Guns sales double in run-up to election, in 'uncharted territory'

Growing speculation that Democrat Hillary Clinton will win the presidential election next month is sparking a mad dash by gun stores to overstock their shelves with out of fear she will move fast to sign gun control executive orders.
"We're hearing from a lot of our customers that are concerned, and rightfully so, that their 2nd Amendment rights are going to be infringed by a possible Hillary Clinton presidency. Last month our sales effectively doubled from September of 2015 and we're trending toward another similar result for this month," said Justin Anderson, marketing director for Hyatt Guns of Charlotte, N.C., one of the nation's largest.
And as Election Day nears, he added, the store is stocking up.
"We are preparing throughout the store for unprecedented business beginning Nov. 9. We expect continued growth in small framed handguns used for concealed carry. We also expect the number of women choosing to defend themselves with a firearm to continue to grow. Frankly, we're in uncharted territory right now as far as gun sales," he added.
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Other gun stores around the country have urged customers to also stock up.
One store in Las Vegas, for example, advertised: "Pre-Hillary sale. Don't wait! Prices will skyrocket after Crooked Hillary gets in."
Another outside of Washington D.C., Minuteman Arms in Lovettsville, Va., posted this message on Facebook, "These people are coming for your guns...they are evil."
In a new book, former National Rifle Association President David A. Keene and attorney Thomas L. Mason warn Americans not to believe Clinton's promise to protect the Second Amendment, as she did in the last presidential debate on Wednesday night.
In "Shall Not Be Infringed" from Skyhorse Publishing, they wrote, "If the November 2016 election flips the Senate from Republican to Democratic control, the Second Amendment as a guarantee of an American citizen's right to gun ownership will be a thing of the past, and the Second Amendment will no longer serve as a protection of the rights we have always believed it to be."
They noted that Clinton is a fan of nations that ban or limit gun ownership.
At the debate, Clinton voiced support for gun control and raised issues that have long been fought over like the so-called "gun show loophole."
The NRA reacted to that with an anti-Clinton ad. They also pointed to a recent campaign email made public by WikiLeaks on gun control and videos of two Clinton supporters promising that she will sign anti-gun executive orders.
Hyatt Guns' Anderson explained that there are already laws that target that "loophole," and suggested that Clinton has her eyes on bigger prizes like the type of rifle ban her husband implemented as president.
He told Secrets:
"While Ms. Clinton likes to say she is a 2nd Amendment supporter, her record tells a much different story. She disagreed vehemently with the Heller case which reaffirmed a citizen's right to self defense, saying it was 'wrongly decided.' Last night, she used the same false narratives being pushed by the gun control movement, including 'common sense gun laws,' 'gun show loophole,' and now, a new one, 'online loophole.' We have plenty of laws on the books, including requirements for background checks for everyone buying a gun. That's about as common sense as it gets. There are no so-called loopholes. These catch phrases are being used to try to move forward an agenda on guns most Americans disagree with."
 
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at pbedard@washingtonexaminer.com