The symbolism of a run on guns starting on the morning after Barack Obama's election victory is almost too much to take. Finally, a black man is walking up the front steps to the nicest house in town, the one we all look to with reverence each time we pass, the one whose residents always more attention than any others in the neighborhood...and white people are scrambling for their guns.
Amazing.
Before you get defensive, let me clarify that I think that if Obama was a strong Second Amendment advocate, gun owners and ammo lovers would not think that he's going to pass some sort of gun control designed to either take their guns--presumably "from their cold dead hands"--or make it nearly impossible to buy more. In other words, I think that for most of these post-election gun enthusiasts, the fact that Obama is black has nothing to do with mad scramble for protection.
Did I just say "most"? Let me think about this again. Bill Clinton supported gun controls that were more extreme than those supported by Obama. Clinton supported the Brady Bill and an assault weapons ban. Obama wants people to be limited to purchasing one handgun per month! (In case you're not counting, that is twelve per year, or nearly fifty in a four year period.) OK, so Obama does support allowing local governments to shape their own gun laws, more extensive background checks, curtailing the sale of armor piercing bullets, and semi-automatic weapons. But still, Clinton campaigned on gun control and I don't recall lines at gun shops on the days following his victory.
Alright, I won't delve into cynicism. Maybe this economic melt down has everyone edgy and wondering whether a serious run on the banks might look like the urbanized 21st century version of the "Gunfight at the OK Corral." Get one more gun...just in case.
Let me think positively and assume that white people are not afraid--well not most of them anyway--that black people are going to get out of hand. I'll maintain that the law-abiding center of middle white America is not afraid, that the people plopping guns down on the counters represent the fringe elements who believe the spam emails that are sent to them and still think Obama is a Muslim. But that center of middle America still thinks that our paramilitary police forces will still have the upper hand and they know how many guns white people own?
In my most optimistic state of mind, these antsy gun buyers simply fear one particular black man, not all of them.
Certainly all of this is one way to see how the United States has evolved as a nation because not long ago many more white people clearly would have been running for their weaponry. Seriously...probably the entire population of white people.
It's just the juxtaposition that makes me shake my head and ponder the irony that even the white power fighting, Black Panther supporting, Africa uniting, afro wearing black activists of the sixties could not have scripted this any better. "Why of course," I can hear them saying, "the white man just can't let it go."
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I was not aware that this “run for guns” was actually happening. But now being introduced to this, I find myself scratching my head. Could this really mean that people think that they are less safe because of Obama being elected into office?
I think that it is a reach for anyone to think that their personal safety is in jeopardy by having this man in office. Is it the Muslim thing? I don’t know, but I do know that people must have way too much time on their hands to think of all the possible “what ifs” regarding this man’s falsely portrayed religion. Is it the black thing? Once again, wayyy too much time on people’s hands and way too many bad guy movies.
Considering even these two possibilities why people would find the need to buy guns now after Obama has been elected disappoints me. How is it not clear to these white people that African Americans are proud and more secure now that Obama has been elected; they are not getting riled up or troublesome. I don’t even see how someone can reach that conclusion—there is no precedent to base that assumption on.
I would agree with the statement some people would have about can’t some white people just “let it go.” If a white person has a problem with Obama being elected, it should be based on his policies if anything. But I guess that is me hoping that this country had gotten beyond racism. I guess there are the white people out there who think that they are in danger. With this I hope that they will eventually see some good in Obama and how he plans to run our country. I hope that people will eventually get over the fact that he has been elected and start focusing on the rational elements of politics.
This 'run for guns' doesnt come as a complete surprise to me, but I was unaware of the fact that there were actually lines at gun shops the day after the election and that this was different from when any other Democratic president was elected. The same thing happens every election, and not just in relation to gun ownership. People rally about anything that is addressed in a candidate’s platform that people feel alienates them in some way. Abortion is another great example of this.
