Barack Obama had been president-elect just a matter of hours when customers started lining up at the Olathe, Ks., Gun Shop, says the Kansas City Star. By closing time Wednesday, the shop had recorded one of its busiest days, and owner Mike Malone and his staff had gotten an earful. “You hear it from everybody,” he said. “People are a little apprehensive and anxious on what's going to happen and how bad their gun rights are going to be trampled.” Gun-shop owners across the U..S. said that Obama's win, coupled with a Democrat-dominated Congress, have many people worried that tougher gun laws are on the way. They had better get their firearms now, the thinking goes, before they no longer can or are slapped with high taxes on gun purchases.
Doug Pennington of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said what worries most Americans is being able to pay the mortgage and the light bill, not gun legislation. “The bottom line is it's just a collection of anecdotes from across the country,” Pennington said of the gun shops' reports of 15 to 20 percent increases in sales. “It's hardly the most important outcome of Election Day.” Still, near Nashville, the Franklin Gun Shop sold more than 70 guns on Election Day. It was the biggest sales day since the store opened eight years ago. In Cheyenne, Wy., Guns & Gear also set a one-day sales record on Tuesday – then broke that record on Wednesday.