Scare Tactics continue: "A Semiautomatic if you please"...

A semiautomatic, if you please, and pass the ammunition
The firearms industry appears to be riding out the recession in fine form, with sales across the country flourishing. And the enthusiasm for purchasing such weaponry has spread to communities south of Boston, according to area gun dealers.
Firearms of all types are in demand as well as the ammunition to feed them. Customers run the gamut from the seasoned hunter and skilled marksman to the novice. Training classes for new gun owners are not only full but booked months into the future...
Firearms dealers and other experts attribute the increase in gun sales to a couple of factors. The first is concern over the resurgence of the Democrats in Washington after years of Republican dominance. Some fear the change could result in the reinstatement of a past assault weapons ban put in place during the Clinton administration. That ban, which barred the sale of certain automatic weapons, expired in 2004 under President George W. Bush.(Again with the inaccuracies & uninformed sloppy reporting!, referring to semi-autos as machineguns i.e."automatic weapons"! And they wonder why gunowners distrust them? Like the politicians that seek to BAN the people's "liberty teeth", they are massively ignorant about the firearms they hate and fear! - S9)...
Also, the uncertainty that accompanies a slumping economy has historically triggered higher gun sales, according to the experts.(Just who are these unattributed "experts"? Worst kind of intellectual dishonesty here! - S9). People equate tough economic times with a rise in crime. They therefore feel a greater need to protect themselves and their possessions.(and again...S9)
Goldman said no one at his club has indicated a concern for safety as a reason to buy a firearm or to take a gun class. "But I think the general consensus is that the crime is there," he said. "They need to get weapons while they can."
Springfield gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson, a major supplier to law enforcement agencies and consumers, recently reported that its sale of firearms rose 27.5 percent in the quarter ending in January. And handgun sales jumped 45 percent in that time period. The company noted in its financial report that there is a "very strong demand for pistols, revolvers, and tactical rifles."
Georgia Critsley, general counsel for the Criminal History Systems Board, the agency that keeps statistics for the state's Firearms Research Bureau, said gun sales have jumped since last fall. According to her agency, 3,804 guns were reported sold in the state during October, before Barack Obama won the presidency. In March of this year, 5,281 were sold, compared with 3,260 in March 2008. The increase may be slightly skewed, Critsley said, because a small percentage of Massachusetts private firearms dealers are connecting to the electronic Massachusetts Instant Records Check System and being added month by month.
Captain Bruce McNamee, in charge of firearms licensing for the Plymouth Police Department, said he has seen an increase in requests for the so-called Class A License to Carry, which allows the bearer to carry a semiautomatic pistol with a larger capacity for rounds. (Now there is a stupid and noxious regulation, harassing those who prefer normal capacity magazines as somehow "more dangerous". Bulls**t!, but not a big surprise in such a gunowner-hostile state - S9) Requests for shotgun licenses and Class B licenses for weapons with more limited capacity have stayed about the same, he said, adding he did not have exact figures.
Jon Green, director of education and training for the Gun Owners Action League, a Massachusetts organization focused on preserving Second Amendment rights to own firearms, said all kinds of people are buying guns.
"People, quite frankly, are scared," Green said. "Those coming to our classes are nurses, attorneys, janitors, mothers, daughters, sons, and fathers. Our basic pistol classes are booked through August. That's never happened before."
Whatever the reason, sales are brisk, says Peter Tache, owner of M & M Plimoth Bay Outfitters, a popular gun shop in Plymouth.
"Basically, people have decided now is the time to get guns," Tache said. "They seem to be buying everything from revolvers and semiautomatic pistols to rifles. We have a lot of stock in the store, but we are also back-ordered on some things."
While he is selling more guns to return customers these days, he said he is also finding a great deal of interest among first-time owners.
Popular favorites include both revolvers, which rotate the cartridge as the gun is fired, and pistols, which store ammunition in magazines and may feature semiautomatic firing. The price range is similar for both: between $450 and $1,000, Tache said, which is pretty much the same as it has been in the past.
The price of ammunition, though, has jumped, said Douglas Cash, a member of the Plymouth Rod & Gun Club who stopped recently at Plimoth Bay Outfitters to pick up some. It's a matter of supply and demand, he said. "If you sell more guns, there's going to be a greater demand for ammunition."
Cash, who owns both semiautomatic rifles and pistols, said "a lot of people are afraid the assault rifle ban may come back," so they are buying the semiautomatic guns that could be restricted.
Tache, whose stock includes AR15 assault rifles, said that weapon is in big demand now, since it is one that would be affected by a ban.
John Yuskaitis, a lifelong marksman who came up from the Cape to Plimoth Bay Outfitters to buy ammunition for his 9mm guns on a recent Saturday, said Cape suppliers had pretty much exhausted their supply. "There's definitely an ammunition shortage," he said.
In Carver, Joe McCann, owner of the Archer Arms Co., said business is booming.
"I have new customers come in all the time," McCann said. "Our sales have become more brisk, and it's starting to be more difficult for us to even get guns."
Tache said his customers are offering the same reasons for buying guns as consumers nationally.
"Some people are concerned they won't be able to get the guns in the future, and some fear they need them to defend themselves," he said. "It's related to the economy. People feel threatened because they see news stories about home invasions and convenience store robberies." (Excuse me? Like this type of crime is something new? Do the names Jessie James & the Northfield Minnesota Raid, or Bonnie & Clyde ring a bell? - S9)
McCann agreed. "People are buying them for their own defense, not to go walking around like cowboys," he said. "They're afraid criminals have become more aggressive."
Jim Dooley, owner of the Middleboro Gun Shop, said his shop is busy. "The demand is so high, you can't keep up," he said. He said the guns that are the biggest sellers right now are those for which ammunition is readily available.
"There are a lot of retired folks who are concerned about someone kicking in their door, so they buy a revolver," Dooley said....
--------------------------------------------
Full article@:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/05/10/a_semiautomatic_if_you_please_and_pass_the_ammunition/?page=1