In response to this blog, I think it is simple. Times have changed, and gun owners are simply more afraid now than ever that their constitutional right to bear arms will be taken away. And this is not because Obama is black. Sure, maybe there are some racist people out there who think this means “aww shit black people are gonna be runnin wild,” but to go as far as to say that white people are running for their guns because we have a black president is ridiculous. I agree with the statement “In my most optimistic state of mind, these antsy gun buyers simply fear one particular black man, not all of them.” But I don’t think that this is because he is black, but because he threatens to take away something that they believe is rightfully theirs, the right to bear arms.
Do we really have to go out and buy guns just because a half-black man got elected to be our next president? Will that really protect us from being assimilated into a nation that is finally electing people that can help break down the color-barriers we have built? As a white person, should I go out and purchase a gun to protect myself from the Harvard educated half-black man that will run the country come January? Is this honestly what it comes down to again? Just like after the end of the Civil War, the number of African-Americans being lynched increased, will the number of black people being shot increase due to the 2008 Presidential Election?
I just am not sure whether to attribute this surge in gun purchasing to racism or hard economic times. I would honestly attribute it to both. Maybe there are white people out there who are very concerned with the economy and now think that because Obama was elected to be our president that any of the jobs and help out there will just be given to black people. Is that a reason to buy a gun? I highly doubt it, unless all the white people out there want to solve their economic woes from a prison cell. I know that I am not sitting here thinking “Shit, I will never get a job with this state of economy and with all the jobs being given to black people from Obama.” So why are other people?
I was a bit surprised this Thanksgiving break when I saw my brother, only a few years older than I, showing off the gun he had just recently purchased to my cousin. I did not think much of it except, “Hmm...That’s odd. He just bought a brand new hand gun two years ago for his 21st birthday”. Later on that day I was a bit startled to hear several of my family members all engaging in a discussion about how they will be purchasing guns, and especially ammo in next few weeks. I was dumbfounded and after asking, “Why?” my brother quickly shot back explaining to me, “because Obama and a bunch of democrats are going to be taking over the government creating new gun laws and adding high taxes to the ammo”. Now I am not very up-to-date on politics, but I decided to jump on the bandwagon and jokingly told my Dad I would like a hot pink pistol for Christmas. After realizing my father had virtually no problem with this idea I was really confused with everything that had took place that day. Now that I have read this blog entry I would have to agree that it is not the fear of a black president, it is the republican fear of the democrats taking over congress. Or at least it seems that way for my family..
After reading this blog and the rest of the responses, I absolutely agree that there is a fear among republicans about the gun laws that will be changing when Obama comes into office. However, it strikes me as odd that there was such a “run for guns” after this election more so than any other election when a democrat has won. I do think that most of the white people who are buying the guns are acting in fear. Fear of change that is. I think that they believe Obama to be different in so many ways that whatever he does in office will hurt them. And I do think that his being half black plays a role in this. I mean, why is it that Obama being elected is different than any previous democrat elected when it comes to gun control? Isn’t it pretty much a given that if a democrat comes into office, gun control is one of their main focuses? At least that’s what I thought. I think the fact that he is black scares that small majority of the people in the country who were running out like crazy to get those guns. I think that many of those people think that because he is black things are going to be dramatically different. It won’t be small changes. It is so crazy to me how we have come so far as a nation that we finally have a president of color; yet, there are still those who do things such as this that I feel we have taken one step forward and two steps back.
My boyfriend was the one who pointed out to be over thanksgiving break, that almost all of the guns in the store Dicks Sporting goods were gone, and there was a huge line waiting to try and snag one of the last guns on the display. I’m not a gun enthusiast, or go hunting, so buying a gun has never been on my mind. My boyfriend just shook his head and explained to me that people thought that now that a democrat was elected into office. I don’t think that most of the people in the line to get guns were concerned that the new president elect was black, but rather his political party. I’m assuming that most of them didn’t really know Obama’s gun control policies, and just assumed that since he has democratic ideals that he would want to have tighter gun controls to make buying new guns nearly impossible. After reading this blog, I’ve seen that this response of running out to get a gun is a little unnecessary. I feel like one person probably talked to all of his friends about going out about getting a gun before it was “too late” and that spiraled into having everyone in town getting this same fear. I hope that people were ignorantly buying guns because they were fearful over the changes the democrats might bring, rather than the fear that the new president elect is black.
