As Americans get to know the man they elected, guns & ammo grow scarce

By Chad D. Baus

When Governor Ted Strickland (then a Congressman) took John Kerry goose hunting during the 2004 Presidential campaign, we recognized it for what it was - an obligatory photo op by a popular pro-gun Democrat to help a fellow anti-gun Democrat look less dangerous. It didn't work because, well, we all remember Obama's "lipstick on a pig" reference about Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, don't we?

During the 2008 presidential campaign, however, rather than just staging a photo op for his party's presidential nominee, Strickland applied the lipstick himself.

On October 10, 2008, Governor Ted Strickland told Ohioans that "as a result of direct conversations that I've had with Barack Obama, if you are a sportsman, if you are a gun owner, if you are someone that honors and respects the Second Amendment - you have nothing to fear from Barack Obama and I want you to spread the word throughout this great part of our great state.

"You have nothing to fear. Spread the word. Ted Strickland said so."

It appears Ohioans have seen through the lipstick.

The Columbus Dispatch reported recently that Ohio, like the rest of the nation, is experiencing a severe ammunition shortage that can be traced right back to the election of Barack Hussein Obama.

From the story:

The shortage is the result of a confluence of events, industry observers say: a run on guns by consumers since the election of President Barack Obama, more ammunition being sent to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the increased cost of raw materials needed to make bullets.

Shelves are almost bare at some gun ranges and Walmart and Dick's Sporting Goods locations. The demand is such that some retailers have begun to limit ammo sales.

"In the first three months of the year, we've already sold what we typically sell in an entire year," said Rex Gore, owner of Black Wing Shooting Center in Delaware. Sales now are limited to a few boxes at a time, depending on the caliber, he said.

"We've never seen anything like this before," Gore said. "We've had spikes in demand before with other administration changes, after 9/11 and when people were preparing for Y2K, but nothing like this.

"It's taken us by surprise."

Unfortunately for this country, it appears too many people who care about gun rights were taken by surprise, thanks in no small part to the assurances of Governor Strickland, whom they had come to trust as someone who would fight to protect their gun rights.

Immediately after the election results were known, and as we reported at the time, "the pro-rights site 'Sportsmen for Obama?' noticed that thousands of visitors stopped by looking for information about Obama's position on guns and gun control – on the day after the election!"

Leaving aside any commentary on the frustration of people not digging a little deeper on this before they cast their vote, the simple fact is this:

The more Americans learn about Obama's history of support and involvement with radical anti-gun rights groups, and the more the President's cabinent members lobby for new gun bans, the more the fear sets in. (Incidentally, one of those cabinet members, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was Strickland's original choice for President.)

As such, and as the Dispatch story reports, guns and ammunition are in very short supply:

Reports are coming in from all over the country of a shortage of supplies as manufactures struggle to keep up with the increased demand, said Alexa Fritts, a spokeswoman for the NRA.

Gun owners are feeling threatened by the potential for new restrictive gun laws and the increasing loss of jobs that could boost the potential for crime, she said.

The group has warned its members, which number in the millions, that the Obama administration supports more-restrictive gun laws and wants to raise taxes on ammunition.

"Gun owners are very politically savvy, and this administration poses a risk to their freedoms," she said. "Add to that an economy that is struggling, which increases the chance of home invasions, and people want to be able to protect their families."

Gun sales have increased significantly since the November election, as indicated by the 31 percent increase in FBI firearms background checks performed since then.

More than 4.2 million background checks were performed from November through January, compared with 3.2 million performed during the same three-month period a year earlier, according to federal records.

Rich Vance, owner of Vance's Shooters Supplies on Cleveland Avenue, told the newspaper that ammunition such as 9mm and .45-caliber cartridges for semiautomatic pistols and .38-caliber cartridges for revolvers seem to be the hardest to find. Another glaring shortage is for .223- and .308-caliber rifle cartridges, he said, adding that the increased demand has also led to higher costs.

"Depending on the brand and the caliber, bullets now cost between $5 to $15 more per box," he said.

The New Albany Shooting Range is carrying only about 20 percent of the personal-defense ammo the store carried this time last year, said Bill Peck, a salesman at the retail store and gun range.

The shortage really hit within the last month, said Claire Marvin, president of the New Albany store. His store has limited sales to between two and four boxes to "ensure everyone can get some," he said.

"We've had to be more diligent in our purchasing procedures and are now calling around to distributors daily, sometimes twice a day, to see what they have and when they could ship it," Marvin said.

Marvin is quoted as saying he's received indications from manufacturers that more supplies will start being shipped next month.

Governor Strickland is up for re-election in 2010, and I suspect he will be met with plenty of questions on his support for the likes of Obama and Clinton as he gets out on the campaign trail.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.