Although much of the gun control push under President Obama has failed to result in new laws, it has succeeded in creating a new tradition where shoppers scoop up guns on Black Friday so they can place them under the tree on Christmas Day.
Consider the numbers: in 2008, ABC News reported 97,848 background checks on Black Friday. In 2009, the numbers remained somewhat static but then began to grow exponentially as the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats began to flex their muscles. By 2011, there were 129,166 background checks on Black Friday alone.
As the National Shooting Sports Foundation reported, the jump in 2011 marked “a 32.01 percent increase over” the sales on 2008 Black Friday–the year Obama was first elected.
In 2012, the number of Black Friday background checks rose to 154,873. Remember that because numerous guns can be purchased with each background check, these figures don’t even begin to indicate how many firearms may actually have been sold.
This information is not lost on retailers like Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, and Wal-Mart. Cabela’s literally gave away shotguns to early bird customers in some cities on Black Friday–those receiving the guns went through a background check–and Huffington Post reported that Bass Pro Shops was running hot deals on Bushmaster AR-15 rifles.
Wal-Mart ran a “Manager’s Special Sale” that translated into “20 percent off select rifles and shotguns.”
Buying a firearm on Black Friday has fast become an American tradition under President Obama.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter @AWRHawkins.