Some dealers, buyers attribute spike in sales in part to worries about an Obama administration

Monday, Nov 17, 2008 - 12:08 AM 

By REED WILLIAMS

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

To read about Virginia law on the transfer of firearms

SLIDESHOW: A rush to buy guns

Sales of ammunition were so brisk Saturday on the first day of the Richmond Gun Show that Terry Coffman said he didn’t have much left to sell yesterday.

“Everybody’s scared to death,” said Coffman, a salesman for Georgia Arms in Villa Rica, Ga., adding that sales for the business have skyrocketed in the past two weeks. “I appreciate the Democrats completely, because they sell more guns and ammo than anyone else has for us.”

Fears that President-elect Barack Obama and a Democratic-controlled Congress will tighten restrictions on firearms have prompted gun aficionados nationwide to rush out and buy firearms. That trend played out over the weekend during the gun show at the Richmond Raceway Complex in Henrico County, which saw higher-than-usual attendance.

But Alice Mountjoy, government-relations coordinator for the Virginia Center for Public Safety, a gun-control advocacy group, said people who are afraid of Obama’s politics are being paranoid, noting that the president-elect has said he respects the Second Amendment.

Last month, there was a 15 percent increase in the number of background checks for gun purchases nationwide, compared with the year before, according to The Associated Press. The number was up about 8 percent for the year as of Oct. 26.

In Virginia, there was a 22.8 percent spike in background checks in October, compared with the same month in 2007, said Corinne Geller, a spokeswoman for the Virginia State Police. And there was an increase of about 12 percent in the number of checks from the first of this year through Nov. 1, compared with the same period last year.

Geller said the higher volume is causing delays in state background checks.

Several gun dealers yesterday said they have seen a spike in sales over the past month that they attribute in part to worries about an Obama administration, and some customers echoed that sentiment. Promoters of the Richmond Gun Show, likewise, were thanking Obama and the Democrats for the more than 5,700 people who attended the two-day show that ended yesterday. About 4,000 people attended last November.

Farmville resident Ian Brock, a target-shooting competitor who owns more than 50 guns, was looking at a $4,300 sniper rifle and said Obama’s victory might have persuaded him to spend the money.

Billy Shinn of Gloucester County was toting an M-14 rifle he bought at the gun show, the same type of gun he used in the Vietnam War.

“I think he really and truly wants to take away the right to own guns,” Shinn said of Obama. “He doesn’t think we need them.”

Shinn said he disagrees with the economic bailout, adding that there might come a time when people would be compelled to rise up.

“One of these days, we’re going to have a skirmish — civil war, whatever,” he said. “The economy, the politics — the whole nine yards is coming to a head.”

Mountjoy said such fears might sell guns, but they don’t reflect the views of the general public.

Some of yesterday’s customers said their interests in the rows of handguns, assault rifles and other weapons had nothing to do with politics. Henrico resident Joe Rios said he wants to buy a handgun for target practice with friends.

“I think they’re cool,” he said. “I like to play with them. Don’t want to hurt nobody, that’s for sure.”

Obama said he favors common-sense gun laws. As a U.S. senator, he voted to leave gun makers and dealers open to lawsuits. As an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on all forms of semiautomatic assault weapons and tighter restrictions generally on firearms. He has also indicated support for closing the so-called gun-show loophole, which allows sales of firearms between private individuals at gun shows without criminal background checks being required.

Annette Elliott, a promoter for the Richmond Gun Show, is placing newspaper advertisements for a gun show next week in Chantilly using the slogan “Get your guns while you still can.”

“We’re actually scared,” Elliott said. “We’re going to have so many people.”
Contact Reed Williams at (804) 649-6332 or rwilliams@timesdispatch.com.

MIDLOTHIAN (AP) - When 10-year-old Austin Smith heard Barack Obama had been elected president, he had one question: Does this mean I won’t get a new gun for Christmas? That brought his mother, the camouflage-clad Rachel Smith, to Bob Moates Sports Shop on Thursday, where she was picking out that special 20-gauge shotgun _ one of at least five weapons she plans to buy before Obama takes office in January.

Like Smith, gun enthusiasts nationwide are stocking up on firearms out of fears that the combination of an Obama administration and a Democrat-dominated Congress will result in tough new gun laws.

“I think they’re going to really try to crack down on guns and make it harder for people to try to purchase them,” said Smith, 32, who taught all five of her children _ ages 4 to 10 _ to shoot because the family relies on game for food.

Last month, as an Obama win looked increasingly inevitable, there were than 108,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in October 2007, a 15 percent increase. And they were up about 8 percent for the year as of Oct. 26, according to the FBI.

No data was available for gun purchases this week, but gun shops from suburban Virginia to the Rockies report record sales since Tuesday’s election.

“They’re scared to death of losing their rights,” said David Hancock, manager of Bob Moates, where sales have nearly doubled in the past week and are up 15 percent for the year. On Election Day, salespeople were called in on their day off because of the crowd.

Obama has said he respects Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms, but that he favors “common sense” gun laws. Gun rights advocates interpret that as meaning he’ll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault and concealed weapons.

As a U.S. Senator, Obama voted to leave gun-makers and dealers open to lawsuits; and as an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms.

Gun advocates take some solace in the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled 5–4 this summer to strike down the District of Columbia’s 32-year ban on handguns. For now, gun rights supporters hold a narrow edge on the court, but Obama could appoint justices who would swing it the other way.

