is to it. Why? They looked at his limited and non-definitive voting record and acted from a fear and paranoia that has defined the American character since we stole this land in the first place. American fear and paranoia … now that’s your story Bernd!
Jon, your explanation is as right on as anything I’ve ever read. I own guns; have been around guns all my life. I have yet to see a gun kill a single person. Guns are inanimate, unreasoning tools. People use guns to kill people, as well as bricks, bats, knives, rocks, and their bare hands. To those well meaning but ultimately ignorant folk who espouse “gun control” I guess the ultimate step is to outlaw all material that may have the potential to harm or kill people. Good luck with that one!!
It’s also interesting to note that the cities with the most stringent gun control laws are the ones with the highest crime rate. Most notably, Washington DC, Detroit, Oakland, Los Angeles, and Chicago. This is not my opinion but facts reported by the FBI. Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. If you want a city to be truly safe, insure anyone who is responsible, law abiding and willing to take training is REQUIRED to carry a firearm. Trust me on this…crime will drop very, very quickly.
In reply to Sara,
Thank you for your kind consideration. I share your point of view but I’m also realistic. The cities are still very divided according to social status and race.
I share the fact that any kind of criminal scares me, of course, and I try to stay out of the areas where it’s most likely for me to get shot, stabbed, robbed or raped (happens to women and men).
I must correct myself, though, because I wrongfully gave the impression that black populations are highly dependent on social benefits and welfare and that I implied they would be the first ones to revolt and riot. I sincerely apologize, it’s unbelievably silly to have said it and hope the reasons why L.A. 1989 happened do not exist anymore anywhere. But the fear factor remains and that is what drives the sale of weapons in America.
I’m realistic that hunting weapons won’t provide effective resistance should there be a compelling need to overthrow the government, and while there is still bread and circus in abundance, there won’t be any desire for political uprising anyway.
Think this is a reflection of the populace’s fear of the Govt.
Think the government may wish to ponder their actions in the context of history and fear the people. Mainstreet is not as dumb as the government thinks. The beltway no longer listens to the masses but goes about destroying the foundation of our founding fathers. Atlas shrug comes to mind
A little known quote that I once read was given to the Emperor of Japan who queried as to why there would be no attempt to invade the West Coast of America, and so instead, they invaded Pearl Harbor.
The answer: (might be a bit off as I’m quoting from memory) “We cannot invade the American mainland, for behind every blade of grass there will be a rifle.”
Had restrictions been popular then, perhaps we would be speaking Japanese. It’s a real quote and worth some thought.
Gun sales have increased for 2 major reasons:
1. Gun owners and prospective gun owners believe that the liberal politicians will attempt to write legislation to ban the sale of hanguns or guns altogether. Hence the “buy some quick while they’re still legal” rush.
2. More conservative and law abiding Americans understand that they are ultimately responsible for themselves. A liberal government which is afraid of its own citizens and incapable of responsibly dealing with serious issues is just a few steps away from civil unrest.
The government and the police are just extensions of and reflect the moral code of the country. Citizens form (are) the government and protect each other, and no government or police force is large enough to control a population without the assistance of the citizenry. Katrina, LA riots, and a thousand other examples prove that law and order WILL sometimes break down. When it does, you can be a responsible citizen capable of defending yourself and those you care about…or you can be a lawless criminal…or you can be a helpless victim waiting for some other citizen to risk his life for you.
The lawless aren’t going to leave you alone just because you are unarmed. Grow up and join those law-abiding responsible citizens who actually defend the weak and enforce the law, -especially- when the simply government cannot.
Mr. Debusmann,
See you at the coup de estat.
Andre’ Cholmondeley wrote:
“What I find continually fascinating is— the people who will SCREAM at you about the 2nd Amendment — CONVENIENTLY skip the part of it that says ” A well regulated militia”!!
To me that is very clear — we need perhaps a Switzerland-style situation where the GOVERNMENT handles a logical, basic TRAINING course that also registers you as a “TRAINED USER”. What I just described it EXACTLY, PRECISELY what we do for driving cars — why not do the same for a TOOL THAT CAN KILL YOU?”______________________________
Unfortunately, folks like Andre’ don’t understand basic English language construction.