I am not a gun owner nor do I ever plan on being one, but I do respect and support the second amendment to a certain degree. I think it is crazy that you could buy an assault rifle with armor piercing ammo; I just think that is something out of the movie or video games, just crazy. But what I do think is the case right now, is that people, mainly white republicans I guess, are going out to buy guns before Obama is in the office and he puts more strict laws in place (and the change really would not be that much). I believe that for the most part this frantic gun buying if for that reason and that only, and I would have to say it is only the crazed white people who were buying guns for their protection from the “crazy black president”, and those are probably the same people who have nuclear war shelters, with miles of shelves of Campbell’s soup and ramin noodles. But still I see responses of people saying that it is because of the black president, and I don’t know if that is because they fear Obama, or just because they know someone who does. Other wises I couldn’t not see any reason to buy more guns then for the new laws. What I guess I am saying is that, in America, some people are just gun crazy and will take advantage of the second amendment, just like people do with the first. It is human nature and even American nature to bend the rules and try to get what you want out of them. We have this America first mentality, and even more than that we have a “me” first mentality.
I too had no ideal that there was a run on guns. I am not a gun owner and will never be. I find it very scary that there was a run one guns and it started right after Obama won the presidential election. I know in the back of my mind, I know this might sound bad, and on some others is the thought of what those guns can to others and not only our first black president Barack Obama but others in the minority. Also about the fact that Bill Clinton, another democrat president gets brought up in this blog and, it is amazing that the same thing did not happen when he was elected when had stricter platforms on gun control. Is it because of race? Ii seems like it is not about ideals because Obama is pretty lax with gun control. There has to be some kind of underlying theme to why people are stocking up on guns. Is it the great recession? I kind of agree with Sam’s comment about bank robberies. Is quite funny if our economic system keeps nose diving we will have another great depression. Which could cause people to go a little insane and rob a bank!
The whole "run for guns" concept is quite humorous to me. Being from York PA, a somewhat rural area, i know how much white men love their guns. We always got a day off school for the first day of hunt'n season. Being a multiracial, suburban male, the whole gun thing just never appealed to me. I've only shot a gun one time, and to be quite honest, guns scare me a little bit. I'm afraid that if i carry one that i'd accidentally shoot myself (ala plaxaco burress) or accidentally shoot someone else. But anyway, running out and stockpiling on guns and ammo because a black president is about to take office is just silly. The man who is sad because they can only buy one gun per month is the man who probably shouldn't be carrying a gun in the first place. More thorough background checks, no selling of armor piercing bullets, even ceasing selling of automatic and semi automatic weapons is a GOOD THING!!! What practical need does any average American have for an AK-47? It just doesn't make sense. And it's sad what kind of group think and racial assumptions people make like this one, or his presidency being used to take the white man down, or his being a terrorist because his middle name is Hussein. I just hope that he can change some people's minds, which he has proven he's already capable of.
I personally had no idea about either Barack Obama’s stance on gun control or the fact that a ton of people ran out and bought guns after Barack Obama became the president elect. I think it is ridiculous to assume that all of these people went to buy guns just because we now have a black man running our country. However the fact that Barack’s proposed gun control laws aren’t very strict that is a bit eye catching. Regardless of the fact I really don’t think a bunch of people went out to buy guns to kill Barack Obama, especially in these times of economic downturn, or as our government is reluctant to call it, recession. People probably bought these guns because hunting season is upon us. Now tell me what makes more sense, buying a gun to hunt or buying a gun to kill the president? Which do you think is easier to kill: the most protected man in America or a for the most part helpless animal? I am going to have to go with the helpless animal. Of course my theory could be backed by some information on the types of guns bought and in what type of area they were bought in, but I think you get the picture. I think it is fair to say that most people who buy guns and register them aren’t buying them to kill other people.
Yes I know that there is a “run on guns” since Obama has been elected to the Presidency. This run on guns has absolutely nothing to do with the fact Obama is an African American and it is because he is a democrat and the NRA and other gun supporter groups portray anyone who is a democrat to be against owning guns and wanting to take them from you. The types of guns that people are buying are assault rifles and semi-automatic handguns with high capacity magazines. The reason why people are buying them is because the last time a democrat was in office a ban was placed on assault rifles and high capacity magazines for handguns. So the gun enthusiasts think that there will be a ban on assault rifles and some handguns like there was in the 1990’s when Bill Clinton was in office. Many NRA members and supporters feel the democrats and Obama will take their guns from them. What they fail to realize is the Supreme Court just made a decision which said you cannot have an outright ban on ownership. Once again I think the so called “run on guns” has absolutely nothing to do with Obama’s race and it has everything to do a fear that they cannot buy firearms once Obama is in office.
I think that the run for guns is kind of a reasonable fear. During the Clinton administration there was a ban on assault weapons, allowing people to not buy them. The ban expired under Bush, so it's currently legal to purchase assault weapons. The reason that there wasn't a run on guns during the Clinton administration is merely because the weapons were not available to be purchased. Now that the weapons are available, and there is information going around that says that Obama will support bringing that assault weapon ban back, people realize that it's entirely possible that the ban will come back, and that there is even a precedent for it. Combine that with the fact that people can purchase these weapons, and I think you have a very volatile mix. It's also not just Obama, there's a democratic congress that rode in on his wave, so there's nothing to be fought, and there's no defense available in the congress and senate to keep people 's second amendment rights protected. It's not necessarily that Obama is more anti-gun than Clinton, certainly I don't think that you're necessarily wrong on that at all. I think that Clinton was more anti-gun than Obama. I don't think it's the black thing or the "muslim" thing. I think it's just fear of the democratic majorities in congress and the white house. I was talking with someone who actually owns a gun shop and he was talking about how “Obama’s gonna take our guns away.” I think it’s a combination of fears of the democratic party in general among pro-gun republicans. I think it’s also a fashion trend almost. It’s an “if everybody’s doing it, it’s probably a legitimate fear.” I think that the gun issue is an important one, and I think that gun control is going to only ever get greater and more restrictive as time goes on. I think that people really understand this, and aren’t buying it just to hedge against Obama, but all successive administrations as well. They also realize that if this happens, the weapons will become much more expensive to obtain, and they consider it to be an economic investment that they can use to protect their families an to protect against the fialing economy.
I first heard of this “run on guns” actually before the election took place. My economics teacher was talking about how that in times of recession, the firearm industry is one that almost never takes a tumble. Sometimes, it even bolsters sales in that sector. However, I am certainly aware of the fact that since the election, gun sales have sped up even more. I think Sam is right in his explanation that it has much more to do with the Democratic Party’s view on gun control than Obama’s race. I am a conservative, a hunter, and a gun owner. Right now I can go buy a shotgun or rifle with ease, but there are legitimate and important regulations that prohibit me from buying a handgun. My 21st birthday is only three months away and I will be able to buy a handgun. Since before the Democratic candidate was picked and Hillary was the front runner, I made note that it wouldn’t hurry to hustle to get my concealed carry permit and handgun as soon as I turned 21 because it would be hard for a newly elected president to change any firearm law with only a month after inauguration until my birthday. I do not see any correlation whatsoever between my desire to fulfill my 2nd amendment right and the color of Barack Obama’s skin. I look at this new “gun rush” as a fear of higher regulation on firearm sales as a result of the Democratic majority and also a byproduct of the current recession.
