A caveat

For going on three weeks now, there has been a great deal of talk about the HopeandChange™-inspired spike in sales of firearms (particularly so-called "assault weapons"), ammunition, and standard capacity magazines. I see this as a good thing, on several levels.

For one thing, it's one segment, at least, of the economy that is ticking along nicely--what's not to like about that?

For another, it simply makes sense to stock up on useful items that the people coming into power have made no secret of their plans to make unavailable.

Third, it's always fun to see the citizen disarmament advocates wailing around their cud that people shouldn't be buying these "weapons of war," or alternatively, simply denying that any such sales spike is really happening--forget what the FBI says about a dramatic increase in NICS background checks.

Finally, all these purchases are something of a "show of force" to the citizen disarmament advocates in the government--a message that Americans do still treasure their Constitutionally guaranteed, fundamental, absolute human right of the individual to keep and bear arms. Perhaps most importantly, it reminds them that we're keeping and bearing rather a lot of arms--many of which are effective fighting arms (effective for fighting, as a hypothetical example, the forces of a tyrannical government).

Still, I think it needs to be said that this message could be misinterpreted, perhaps deliberately. Some who see themselves as having been elected our masters might get the idea in their reptilian, predatory brains that because of the "surge" at gun shops across the country, the majority of people who really want so-called "assault weapons,"--those who, in other words, would fight hardest for their continued availability--already have one (or more), thus somewhat blunting the resentment of an impending ban.

That, clearly, is not the message that we need to send. We need to make clear that we're not buying up black rifles just because they look good in the gun safe--we're buying them for a rainy day.

Are those thunderheads on the horizon?

III