The second part of Article II of the Bill of Rights is a prefatory clause. The operative clause stands on its own. That being said, at the time of the writing of the Bill of Rights, the term “well regulated” meant “well equipped.” A “well regulated militia then should all be carrying modern, military style weapons, preferably of a common make and caliber.
At the time there was an “unorganized” militia as well as an “organized” militia. Clearly there was an effort by the authors to assure commonality of arms, equipment and training between both militias.
There is still an unorganized militia. Title 10 U.S.C. § 311, entitled “Militia: composition and classes” describes the unorganized militia.
As for registering cars vs. registering guns – there is no specific amendment to the Constitution that states that right to keep and drive automobiles cannot be infringed.
Nice try. How bout YOU read up a little, Andre’ hey?
Maybe everyone here should take 20 minutes to read this bill. They are already trying to take your guns.
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext .xpd?bill=h111-45
For those of you who don’t get it… here is a short lesson on the constitution!
The three most important words in the constitution are Government, States, and People, because they describe where the power or rights go. When the founding fathers used the word government, it always meant the Federal Government in Washington D.C… Always! When they used the word States, they always referred to the state governments… Always! And when they used the word people, they always meant the individual citizens…. Always, no exceptions! And, by referring to a militia, they showed that they were not just talking about hunting squirrels. Why is that so hard for some people to understand?
Dear America,
Put Rambo back in your pants.
If you think you can outshoot the person coming after you, think again. Or, maybe, think for the first time.
Its funny the hypocrits we have in our country. you have people screaming bloody murder if their rights to bears arms is restricted or becomes more difficult. these people who hold on to guns are the same people people who scream fromt he roof tops about being “pro-life”. there is only one purpose of a gun: to take a life. how can you be “pro-life” yet walk around with weapons that can take a life. these are also the same people who so easy to say “let’s go bomb them” or “we should just nuke them”. see the hyocrisy?? the worst part is, that these are the same “holier than thou” bible preaching people who believe it is everyone else who is immoral and has lost their way. jesus never carried a shot gun. Jesus was not some soldier. Jesus was a shepard and a carpenter. he built things not destory things. its funny how we here in america are so quick to scream about our rights to bear arms and create militias. yet, we hate those in other countries who wish to the same. at least those in africa and middle east are doing it to protect their lives and lives of their families. who is oppressing or persecuting us?? we hate the iraqis and the palestinains and iranians and the north koreans, because they want obtain weapons and arm themselves and start militas. yet you see people winning and screaming about that being their right. we tend to hide behind out flag and our bald eagle and show our “patriotism” becase we are trying to protect our land and families. yet if some kid in palestine or iraq was to do the same, he is labeled as some sort of “terrorist” or “jihadist”. see the hypocrisy?? bush was successful in spreading american principals and ideals in the middle east. and you see the result of that.
Listen here sidney…
1st… There are may purposes for guns, one of which is stopping someone from killing YOU. Being pro-life and pro second amendment makes perfect sense. It is about protecting life, and liberty. A baby has no way to protect itself from the abortionist. That’s why we are their advocates. A disarmed public has no way to protect itself from a tyrannical government run by mob rule democracy
2nd… Apply your same logic to killing/abortion to the limp-wristed left wingers. They want to ban guns because they are only good for killing, but yet its supposedly some woman’s right to let a doctor suck her baby’s brain out?
Wow! Is there some way you can have a soundtrack play while your prognosis of fear is being read? Maybe the theme from “Jaws” would do the trick?
Or perhaps Bolero would be best, since it does seem that you are positively developing an orgasm of doomsaying?
And please post some photos of those “tent cities” you describe. I’ve seen campers all over the place out in America for years. So far, haven’t a single “tent” city like the ones you describe — or even a photo.
The tent cities that do exist are known as “public campsites” or “RV parks” — an unknown fact for those who rarely venture from the citadels of Myopia City for the Elite. Your reference to “tent cities” is just one more elite illusion, one of the scores of wacky-lefty talking points. It ranks right up there with that elite fantasy endorsed by Big O about all of those unwashed, uncouth masses out yonder in the hinterlands who cling to bibles and guns while squint-eying any furiners who brave a trek into their wilderness in search of votes
T-Party all night long, and it’s goin’ ta be a long’un.
And then vote in 2010 to kick the idiots out of office who keep doing the wrong thing over and over and . . .
All these bail outs and the American people get $25.00 a week in their checks and No agency can tell me if we pay tax on it.If you gave the American people the big bail out just maybe the economy would be better.
My husband was in a union 686 and they had a contract and the union did not protect the members in the plant close. A new company came in and bought them out and their contract was nullifide.They got nothing no sevenence.So much for unions and contracts they only work for the government.
Lot’s of interesting comments but it’s not really what’s going on….As people lose trust, in their government..the gun sales go up..When the government won’t stop criminal illegal aliens..from coming into the country …gun ownership goes up..anyone in the NRA knows, from reading the American Riflemen, that guns stop robbers and murderers, from entering the house..to kill granny..no brag just fact..Look at Katrina..in New Orleans..people with guns, went around and took what they wanted or were shot by the police for trying..The “bad guys” are not buying houses..stock or gold..they are buying guns & ammo, for the next big crisis coming..as investments..that’s why some folks are doing the same..in buying guns now..a hedge on the coming trouble.. Zeke
The collapse is coming. It cannot be avoided.
Have a good day!
Maybe many guns are bought by people who think they need them to defend themselves against the crooks in the Black House?.
Do you remember Obama telling the world he is going to create a “Civilian National Defense Force?” The CNDF will be equal in strength to the American Armed Forces. That means they will be ARMED.
Blair Holt’s Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009 allows for only those who are part of an “agency” to carry arms. That’s the CNDF, not you.
Obama will be able to call the CNDF the “well-regulated militia” that you aren’t. They may all be thugs of various stripe, but they will fill the bill. (Communist Cuba calls them “the Territorial Militia Troops.”)
When the CNDF comes looking for your guns, remember to tell them, “I was looking for those guns just two days ago and was shocked that they weren’t there. Do you happen to have any of those reporting forms?” Remember to trade them with a neighbor.
You’re better off with double-barrelled shotguns and bolt action rifles. They might let you keep those. Semi-automatic weapons of any kind will be out.
More guns in a country already saturated with hand guns. For what? Shoot out your anger, or video game fantasy?
At the end of the day, it is the people who allowed all this to happen. They voted Bush in twice, celebrated when Iraq was invaded, didn’t act to reverse China trade deficit, kept on shopping massive imports and SUVs regardless of heavy personal debts, refused to deal with energy for decades, force the politicians to sink into unfathomable debt, and milked housing for $4T of free fake cash to fund the easy good life.
No matter who was in charge in DC, no matter how crooked were the Wall Street guys, nobody put a gun in the heads of the people to force them bust up the economy, and their children futures, for almost 2 decades of wonderful but unearned good life.
Nobody force them my friends. So who are they going to shoot? Themselves?
I suggest the American people take a deep breadth and return to the innovative intelligent life what made America such a great country up until a decade ago. Please. Get your act together for America sake, for much of the world needs an intelligent, prudent, rational, cooperative America.
I disagree with the assertion that a rise in gun sales can only reflect a darkening mood among gun owners. Keep your ill informed suspicions in check; they do little to bolster your aura of authority. As to reason many may have rushed to buy guns in the first quarter, I would point to the change in administrations as the most important factor.
Most gun owners I have talked to seem to believe, either rightly or wrongly, that such an aggressive Democratic administration as we now have will likely attempt passage of legislation that severely restricts one’s right to purchase firearms. The conversation then is more of a, “Get them while you can” than a, “The world is doomed and I’m going to shoot the first sucker that comes after my stuff.”
Yes, I own firearms. No, I’m not a whack job ready to shoot up my neighborhood or the nearest shopping mall. You fail as a journalist by reason of your unbridled personal prejudice. Someone has to call your game into question; it might as well be me.
Mike.
Gun owner, normal guy.
Hey Mike,
Did you stop after the headline, or did you actually read the article? The author made the same point as you: “get them while you can.” You fail as a reader, as someone should point it out. Might at well be me.’
-George
PS: At least you seem level-headed, which is more than anyone can say for quite a few of the other people responding. It’s hard not to notice the link between racist psychotics who use phrases like “The Black House” and “suck a baby’s brain out” (I didn’t realize a clump of cells even HAD a brain to suck out) and people with a major hard-on for weapons.
In response to Sidney:
Your thinking is so twisted I don’t see much hope in untangling the knots in your logic….
You did a great job of stereo-typing and profiling gun owners. If gun owners are generally pro-life on the abortion issue you call them hypocrites because they own guns? because the purpose of those guns are to take life.
On the Pro Life issue: We are Pro Life because we respect the right of the unborn to in fact be born without having their brains sucked out while still in the womb. We believe that life is sacred and should be protected especially in the case of the most innocent and defenseless among us.
The idea that you put forth that because guns can ultimately be used to take a life makes our position on the right to keep and bear arms contradictory and hypocritical is more of a premeditated conclusion than sound reasoning.
It is not wrong to take a life in defense of your own or those of your family when under attack by individuals intent on plunder and violence. If you think there is something wrong with using deadly force to stop violence against yourself or your family…..then you are a pathetic excuse of a man!
You act as if gun owners get off on randomly killing people. Gun owners are among the most upstanding and law abiding citizens in the Country. No body wants to be in a position to have to use deadly force…..but when it is required to protect yourself and your family….the last thing we need is to have our gun rights legislated away so that the criminals are the only one’s with the guns.
What a stupid argument you put forward!
I don’t see any hypocrisy here, but I do see typical and pathetic liberal thinking. You mention Jesus? He came to offer Himself as an acceptable sacrifice to THE FATHER on our behalf>>>>>a day is coming when HE will return to judge the living and the dead! You will see another side of JESUS…the side that renders justice and deals with the sin and rebellion of people against HIM! There will be more destruction in that day than any of us have ever seen or care to see! So don’t paint a one sided view of Jesus as some kind of 1960′s era peace loving hippie.
THe Bible says there is a time for everything under the sun…a time for peace and a time for war!
getting back on topic…our Founding Fathers gave us the 2nd amendment for good reason. They came from tyranny and understood how easy it is for Governments to abuse their power and oppress people. The 2nd amendment was given to the people as a means of insuring that they could maintain the ability to resist tyranny should the Government get out of control.
George Washington said: “Firearms stand next in importance to the constitution itself and are the liberty teeth guaranteeing our independence!!
Wake up……..ignorance should be painful!!
There is famous poem in English which somehow could be link to the present scenario in American:
Wintery, mintery, cutrey corn,
Apple seed and apple thorn,
Wire, briar libmer lock,
Three gheese in a flock,
One flew east, and one flew west,
And one flew over the cuckoo’s nest.
There are three masters who created the present crisis in America. Bush, Chiney & Rumsfield(three gheese).They did and scattered in east,west…and destroyed cuckoo’s nest (American poeple’s).
excellent story but very sobering indeed. I wonder how many illegal guns have been smuggled to Washington, DC.
As far as CEO compensation… it would be worthwhile for CEOs, company stock holders, and the general public to follow the Japanese example of compensation to their CEOs.
U.K. firm Manifest Information Services, which analyzes proxy information, estimates Toyota\’s top executive, Hiroshi Okuda, earned $903,000 in 2006.
At Honda, the top 21 earned $11.1 million, combined, in salary and bonuses, SEC filings show.
while at U.S. companies, the median 2006 compensation for CEOs at 50 of the largest U.S. companies was $17.8 million, according to a USA TODAY analysis of data from Salary.com\’s CompAnalyst Executive database. Packages included salary, bonus, perks and stock and options awards.
The auto workers union didn’t have to renegotiate, they just decided their jobs were worth it. Executives at AIG may well have decided that they’d rather look for other jobs or in some cases that their contracts would pay them even if they left, provided AIG was solvent. We don’t know if these workers were responsible for failure or whether their contracts had any provisions about company success. But they weren’t unionized, so they aren’t really crooks. They were signed to contracts of free will without duress or threats of mass exodus in event of contract signing failure. These kinds of comparisons are really below reason. If the government didn’t want the bonuses paid, why’d the government bail out AIG? Could just as easily of taken over the AIG obligations(AIG Victims) and left AIG to fail…
I am not afraid of those that purchased guns, as I am our government, which is now trying to control just how much some can earn, at certain jobs!
