Americans are buying up guns and ammunition like there’s no tomorrow. Since last November, there has been nearly a 50 percent increase nationally in gun sales.
The number of FBI instant background checks, required for gun purchases at stores and for gun redemptions at pawnshops, increased by 450,000 in November over the previous year.
In December, they went up 300,000. In January, 270,000. February, 238,000. In March, back up to 300,000.
There is a nationwide shortage of ammunition. In many parts of the country, 9 mm and .380 caliber bullets are virtually unavailable. Gun shop owners say customers hoarding ammo have caused the shortage. People who normally would buy one or two boxes of ammo are now buying ten.
Why the mass hysteria?
Ever since the fall when it became apparent Barack Obama was likely to win the presidential election, conservative pundits, along with the National Rifle Association, have stoked the fear that President Obama was going to take away people’s guns.
“OBAMA WOULD BE THE MOST ANTI-GUN PRESIDENT IN AMERICAN HISTORY” the headline screams on the NRA’s anti-Obama website gunbanobama.com.
Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, all harp on the same theme: Barack Obama plans to ban guns of all shapes and sizes.
Type “Obama gun ban” into an Internet search engine and you get 683,000 hits. Some websites display an extensive list of all the types of guns the Obama administration intends to ban.
This is nuts! With all that Obama has to deal with, it is clear that he has no interest in taking up that divisive fight. He has stated as much on numerous occasions.
But for some reason, the idea persists that President Obama plans to send out the storm troopers across the country any minute now to take away all the guns.
Perhaps the president has not been clear in his denials. Perhaps his language has not been sufficiently unambiguous. The following, therefore, is an attempt, with apologies to Dr, Seuss, to state the president’s policy in the simplest language possible:
Barack-I-Am! Barack-I-Am! I will not eat green eggs and ham. That is nice, Barack-I-Am, but will you make a firearms ban? I will not make a firearms ban. I do not like it, Barack-I-Am. I do not like it here or there. I do not like it anywhere. I do not like a firearms ban. I do not like it, Barack-I-Am. Would you like it on the Hill? Would you like it in a bill? I would not like it on the Hill. I would not like it in a bill. I would not like it here or there. I would not like it anywhere. I do not like a firearms ban. I do not like it, Barack-I-Am. Would you ban them in a park? Would you ban them on a lark? I would not ban them in a park. I would not ban them on a lark. Not on the hill. Not in a bill. Not here or there. Not anywhere. I do not like a firearms ban. I do not like it, Barack-I-Am. Would you ban a .357? Would you ban a Smith & Wesson? I would not ban a .357. I would not ban a Smith & Wesson. Not in a park, not on a lark. Would you could you ban a Colt? I would not could not ban a Colt. I would not ban a lightning bolt. Would you could you ban a Glock? I would not could not ban a Glock. I would not change my name, Barack. Would you ban a Gatlin gun? Would you ban it from a nun? I would not ban a Gatlin gun. I would not ban it from a nun. Not ban a Glock, not change Barack. I do not like a firearms ban. I do not like it, Barack-I-Am. Would you ban them in a car? I would not ban them in a car. I would not ban them from afar. I would not ban them from a nun. I would not ban a BB gun. Not in a park, not on a lark. Not on the hill, not in a bill. Not here or there. Not anywhere. I do not like a firearms ban. I do not like it, Barack-I-Am.Clear enough?
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Suzanna Mars
Kerry Lauerman
Joan Walsh
Salon.com
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