Record gun checks, sales for Christmas

Let's have a good old gun thread.

I'll start. I love guns and have lots of them. I am pro 2nd amendment.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadlin…

Along with millions of Kindles, Angry Birds and gift cards, Santa left a record number of guns under Americans' Christmas trees, especially in Kentucky, according to FBI statistics on background checks.

In the six days before Christmas, gun dealers submitted nearly half-a-million names for checks on criminal records and mental health issues, with 20% coming Dec. 23, according to news reports. That was the second-busiest gun-buying day in history, topped only by firearm purchases on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, The London Telegraph says.

Final tallies for the entire month haven't been released, but December gun purchases will eclipse November. As of last week, 1,534,414 names had been sent to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, The New York Times reported in an editorial. About 1% of buyers are typically rejected, the paper said.

The FBI cautions there is not a one-to-one correlation between background checks and the number of guns sold because of "varying state laws and purchase scenarios." Many customers bought multiple weapons. Exact sales are neither reported nor recorded.

For the first 11 months of 2011, the FBI did a record 14.6 million checks, an increase of more than 70% from the 8.5 million in 2003. Kentucky led the nation, with more than 2 million background checks conducted through November, double the No. 2 gun-check state, Texas. The Bluegrass State, with a population of about 4.3 million, has been tops in background checks the past five years and has the most checks of any state since 1998 -- more than 12.6 million (pdf).

Here's the FBI's state-by-state breakdown through November (pdf).

The background checks were instituted with passage of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993.

Why the growing popularity of guns?

The National Rifle Association told the Telegraph that in the face of police budget cuts and layoffs, Americans were concerned about self-defense. The NRA told CBS News that sport shooting is more popular.

Gun dealers cite fear of crime tied to a bad economy, expanded concealed-carry laws or the fear that the federal government will either restrict ownership or confiscate firearms.

"There are a lot of people concerned about pending gun legislation and the sense about the current administration. People think future availability will be limited, and there's a feeling of get it while you can," Dave LaRue of Legendary Guns in Phoenix told the Telegraph, noting that sales were up 25% from last Christmas.

There are similar stories in Ohio and New Mexico, according to news reports.

"The first-time gun buyers are the ones worried about someone breaking into their home," dealer Jeff Miller told The Dayton Daily News. "People (who already own guns) are kind of hoarding a little."

Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, cited several reasons, including "relaxed conceal-and-carry laws in Ohio, more women learning about guns and the pro-gun message resonating," the Daily News writes.

"Owning a gun for self-defense is like owning a fire extinguisher or smoke detectors for safety," Irvine said. "All of the fears about all of the nonsense about guns, they're really myths that are falling by the wayside."

Gun control advocates note that fear about crime appears to be greater than actual crime, which FBI statistics show has been declining. They accuse the NRA of fear-mongering.

"It's a false sense of security, but they might go purchase a gun," said Toby Hoover, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence. "I'm bothered by, especially at the holiday time, how many people think that these things ought to be holiday gifts, Christmas gifts for their families and their children. We're seeing more of that, which means it's becoming sort of an accepted thing. Firearms and weapons don't seem to go with holidays and peacefulness to me. I think we have a problem."

 

12 years old and I got an AR-15 and a Playstation 2 with Metal Gear Solid: Sons of Liberty--best Christmas ever!

"Greed, in all of its forms; greed for life, for money, for love, for knowledge has marked the upward surge of mankind. And greed, you mark my words, will not only save Teldar Paper, but that other malfunctioning corporation called the USA."
 
Edmundo Braverman:
If you love guns, you'd better sit down for this one:

http://dailycaller.com/2012/01/03/marine-faces-fifteen-years-behind-bar…

More bullshit asinine gun laws in pinko NYC.

This is actually a good time to push a gun issue to a Supreme Court decision. This guy serves the country and then gets jailed on a technicality that no decent person should want to prosecute? If you want to jump on a cause when the timing's right, now's your chance...
Get busy living
 

That Marine is getting fucked I'll agree but EVERYONE knows (esp CCW holders) that you can't take your heat into NYC. I mean come on really?

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 
Best Response
happypantsmcgee:
That Marine is getting fucked I'll agree but EVERYONE knows (esp CCW holders) that you can't take your heat into NYC. I mean come on really?
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iHPAhiuMLOU1wYmL7Lgfo…

As a civilian who didn't serve but appreciates the dudes who did, I'm willing to fall behind "these guys were in the shit and didn't get a chance to reassimilate before this happened, throw them a bone." The dude should have had common fucking sense, but this is still a good platform [politically speaking] from which to challenge the bullshit gun laws here. I want to be able to carry, but right now the only ones who can are the non-present cops and the criminals...I'm a fucking sitting duck in NYC and if there's an angle to work, this one would be it.

Get busy living
 
UFOinsider:
happypantsmcgee:
That Marine is getting fucked I'll agree but EVERYONE knows (esp CCW holders) that you can't take your heat into NYC. I mean come on really?
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iHPAhiuMLOU1wYmL7Lgfo…

As a civilian who didn't serve but appreciates the dudes who did, I'm willing to fall behind "these guys were in the shit and didn't get a chance to reassimilate before this happened, throw them a bone." The dude should have had common fucking sense, but this is still a good platform [politically speaking] from which to challenge the bullshit gun laws here. I want to be able to carry, but right now the only ones who can are the non-present cops and the criminals...I'm a fucking sitting duck in NYC and if there's an angle to work, this one would be it.

I see what you're saying but here's my take

1) These dudes don't get a free pass for bringing explosives on a plane. 2) There is literally no fucking way he 'forgot' he had that shit. Explosives are tightly controlled ESPECIALLY in Iraqistan 3) I agree that a lot of major city gun laws are complete horseshit but, as always, better to be judged by 12 than carried by six

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

Wow is this law just for the city limits of NYC or the whole state or what? What will be even more outrageous than this law is if our legal system actually convicts this guy of something. People make mistakes (hard mistake not to make in this case), our legal system should accommodate these kinds of people but often we don't have a problem in convicting innocent people. But wow, it is pretty standard across the US that CCW approval in your state will stand in any other state.

 
farmerbob:
But wow, it is pretty standard across the US that CCW approval in your state will stand in any other state.
Totally and completely false. I live in VA and if I am going into the district or MD I don't carry simply because the laws are different.
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 

Guns are one of the few things I like about America. It discourages the government from fucking the populace up royally like it did in Brazil or other South American countries. You can't have a Pinochet in the US when every household has a shotgun thtat would have something to say about the matter!

My drinkin' problem left today, she packed up all her bags and walked away.
 

See, this is the problem with bullshit laws like this. Everyone is calling on the DA to use his "judgement" and allow this guy a free pass. What if he was a black guy who got arrested for something trivial. I doubt he would get an outpouring of support or anyone asking for a free pass.

Your freedom should not be in the hands of some dickhead who has to use their judgement. The law in NYC needs to be brought down, just like the one in Chicago. Laws like this only hurt law abiding citizens. Criminals still have guns and are smart enough no to go to tourist spots or announce that they have a weapon. This guy has every right to be armed, went through the processes and got a permit. Fuck NYC and all of this bullshit.

 

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