Gun Nuts Stock Up After Obama Win

By Prescott Carlson in News on Nov 12, 2008 5:10PM

Oh, if only Charlton Heston were alive to see this. Tribune correspondent Howard Witt has gathered up a file folder of anecdotal evidence purporting that sales of assault rifles, handguns and ammunition nationwide are through the roof since Barack Obama was elected last week. Witt reports that one Houston gun shop ran out of assault weapons the day after the election and now have a month long waiting list, and that state officials in Colorado set a new record for gun purchaser background checks. Reasons stated range from fear of future gun bans, to fear of "civil unrest" because of the economy, to one sociology professor claiming it's a, "deep-seated fear of the armed black man." (We're sensing a theme here.)

We called our own favorite place to stock up the Chicagoist bunker, G.A.T Guns in the northwest suburbs, and after listening to "It's A Grand Old Flag" while on hold we talked to Greg Sr. about gun sales there: "Tremendous. And not just assault weapons, but all guns with high capacity magazines."

We also know of at least one small mountain town that saw a spike in shotgun sales...