-Dan Kociola
I heard a joke in late october, where one of my friends was basically telling me that if Obama were to become a presidential elect that the following day everyone was going to run out and buy guns. My friend told me that Obama was going to make it nearly impossible to buy guns. I heard this and thought one of two things. My first thought was "Who in the hell is going to stock up on guns? That's stupid!" My second thought was I am glad that Obama wants to make it harder for people to get guns. There are so many people with weapons who do not need them. Unless you are with the police department or in the armed forces and on duty, there is no need for you to own a gun. The more people that have guns the more people will die. How many children were accidently killed because they wanted to play cops and robbers with daddy's gun? How many people were shot by someone in fear of their life? If someone tries to rob me, I should not have a gun in my possession to shoot them with! That means I would have taken a life for a cell phone, a purse, and a couple of dollars. Guns are a serious issue. They are not a necessity, they are not even a luxury. Guns are a dangerous safety blanket. When you put dangerous weapons in dangerous hands, lives are taken.
Now to the rumors that there was a "run for guns" because Obama is half black is silly. If the majority of America thought that African Americans were scum and beneath the white population, then we wouldn't have a black president. Don't get me wrong, I am sure there are people who are fuming and probably do want to try and do something about it. However, I refuse to believe that all the white people in America went out and bought guns to kill the presidential elect.
I find it interesting that Sam seems to be unsure of whether or not people want professors influencing their children. My parents, who are both staunchly conservative, would probably be very disappointed if I went through four years of college and never heard a viewpoint that was different from my own. For parents and students who only want to hear what they believe and what they’re comfortable learning about, there are other education options such as homeschooling or religious colleges and universities. Going to a state university opens up the doors for the opportunity to hear new ideas and ways of thinking.
My teachers’ opinions do not directly change or affect my own feelings and beliefs but they do plant seeds of knowledge, doubt and question in my head. These individual ideas are not enough to make me completely overhaul my feelings, but they do make me think critically about why I think the way I do and open my mind to other sides of an argument or problem. While I would never switch who I was planning to vote for in an election or completely flip my stance on an issue, hearing an educated respected adult who is not one of my parents talk to me about important issues helps me to shape my values and beliefs.
From the blog I'm not kidding. There Really is a Run on Guns, I found it interesting how people are purchasing more guns post the election. It seems really weird that it is mainly white people too. But I have to admit, it might not be so weird. It is kind of funny even.
This blog reminds me of the Michael Moore Documentary Bowling for Columbine short cartoon clip of the history of White people in America and their guns. How white people got scared and bought guns just because slavery became abolished. And then again later the idea of the KKK and the NRA started up. The imagery of the blog painted a hectic free for all for guns that almost made it seem surreal or comedic.
The idea that they are all buying guns post election makes it seem as if they are scared all the black people or minorities in general are going to go wild or something. We are not animals. We are not going to go on a rampage of violence just because a minority is finally elected as president. To even think that is completely ignorant on their view point of us as a race or as humans.
Also it actually can be a scary thought because what if the whole "Race War" that the KKK or other pro white groups maybe preparing for. That idea may be far fetched but it is still a scary thought that crossed my mind while reading this blog.
I think that the run on guns is very much a direct cause of what alot of people have in their heads as a sterotype of black people. They see the gangsters and hoodlums that are on tv for murders and shootings all of the time. White people sometimes think that all black people are like this. But they hav always seen a safe distance from these "violent" people and have never had to deal with them. But with Obama taking the highest form of power in our country, they see the next step of these people is to go right into their neighborhoods and invade. The white people see the black people immediatley turing their neighborhoods into these "hoods" and it has scared them. So is Obama's gn policy why they are doing this. No it isn't because they know that they will never have their guns taken from them becase of the anger that that would cause ahd the polotical backlash that would result. How many people who own guns voted for Obama? My point is that gun control can never go past a certain form of restriction because they will never ever allow it to. So in conclusion, people feel like this is an event that needs them to protect themselves because of because they see it as a turn for the worse in our country
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