“A charlatan makes obscure what is clear; a thinker makes clear what is obscure.” —Hugh Kingsmill (British writer and critic. 1889-1949)
USA Today: February 13, 2013: “Gun Dealers Report Shortages of Ammunition”
The Inquisitor: 2/18/2013: “The Great Ammo Shortage Of 2013 Continues.”
CNN Money: 3/12/2013: “Gun shops face massive ammunition shortage”
Huffington Post: 1/16/2013: “Ammo Shortages Widespread, Gun Stocks Surge As Obama Pushes For Tighter Controls .”
The Daily Caller: 2/18/2013: “Gun dealers report striking ammunition shortages.”
The Orlando Sentinel, CBS News Pittsburgh (OH), CNN, Fox News, ABC, CBS and other mainstream media have reported much on the run on ammunition and shortages. AWR Hawkins over at Breitbart.com wrote on February 10, “I do believe (the government knows) know […] massive ammo purchases are driving supply down and prices up, and that’s generally a good thing for an administration that doesn’t think people ought to be able to own guns to begin with.”
On 6 March, Hawkins wrote, “[I]t seems increasingly reasonable to believe these multiple, massive ammo orders have been placed one upon the other to exasperate the already low supplies in the private market…It continues to sound like gun control by another name. “
There is certainly one thing we all know about gun-grabbers and gun banners: The machiavellian code and Alinsky’s rules drive their motivation and methodology. It appears certainly plausible that a President and an Administration who spends care free without regard to consequences, will spend the money on ammunition purchases that clearly affect the the ability of the citizenry to purchase the same ammunition. Their ultimate reality and ability to ban guns may not be on the horizon, but certainly there is no lack of creativity to affect the stream of commerce. In my entry yesterday, I pointed out that, “Federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) today number about 118,000; while back in 1993 over 283,000 smaller dealers, many operating as home-based businesses, closed down often because of the higher costs for licenses.”
Certainly government regulation and license fees have substantially altered the number of gun dealers today. Despite the decreasing number of dealers, the present dealers are doing a bristling business, but having a difficult time keeping up the break-neck pace of gun sales. Gun parts, and accessories are in unusually high demand.
As the likelihood for more bans, restrictions and universal background checks wanes, I opine that other cadres of éminence grise are fast at work tweaking the firearms and ammo chain of commerce, seeking to substantially throttle back the accessibility to arms and ammunition. There exists no power to curb this, excepting Congress’ power of the purse. But lets be honest…The current Congress is ineffective. This bubble may not burst for some time to come. But there is some small good news where some manufacturers are telling the Government, State and Federal, to, “pound sand.”
So there is my thesis: The shortage is a product of the Obama Administration and the éminence grise working to affect the commerce stream because the ability to pass new gun regulations is waning fast. It is far easier for this administration to affect the chain of commerce, than it is to make newer restrictive gun laws.
One might believe that producers of ammunition can retool their efforts to meet the surging demand. So, what is stopping them? Could it possibly be that ammo makers are holding fast, because of the unknowns of Obamacare and its net effect? Food for thought.
