Athens County, Ohio joins rest of America, stocks up on guns

The Athens News is reporting that Athens County, Ohio is a part of the growing national trend toward increasing firearms purchases.

The story notes that while other businesses are tanking in the shaky economy, the firearms industry is growing rapidly due to widespread uncertainty about the markets and future legislation.

From the story:

Chris Brooks, assistant manager of Ohio Valley Trading and Exchange Co. on Stimson Avenue, said he's noticed a swell in sales recently. The company specializes in firearms – from handguns to hunting rifles – and also has stores in Nelsonville, Logan and Rockbridge.

"Right after the election our sales went through the roof," Brooks reported.

Brooks has been with the store six years and has been a manager there for three. This has been one of the best times for firearms sales that he can remember. Brooks attributes the growth in sales to fears that President Barack Obama might get Congress to enact stricter legislation limiting the kinds of guns people can buy.

"There's a fear of him taking guns away from people," Brooks said of Obama.

The story, written by Emily Mullin, goes on to say that "Obama has repeatedly denied that he has any intention of disarming the American public, and he supported a controversial U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to gun ownership." But Ms. Mullen does not inform her readers that Obama was FOR the D.C. gun ban before he was against it - something the Americans buying guns are obviously very aware of.

Since November 2008, Brooks said he has especially sold a lot more rifles. During the Clinton administration, the government banned certain classes of automatic rifles, and Brooks said that many people think that will happen again under President Obama.

...Another factor contributing to an increase in firearms sales is the economy.

"We hear about that all the time from customers," Brooks said.
Not only are more people buying guns, but more people are getting concealed-carry permits, which may be a direct result of the floundering economy.

"Everybody knows that when the economy goes bad, crime goes up," said Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine.\

Irvine said it's natural for people to want to protect themselves and said the demand for both guns and concealed-carry permits has increased exponentially in the past few months.

The demand for concealed-carry classes is also on the rise, Irvine said.

The story notes that data from the Ohio Attorney General's Office confirms the number of concealed-carry licensees has increased. Numbers provided by the AG show that new concealed-carry registrations jumped to 33,864 statewide last year from 22,103 in 2007 – an increase of 53 percent.

Athens County experienced an increase in permits last year, issuing 180 concealed-carry licenses in 2008 compared to 87 in 2007.

Irvine credits this increase to more people buying firearms for the first time because of uncertainty about the economy and future legislation.

"What we're seeing today is a whole lot of people buying their first gun," he said.

There's also a growing concern among firearms enthusiasts that under Obama, the federal government will place heavier taxes on ammunition.

Irvine said another reason why a lot of gun owners are "buying in bulk" is because the price of ammunition has nearly doubled in the past two years.

The story closes by noting that Ohio University senior Kathryn Wargo, secretary of the Second Amendment Club on campus, reported that it held its largest meeting in the past three or four years last week.