Why gun stocks soared after Obama's win
In a repeat of 2008, traders anticipated an increase in firearm sales after the election.
In a reaction that surprised absolutely no one, investors rushed into gun stocks after President Barack Obama's win, expecting firearm sales to soar soon.
Gun makers Smith & Wesson Holding (SWHC) and Sturm Ruger (RGR) rose sharply Wednesday in a repeat of sorts of the response to Obama's first presidential victory in 2008. The stocks were up again in Thursday's trading. Gun stocks have performed well over the four years of Obama's term. Sturm Ruger, for example, rose from $7.04 on Election Day in 2008 to $50 Thursday.
But investors think the stocks have farther to go, propelled by fears that Obama will crack down on guns in his second term.
Sturm Ruger shares rose 6.8% Wednesday and another 4.8% Thursday. Smith & Wesson shares rose 9.6% Wednesday and another 3.8% Thursday. By comparison, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ($INX) fell nearly 2.4% Wednesday and was down slightly Thursday.
The National Rifle Association certainly contributed to fears of expanded gun control in Obama's second term. "An anti-gun Supreme Court, a U.N. Arms Trade Treaty, and a sweeping gun ban aren't just a possibility in a second Obama term," the association's CEO, Wayne LaPierre, wrote on the group's website. "They're a near certainty."
But Obama hasn't taken much action on gun control. In fact, he signed legislation allowing loaded guns into national parks and on Amtrak trains. Still, in the second presidential debate, Obama mentioned the possibility of keeping automatic weapons out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.
"Part of it is seeing if we can get an assault weapons ban reintroduced, but part of it is also looking at other sources of the violence, because frankly, in my hometown of Chicago, there’s an awful lot of violence, and they’re not using AK-47s, they’re using cheap handguns," he said.
That comment may have triggered a consumer fear that gun sales will see tighter regulations. In October, the number of federal background checks on potential gun buyers rose 10.6% from the month before to 1.61 million, according to the FBI.
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| Tags: | Kim PetersonRGRSWHC |
The Solution is prompt Capital punishment for horrible crimes or criminals with multiple violent offenses.
Banning guns of any sort is about as useless as banning baseball bats or knives. Banning any gun just makes the existing weapons more valuable. Bring back the death penalty and apply it liberally.
Anything else is just political mental masturbation.
We don't need to restrict gun sales any more, we need to ENFORCE the laws on the books and eliminate the muderers doing the crimes!
Why do we allow criminals to sit in prisone for YEARS before even being tried, i.e. the Fort Hood Shooter? And then give them a 15 year sentence to be on parole in 5?
Our prisons are full of murderers and rapists that are repeat offenders, yet taxpayers have to keep them alive. Lets clean house and get rid of this scum that will NEVER be a productive member of society!
And I do support the actions Obama has taken in his first term. Lets just hope the fearmongering is not right..........
Anyone who believes that the 2nd amendment is safe has his head in the sand. This administration will do everything it can to get guns out of the hands of the public. Chicago is a great example. Even after the supreme court ruled that the laws in Chicago were illegal, the city council and Mayor Emanual placed new restraints on legal gunowners and others who wanted to buy guns (legally) to protect themselves from the violence that is running rampant in Chicago. Anyone who believes that the 2nd amendment is safe is nuts. If it were not for the NRA, the United States would be forced to turn in their guns to the government. It happened in England, in Europe and in Australia. When you have people like George Soros, Mayor Bloomberg and the Brady organization pushing their agenda of getting guns out of the hands of private citizens your guns are not safe and neither is your freedom.
FEAR of Hilter/Obama type socialism is propelling gun sales. Banning guns has never worked. One need only look at Obamaville (Chicago) where they have been illegal to own for a half century.
America is arming itself at an alarming rate. Americans may be stupid, but we are smart enough to know when we see emminent economic collapse/bankruptcy.
Buy guns, ammo, Gold/Silver and invest overseas. Put your savings where the socialists cannot seize them. The 47% leech class will react with violence to seize what you have when the SHTF. Plan accordingly. I think wewill be in a great depression within 2 years.
And don't buy a gun without buying training to use it. Treat Democrats like a Jew would treat a Nazi.
I support the 2nd Amendment, I own 3 rifles and am currently researching for a good handgun for home protection, it is important that my wife would be able to comfortably and accurately use it as well, so I guess Harry Callahan's .44 Magnum is out. Right now, S&W makes a.38 semi called the Bodyguard that looks interesting, it got some good reviews from law enforcement owners, but I still haven't decided. My biggest problem is I've never fired a handgun, and don't kow much about them. My experience in the military is with the M1 Garand, M1 Carbine and the M16, plus the hunting rifles I have at home.
Moving on, I think we need to understand the difference between "ban" and "control", I would never support the former, but I do support the latter, within reason. A few years back, Andrew Cuomo, when AG of NY, sent out some teams of people to gun shows to see if they could buy weapons without background checks, and some of the peiope were able to do that. Even as a gun owner myself, I have a problem with that. I support gun ownership, but only in the hands of responsible people. We do need laws that prevent the wrong peole from getting guns, but we have to do so within common reason. By the way, I find LaPierre's statement in the article to be pure bunk, I have no fear Obama or anyone else is going to take my guns away. The 2nd Amendment is there, it cannot be ignored by anyone, any attempt to strip people of their guns will prompt an immediate and large outcry, with resulting court cases. The only way for us to lose our guns is for the 2nd Amendment to be repealed, and there is not a chance in hell that will happen, in fact, a lot of DEMs and liberals have guns and enjoy hunting, the 2nd Amendment is safe.
Today "Vote for Revenge" Obama revived the proposed UN Ban on private gun ownership. Harry Reid only needs to rubber stamp this in the Senate and he has effectivey disarmed the law abiding and bypassed the Constitution. Obama's claims that this won't affect American gun rights is about as truthful as any other statement he has made for example: Obamacare would make healthcare more affordable, the auto bailout paid for itself (current loss 25 billion), stimulus would bring down unemployment to 5%, I want to reach out to the bitter clingers, etc.
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