Gun sales surge as presidential election nears

Gun sales are on the rise in the Albuquerque area and gun shop owners say one big reason is this year's presidential election.

By: sytasyn_syn Posted: November 1, 2008

Eyewitness News 4 called gun shops all over Albuquerque and some said their sales are up as much as 25 percent from last year. One reason they say, gun owners are worried about their Second Amendment rights if a certain Democrat is elected president.

One of the gun shops seeing gun sales soar is the Albuquerque Pawn Shop.

"Probably 20 to 25 percent, but inquiries are probably up 50 to 60 percent," said owner Jay Johnston.

Johnston says there are a few reasons for the rise in gun sales. He says one reason is the bad economy. Johnston says more people are buying guns to protect themselves.

But he says he is hearing another reason even more.

"If one particular candidate is elected, then rumor has it that there's gonna be a serious gun ban and I think people want to get the guns while they can,” Johnston said.

Johnston would not say which candidate he was talking about, but he didn’t have to. The writing was on the wall -- literally. A poster that shows the face of Barack Obama and says “some changes we could do without” was posted in the shop. The poster also says Obama has supported a total ban on handguns.

But the Obama campaign says the presidential candidate supports the Second Amendment. The American Hunter’s and Shooting Association, that’s endorsing Obama, says the senator has pledged that gun owners have nothing to fear from an Obama administration.

“The National Rifle Association has gone and taken up their usual tactics of creating this hysteria. Gun shops for example are very much in line with the NRA because they're afraid of them, they're afraid of a boycott," said Bob Ricker, Executive Director of the American Hunter’s and Shooting Association.

The owner of Albuquerque Pawn Shop says he's seen the highest surge in the sales of assault weapons because he says buyers fear stricter rules when it comes to purchasing them.
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