And the other shoe drops - the Obama guns 'n' ammo surge

Don't know how tightly coupled this cause and effect are but it is still interesting. From Cassy Fiano:

Gun sales surge, violent crime drops
When Obama was voted into office as president, the gun surge began. People started stocking up on their guns and ammo, mostly out of fear that Obama would start instituting anti-gun laws. The right to bear arms is one of our most cherished rights, and also one of the most attacked. Liberals just hate the thought of someone owning a gun and being able to defend themselves from a criminal� or from a tyrannical government. Part of this is because liberals are big wussies who are terrified of any thought of manly force. Another is because they can�t get the idea out of their head that holding a gun doesn�t automatically make someone a criminal. They just can�t understand that guns do not spontaneously fire without someone willingly pulling the trigger. A gun laying on a desk is harmless, until someone picks it up � but they just can�t get that.

Another thing I wonder about is if liberals don�t like the idea of people being able to protect themselves. Libs want people to be completely reliant on the government, so does that maybe factor into their paranoia about ordinary citizens owning guns? Who knows, but it�s an interesting thought.

Despite the fact that Obama has always been extremely in favor of gun control, he quickly spun that around during the election last year and has pretty much left it alone. It didn�t convince many Americans, and the gun surge continued.

Unlike what liberals would assume, though, there was also a drop in violent crime� at the same time as gun sales were skyrocketing.

Preliminary statistics released by the FBI for the first half of 2009 show that violent crime continues a downward trend that began in 2006. The figures show crime falling in all categories�robbery, aggravated assault, motor vehicle thefts, etc.�with murders down a remarkable 10 percent from the previous year.

The FBI statistics undermine a favorite argument of anti-gun groups and some mainstream media that �more guns equal more crime,� especially when you consider that the decrease in violent crime from late 2008 through the first half of 2009 occurred at the same time that firearm sales were surging.

The most popular firearms selling at that time were handguns and modern sporting rifles (AR-style rifles)�two types of firearms that anti-gunners never miss an opportunity to demonize.

The idea that an increased prevalence of firearms would cause criminals to re-think their plots is an entirely plausible one. Good call on the link Cassy!