Franklin Gun Shop outside Nashville, Tenn., sold more than 70 guns on Tuesday, making it the biggest sales day since the shop opened eight years ago. Guns & Gear in Cheyenne, Wyo., also set a one-day sales record on Tuesday, only to break that mark on Wednesday.

Stewart Wallin, owner of Get Some Guns in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray, Utah, said he sold nine assault weapons the day after Obama was elected. That same day, the gun store Cheaper Than Dirt! in Fort Worth, Texas, sold 101,000 worth of merchandise, shattering its single-day sales record, store owner DeWayne Irwin said.
 
One Georgia gun shop advertised an “Obama sale” on an outdoor sign, but the owner took it down after people complained that the shop appeared to be issuing a call to violence against the country’s first black leader.

The president of a Montana gun manufacturer stepped down last month after word that he supported Obama led to calls for a boycott of the company.

While Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, attributes some of the sales boom to the tanking economy, he thinks the Democratic sweep is the top reason why guns are suddenly a hot commodity.

“I don’t think he’ll be able to stand up to that anti-Second Amendment wing of the Democratic party that’s just been spoiling for chance to ban America’s guns,” LaPierre said of Obama.

During the campaign, the NRA warned that Obama would be the “most antigun president in American history.” And while Vice President-elect Joe Biden owns shotguns, he has supported a ban on assault weapons and has said private sellers at gun shows should be required to perform background checks.

But Mark Tushnet, a Harvard Law School professor who has written a book about the gun debate, said new firearms regulations will be a low priority for an Obama administration and Democratic Congress facing a global economic crisis and two wars.
 
“Maybe the gun-show loophole will be closed, but not much else,” he said in an e-mail. “I’d be surprised, for example, if Congress enacted a new assault gun ban.”

Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said his organization will continue to press for what he calls “sensible” restrictions _ background checks at gun shows, a ban on military-style assault weapons and cracking down on illegal gun trade. He believes he has the backing of the new administration on those issues, but any fears of a broader crackdown are unfounded.

“The one thing that they agree strongly with us on is that it’s too easy for dangerous people to get guns in this country,” Helmke said. “I guess if you’re a dangerous person you might want to run out there and buy some more, but otherwise you should be OK.”
___

Associated Press writers Lara Jakes Jordan in Washington, Angela K. Brown in Fort Worth, Texas, Kate Brumback in Marietta, Ga., Joe Edwards in Nashville, Tenn., Don Mitchell in Denver, Matt Joyce in Cheyenne, Wyo., and Paul Foy in Salt Lake City contributed to this report.

Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008 - 12:10 AM 

WILLIAMSBURG — The Navy says a 53-year-old reservist who was accidentally shot in June fumbled his pistol during weapons training.

Petty Officer 1st Class Ronald D. Spivey of Franklin died June 21 from a gunshot wound to the chest during training at Cheatham Annex, part of Yorktown Naval Weapons Station in Williamsburg.

A Navy report obtained by The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk says Spivey was transferring his 9 mm between his hands when it slipped, spun around and fired into his chest when he grabbed it.

The 24-year reservist was an experienced shooter. In 2005, he qualified as a sharpshooter using a 9 mm pistol and as a marksman on the M16 rifle.

Spivey served with the Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group.

– The Associated Press

http://attorneygeneral.delaware.gov/crime/concealedweapons.shtml

As of this writing, Virginia has not indicated their acceptance of Delaware concealed carry permits.

From the Virginia State Police website:

Virginia extends reciprocity or recognition to citizens holding both resident and non-resident permits/licenses from the following jurisdictions as set forth below:

Listing of states with which Virginia has Reciprocity Agreements*:

As of this writing, Mississippi has not officially added Virginia to their website, so please check with that state before you carry there. 

Tom Lambert, a representative of the Virginia State Police, has announced that Virginia now has full reciprocity with South Carolina for concealed handgun permit holders. This is official as of September 19th, 2008.

South Carolina has been added to the Virginia State Police website:

http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms_Reciprocity.shtm

South Carolina has not yet updated their web site to reflect this new agreement. It is highly recommended that Virginia permit holders traveling to S. Carolina first check the following website to ensure that the reciprocity agreement has been added:
http://www.sled.sc.gov/Reciprocity1.aspx?MenuID=CWP

CAUTION - some adult language

http://video.aol.com/video/how-not-to-shoot-a-gun/2156851

Wednesday, Sep 03, 2008

Virginia State Police arrested two people in connection with a shooting yesterday on Interstate 95 in South Richmond.

“It appears it may have stemmed from a road rage incident,” said Sgt. Tom Cunningham, a state police spokesman.

Around 4 p.m., one vehicle was following another closely when the vehicle in front braked abruptly, he said.

After an exchange of hand gestures, the passenger in the vehicle that had been following extended his arm outside the car and shot at the other vehicle’s driver with a 9 mm semiautomatic, Cunningham said.

The incident happened along south on I-95 near the Bells Road exit, Cunningham said. No one was injured.

Richard E. Carwile, 24, of Richmond, and a passenger, Yunshaa L. Whitaker, 18, of Henrico County, face multiple charges in the incident, Cunningham said.

Carwile has been charged with being an accessory to attempted murder and being an accessory to maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle.

Whitaker has been charged with attempted murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a felon, maliciously shooting at an occupied vehicle and shooting a firearm from a motor vehicle in an attempt to create injury or bodily harm.

Carwile and Whitaker were in the vehicle from which the shot allegedly was fired, Cunningham said.

The gun has been recovered, he said.

Chesterfield County police assisted in the investigation.

story, courtesy of Linda Dunham, Richmond Times-Dispatch

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