by Dave Workman
Senior Editor
It may be a bleak outlook for gun rights in the wake of a narrow victory for President Barack Obama, but it could signal continued sales growth for the firearms industry while Republicans dust themselves off and try to figure out what happened.
Obama captured not only the Electoral College but also the popular vote. While there were some complaints that Gary Johnson and other third party candidates drained off votes that would have put Mitt Romney over the top, a check on the vote totals does not support that contention.
What gun owners face now is the likelihood that during the next four years, Obama will appoint one or more additional liberal Supreme Court justices and several federal court judges, with potential setbacks for Second Amendment cases.
Obama and Romney tried to sound conciliatory on election night, but there is no indication that will actually result in anything other than political lip service.
The House of Representatives remains in Republican control while Democrats still hold the Senate, so judicial nominations will go to a Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee.
It is not likely the divided Congress will pass a strong gun control measure, such as renewing the ban on so called assault weapons, but the election result does leave many in the gun rights community wondering about any future action on the investigation of Operation Fast and Furious.
Preliminary election totals indicated that Obama pulled in more than 59.6 million votes while Romney garnered just over 57 million votes.
Obama signaled during the second presidential debate that he favored renewing the semi-auto ban and even hinted that he has a problem with handguns. More than four years ago, he told the Pittsburgh Tribune that he was not in favor of concealed carry.
However, during his first term, he signed legislation that contained provisions allowing traveling with firearms aboard Amtrak, and carrying firearms for personal protection in national parks. But those provisions were attached as riders to larger measures that he desperately wanted passed, and presidents do not have line-item veto authority.
The president was not able to claim a mandate because he was re-elected by a smaller majority than he pulled in 2008. While some faces changed with the election, the makeup on Capitol Hill remained essentially the same.
Writing for the Washington Times, Paul Bedard suggested that gun sales will likely surge again. He quoted Charlotte, NC, gun dealer Larry Hyatt at Hyatt Guns, who is anticipating strong sales of semi-auto sport utility rifles and “a bump in sales across the board, especially on ammo.” While gun rights activists are licking their wounds and firearms retailers look forward to continued strong sales, gun prohibitionists were cheering Obama’s re-election.
Brady Campaign President Dan Gross declared that his organization is looking forward “to working with President Obama and the new Congress to make this the safer nation we all want and deserve.” He alluded to “numerous” polls that suggest an “overwhelming majority of Americans, including gun owners and NRA members” apparently support what Gross calls “sensible policies” on guns.
Meanwhile, not all of the election news was bad. Voters in nine Illinois counties overwhelmingly supported nonbinding measures in support of concealed carry in the Prairie State. Illinois does not have a concealed carry statute, but voters in those counties want to send a message to the legislature that it is time to join the rest of the country.
There were measures in two western states, Colorado and Washington, which could have some impact on gun owners of a libertarian bent. Both states adopted measures to legalize the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana.
The problem with these initiatives, however, is that the federal statutes on marijuana remain in effect and are not overruled by state law. Gun owners cannot begin smoking pot, nor can they legally possess firearms if they are regularly using the stuff, a source with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed.
