The Obama Gun Rush

I see that the election of Obama is helping one sector of the economy.

Last month, as an Obama win looked increasingly inevitable, there were more than 108,000 more background checks for gun purchases than in October 2007, a 15 percent increase. And they were up about 8 percent for the year as of Oct. 26, according to the FBI.

   No data was available for gun purchases this week, but gun shops from suburban Virginia to the Rockies report record sales since Tuesday’s election.

   ‘‘They’re scared to death of losing their rights,’’ said David Hancock, manager of Bob Moates, where sales have nearly doubled in the past week and are up 15 percent for the year.

   On Election Day, salespeople were called in on their day off because of the crowd.

   Obama has said he respects Americans’ Second Amendment right to bear arms, but that he favors ‘‘common sense’’ gun laws.

   Gun rights advocates interpret that as meaning he’ll at least enact curbs on ownership of assault and concealed weapons.

   As a U.S. senator, Obama voted to leave gun-makers and dealers open to lawsuits; and as an Illinois state legislator, he supported a ban on semiautomatic weapons and tighter restrictions on all firearms.