It doesn't matter what President Obama says or what his actions reveal

[democracy1st]

Southerners subconsciously know that if they were once treated as slaves and had to fight for civil rights. They would have a hard time finding forgiveness for the perpetrator. This is what drives their inner fear.


Historic bullet shortage

America armed, but guns not necessarily loaded


NEW ORLEANS – Bullet-makers are working around the clock, seven days a week, and still can't keep up with the nation's demand for ammunition.

Shooting ranges, gun dealers and bullet manufacturers say they have never seen such shortages. Bullets, especially for handguns, have been scarce for months because gun enthusiasts are stocking up on ammo, in part because they fear President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress will pass antigun legislation — even though nothing specific has been proposed and the president last month signed a law allowing people to carry loaded guns in national parks.

Gun sales spiked when it became clear Obama would be elected a year ago and purchases continued to rise in his first few months of office. The FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System reported that 6.1 million background checks for gun sales were issued from January to May, an increase of 25.6 percent from the same period the year before.


"We are working overtime and still can't keep up with the demand," said Al Russo, spokesman for North Carolina-based Remington Arms Company, which makes bullets for rifles, handguns and shotguns. "We've had to add a fourth shift and go 24-7. It's a phenomenon that I have not seen before in my 30 years in the business."


Americans usually buy about 7 billion rounds of ammunition a year, according to the National Rifle Association. In the past year, that figure has jumped to about 9 billion rounds, said NRA spokeswoman Vickie Cieplak.

Jason Gregory, who manages Gretna Gun Works just outside of New Orleans, has been building his personal supply of ammunition for months. His goal is to have at least 1,000 rounds for each of his 25 weapons.

"I call it the Obama effect," said Gregory, 37, of Terrytown, La. "It always happens when the Democrats get in office. It happened with Clinton and Obama is even stronger for gun control. Ammunition will be the first step, so I'm stocking up while I can."


So far, the new administration nor Congress has not been markedly antigun. Obama has said he respects Second Amendment rights, but favors "common sense" on gun laws. Still, worries about what could happen persist.


"We've been in business for 32 years and I've been here for 10 and we've never seen anything like it," Jett said. "Coming out of Christmas everything started to dry up and it was that way all through the spring and summer.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090923/ap_on_re_us/us_ammo_shortage

[kayakjohnny]

1. Well good, anything to help the crippled economy along.

And, whatever feeds those delusions will probably just keep feeding them. Makes me want to go start a rumor. Just so I can help someone's irrational fantasy seem that much more valid and realistic.

[benEzra]

2. The tight ammo market dates from 2005...

when Iraq war demand collided with post-Katrina-confiscations hedging. Shortages began in 2008 but are getting better now; the AP is late to this story.

Concerns over future price and availability were legitimate, given that ammunition imports from China were banned by a stroke of the pen in the '90s, and if the same thing happened to imports from eastern Europe then U.S. ammo prices for the most popular calibers would probably double or triple overnight, assuming you could even get it. Add to that the various microstamping pies in the sky (the intent of which seems to be the creation of huge production bottlenecks), and the hedging is no surprise.

[Winterblues]

3. Herd mentality

:shrug: