While the stock market continues to go down post election, gun sales continue fabulously. But, how fabulously?
Between Nov. 3 and Nov. 9, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received 374,000 requests for background checks on gun buyers – 49 per cent more than the same time last year, CNN reported.
That’s a lot of checks! One of them mine.
“The spike in gun sales … is a serious overreaction to Obama’s election,” said Harvard law professor Mark Tushnet in an e-mail to The Globe and Mail.
Prof. Tushnet, who has written a book about the U.S. gun debate, said that while Mr. Obama may support moderate gun control, he won’t – and couldn’t – enact swift changes.
“Whatever [Mr. Obama’s] ‘deep’ views on gun control, the issue is going to be very low priority for his administration and for Democrats in Congress,” Prof. Tushnet said. “And such legislation would, of course, be extremely controversial. I don’t see any significant political force among Democrats to spend the political capital needed to enact more than the most minor tinkering with existing gun regulations.”
It won’t be sweeping legislation. It will be death by 1,000 papercuts. Tiny legislation that no one really notices. And regardless of what Obama said on the campaign trail, Obama has always been against guns.
