Gun sales increase after Obama election

A nationwide financial crisis has mom-and-pop stores across the country struggling to survive, but at The Gun Shop in Hillsboro, Ill., business has never been better.

Since Barack Obama was elected president, area residents have been rushing to stock up on guns and ammunition. Store owner Roy Treadway said sales have increased more than 100 percent since Election Day. Large AR and AK rifles have been his biggest sellers.

"Most people don't have one, and they decided they want one in case we have a big uprising," he said.

Statistics on guns sales in Illinois since the election are not yet available, but gun shop owners across the state say gun enthusiasts are worried their right to own firearms will come under attack once Obama takes office.

"Barack Obama will do his best to deprive anyone he can of gun rights," said Warren Drake, editor of GunENews. "He's no friend of freedom."

Drake said that while most gun owners fear Obama's stance on gun control, some voted for him out of naivete.

"People who voted for Obama heard what they wanted to hear," he said. "They weren't really listening."

Either way, his election has no doubt provided a spike in business for local gun shops.

Craig Bricco, who owns 1st Class Firearms in Zion, Ill., was out of town on Election Day. When he returned on Nov. 17, his store had received 11,000 more orders for guns and ammunition than it had during the entire month of October.

"They're stocking up on ammo and buying guns they don't think they'll be able to get later on," he said.

Bricco, though, isn't as concerned as some of his customers.

To be sure, he believes the president-elect will eventually crack down on gun rights but thinks other issues will keep him occupied for at least the first few months after taking office.

Eventually, however, Obama will work to tighten gun controls and make it harder for people to obtain them, Bricco said.

"They won't broadcast it," he said. "I'm sure it will be hidden in other bills."

On his part, Obama has made numerous references to his belief that the Second Amendment protects the rights of law-abiding individuals to own guns. Still, he has voted numerous times for stricter gun regulations.

And that's what has people worried.

At The Gun Shop, Treadway said he expects sales to continue to grow. His customers are increasingly weary of a government they believe will try to take away their guns.

"A lot of guys say, 'They can have my guns, but they get the bullets first,'" he said.