Obama Tells People To Stop Stocking Up On Guns

According to an article published in the Chicago Sun-Times , gun sales have shot up by 49% during the week following Obama's election win in November. Despite the fact that he claims he favors common sense gun laws and belief in the second amendment, many gun owners are fearful he may attempt to make ownership of firearms illegal in the United States due to his past legislative record.

Gun owners--as well as those who don't own guns but are considering buying one--certainly have reasons to fear...but not for the reasons given by NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam...

First of all, during normal times--despite Obama's past record on gun control legislation--there is little chance he would be able to get bills passed that would strip Americans of the right to own firearms. He would have to get Congress to go along with it--and since supporting such measures has the tendency to severely impact one's re-electability in many districts, it is unlikely Obama could garner the kind of support he would need in order to pull it off.

But these are not normal times. We are facing the greatest economic downturn this country has suffered since the Great Depression--and unfortunately, many people living in the US today are not as well prepared to deal with great hardship as our ancestors were. During the 30's, a greater percentage of Americans lived in rural areas where they could at least keep some livestock and raise a garden every year in order to stave off starvation. But not so today--most people live in cities and metropolitan areas where it would be very difficult for most of them to grow a meaningful portion of their own food. In addition, the know-how many of our grandparents had in regard to gardening, canning, and other rural survival skills has been all but lost.

Most importantly, however, is the fact that we have lived during a time when many people have never experienced what it is like to have to do without, to have to wait in order to get the things they want--to work, save, and perhaps suffer a little in order to reach their goals. A lot of folks are in for a rude shock as the economy worsens and more people lose their homes and their jobs. Under the sort of economic conditions we are likely to face, it is entirely possible that we could see widespread social unrest, rioting, and an astronomical increase in the crime rate.

While it may not be possible--at this time--for Obama (if he actually wanted) to get legislation passed that would ban guns, it would be much easier for anti-gun supporters to accomplish if the country was experiencing widespread civil unrest--and this is what gun owners truly need to be worried about.

It would be a monumental mistake to assume that taking people's guns away under these sorts of conditions would do anything to protect the public--law abiding gun owners would end up being the ones who would surrender their weapons--not the desperate individuals who would be committing crimes with them--and it is doubtful the police would be able to protect us.

While I believe Obama truly wants to help America get through this crisis, it would be a mistake to take away our right to protect our homes and our families. I truly hope, for the sake of us all, that he manages to contain the economic crisis quickly.