How much longer before they tell you how much you can earn?
If only Sean Taylor had pulled a .45 on the guy with the gun instead of pully a knife…but his state’s gun laws were such that he lost the right to have a gun because he had used it to defend his property (car)…so he ran at the armed felons trying to kill him with only a knife, but in his death at least he freaked them enough to run off and leave his GF and baby behind after shooting him…
Oh yeah. Also, the ever-wise Jesse Jackson made a mockery of Sean’s funeral by talking about how he died because there isn’t enough gun control.
O.K. Here is how it is going to play out. Some time soon, if the economy of the world does not improve, there will be a new and up-to-date civil war in this country. Death-dealing will be easy and mind-boggling in its efficacy. In the end, the side with all the firearms will win all the goodies. Freedom of speech, assembly and worship will all go out with the baby and the bath water.
Even now, the people who brought us to this point while betting on human nature to supply all the greed necessary to screw our nation, are organizing all they can in the Southern states under the banner of ‘Freedom of Religion’.
This next war will be a doozy. If any one of us lives to survive this man-made holocaust, none will care to review the past at all. Get ready for a day-to-day watch your own back existence. Forget about pick-pockets, these will just be so much comedy relief.
If one has the money and one can get out, it is time to start packing. My guess is that it will all be over by 2012. The Mayans and their calendar are probably right. Years ago, a science fiction writer published a short story called, “The Year of the Jackpot”; wherein everything that could go wrong or get screwed up …… DID.
My guess is that we are approaching the end of this civilization, and the screwiness we are observing is ONLY the tip of the iceberg. Just as the captain of the Titanic, our government and those of many other soverign nations in the world, are moving full-speed ahead into the darkness and an eventual one rounder with an economic iceberg.
I, for one, am not worried. About nineteen years ago, I suffered with the ‘flesh-eating’ disease. On one day, I coded blue three times. The kidneys shut down and I was left on a respirator for twenty-four hours. My recovery was legendary at that hospital. Every day I have been alive since that time has been a freebie for me.
We will not recover from this onslaught. Remember what Nikita Khruschev said, “We will bury you”. Little did he know that we would do it ourselves. So…….Go ahead and arm yourselves and blow each others brains out. I protected myself economically years ago so that my loss in this ‘booming’ economy was minimal. I for one am getting the H out of here, while there are still sane places to live in this world. You all can keep your stupid and petty arguments. Enjoy!
22 Mr 2009 Do any of reuters readers think that the
crisis will keep getting worse and the situation is totally out of control regardless of what the politicians
say because the past and present politicians seem to be
taking bribes (even just ten percent bribe will bring the politicians more than $200billion and that is NOT a small thing) indirectly in return for TARP etc funds
and whatever they are saying on the surface is just plain
innuendoes?? That US seem to be making fool of the world
and wants to live off the world by these inneundoes?
Right now, people fear the government, distrust the government and fear the future. It’s not a case of get’em while you can. Nope! Not even with Clinton’s rhetoric were gun sales this high or fears running this strong.
We are afraid of Obama, his cult like following and his crooked goons. The government is going very communist in a very short amount of time. Most people are smart enough to know the main stream news is a propaganda machine for Obama. The elections coverage removed all doubt of that. People fear what Obama will do and you will be amazed at the distrust coming from the states towards the federal government. States are declaring the 10th. People are worried about a new civil war. The fear factor cannot be dismissed. As long as Eric Holder goes after guns that fear factor will continue to rise.
More guns = more crime, more shootings and more fear any way you put it. This impulsive act by Americans based in fear will take its toll on an already strained country. How many school shootings does it take, how many people shot dead during crimes, how many children playing with guns that die or take the life of a friend without even understanding before we realize. Some love the phrase that “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people” but there is no doubt that guns are the means people use to kill people. The fear that others have guns cause people to wish to “protect” themselves by adding guns for their safety. And that leads us back to the first sentence. This is a very sad sign of our times.
