I tried to buy some ammo for one of my handguns the other day so I could participate in some healthy venting of frustration. When I got to Wally World they were completely out of my caliber of ammo. At first I chalked it up to the “Wally World never has what I need when I need it” phenomenon that has caused me to try and shop elsewhere whenever I can. I made an off-hand comment about my opinion of this to the sporting goods clerk who was “helping” me. He then proceeded to tell me that it was not their fault, but that the manufacturers couldn’t keep up with demand. “People are buying ammo faster than they can make it” he said.
“Why?” I asked.
“You haven’t heard that Obama is going to raise the price of ammo 500%?” he asked.
OK… that makes sense… The American way of life (follow the pack) is responsible. After a little research, I found out that the NRA has been (or was) running an ad campaign to inform everyone that Obama was going to raise the ammo tax by 500%. That’s a far cry from the PRICE of ammo by 500%. I really don’t think he has that much control. If he can’t get a handful of Republican congress people to vote for his stimulus package, how is he going to get all of the manufacturers of ammunition to raise the MSRP of their product? I can see the tax increase, but thinking he can pull off a price increase is just ignorant.
The NRA’s ad campaign is based on the former Senator’s voting record in congress and statements he has made in the past. It is not based of any legislation that is currently before congress. If congress isn’t voting on it, it can’t happen. So apparently I can’t buy ammo because of rumors and mass hysteria. Thanks, America! Now I can't blow off some steam in a healthy manner and reinvigorate the economy at the same time.
The mass hysteria has led to a lot of ignorant opinions. One of them is that Obama is going to take all of our ammunition. I remember when Clinton was elected. My uncle, in reaction to the mass hysteria of the time, said that he was going to bury his guns in a waterproof bucket so “they” couldn’t find his guns when “they” came to take them from him. I suppose this is the same sort of thing.
I read someone’s opinion ( #1, #2) that the constitution says we can own weapons, but that we do not necessarily have to right to use them. The Supreme Court has clearly shown that this is not the case in Heller V. DC.
When Heller V. DC was before the courts, I did a little research and found out that the 2nd congress of the United States passed a law requiring every American man between the ages of 18 and 45 to have in his possession at least twenty-four rounds of pre-made ammo (muskets were different than modern rifles- you could have the various parts of the ammo, or assemble them into pre-made rounds for quicker use) and another at least twenty rounds of ammo that were not pre-made. So essentially, the United States Congress, less than five years after adopting the Constitution, made it a law that essentially every able-bodied American Male was REQUIRED to own at least 44 rounds of ammunition (not to mention a rifle and all of the items and training needed to use a rifle as intended by its manufacturers). In my humble (but correct) opinion, the framers of the constitution said that we have the right to keep AND bear arms. Then the congress clarified what that meant. So if Wally World doesn’t hurry up and get the ammo I need, I think I might file a constitutional negligence suit against them… you think that’d work?
I don’t know whether Obama will try to limit our access to firearms or ammunition. He said in his election propaganda that he "respects the constitutional rights of Americans to bear arms", but only the future will tell.
It is my opinion that this will hopefully blow over like it has in the past...?
Quickly!