Gentlemen:
I disagree with the notion that gun sales are exploding because of a “darkening mood” in the country. Both gun sales and the mood of the country are well known, but they are not causally related. Free (for the time being) Americans are buying guns in record numbers because they believe that the Obama Administration with its aggressive socialist agenda will attempt to deprive us of our Constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Gun owners are stereotyped in the leftist media as undereducated, bigoted, drunken rednecks. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are ordinary people from all walks of life. Some of us are responsible sportsmen, others are simply taking the responsibility to defend their person and property upon themselves, rather than trust an incompetent and corrupt government. We see crime, drugs, and the slaughter of innocent young people on college campuses. Government (dispite the beliefs of assorted slackers and Obamamaniacs) cannot protect you. Only you can protect yourself. We are not angry at our fellow citizens, however, we are suspicious of our government. As Thomas Jefferson so aptly stated, “A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.” The mainstream media does not acknowledge it, but there are millions of Americans out there who believe in the principles upon which this country was founded. If the ACORN thugs, or anyone else with the false impression that they are entitled to wealth they did nothing to create, come knocking, we will defend ourselves.
More guns do not equal more crime as one poster claimed. States with the least restrictive gun laws like Alaska, Montana, Vermont, and New Hampshire have violent crime rates that are much lower than the national average in part because of gun ownership. Gun laws do not stop violent criminals from obtaining firearms, but they do serve to strip honest citizens of their ability to defend life, liberty, and property.
People are buying guns for lots of different reasons but the thing to remember is they are registered by the federal gov. so they know who has them and how many, unregistered guns are the ones the gov. is most worried about, these guns were most likely passed down within the family or bought long before national registration was enacted. I live in a rural area and know many people who have never purchased a weapon over the counter but have 10-20 shotguns, rifles and handguns all given to them or inherited by family going back to the 1950′s 60′s and later. As for people thinking about living off the “land” most public land ( state and Federal) have strict controls on what can even be brought onto the land and how long they can stay. The rest of the land is private and people will use their guns to protect that along with personal property. Rural people are also related to each other either though blood or marriage and so that means the farmer down the road is an uncle, brother, father etc. Also rural law enforcement draws from the same pool of people along with judges, elected office holders etc. People in large metro areas are going to bear the brunt of any civil unrest because the first thing they will think of should something break out is to flee using a car or truck / motor home. But look at a map of any major city and you can see choke points leaving them sitting in traffic for who knows how long. Most people in this country could not grow a carrot let alone try to shoot, gut, skin and butcher a rabbit let alone a large game animal like a deer. If civil unrest comes and I hope it does not people living in metro areas are going to face the brunt of it.
The right of guns is necessary. The government now is trying to say only the militia has that right. Those early Americans were the militia. They were farmers, shop owners, labors. The average American knew what was necessary to defend against tyranny. Obama supporting thugs like ACORN shows he is out of touch with America. His left leaning promises are just that left leaning and out of touch with the citizens. He would like to prevent gun ownership if he could. It will only be the will of the American people to remind the Officials of our Government that they work for us and not vice verse
It is part of growing up. Fear drives the need but the loss of income through markets drives the outcome.
Odd, the anti-spam word for today was “TOAST”.
Welcome to the land of dog eat dog. With the influence of our across pond cousins, and their inordinate infatuation with everything national socialist or communist, we are now looking at civil war.
Thanks folks, and remember this the next time you are invaded. I certainly will…
The writer may be just a little envious that we Americans still have and will continue to demand the right to keep and bear arms. We have no intention of being disarmed by an out of control Marxist like Ayatollah Obama would like. GB, Australia, and too many others have cowed down to their leaders instead of reminding them who works for who. We insist on criminal control not honest citizen control. B. Hussein s numbers are being artificially inflated by the press that adore him. I drive a truck, lori to our friends across the pond, and all across America more people are regretting their vote for him than bragging about it.
People have to be put to work. We can no longer send jobs out of the country. We have to close the gap between rich, and poor. Yes the Goverment must provide a common defence , promote the general Welfare of it’s people. It must insure domestic Tranquility above all at any cost. Or there will be domestic violence. People must WORK!