Firearms group calls Obama 'greatest gun salesman in America'

Although the nation's largest gun lobby would never publicly acknowledge it, at least one gun-loving group seems to realize that a Democratic president isn't always bad for business.

In a post published Tuesday by online ammunition supplier Ammo.com, President Barack Obama is hailed as "the greatest gun salesman in America."

The site is even asking readers whether the gun industry should actually begin supporting him.

In an eye-grabbing message, the munitions outlet compiled dozens of statistics that show firearms sales skyrocketing in the wake of Obama's 2008 election.

"Ironically, the perceived hostility towards gun owners by President Obama has actually helped the firearms industry tremendously," they wrote. "Since the 2008 election, more Americans than ever before are purchasing firearms & ammunition. This has meant massive increases in sales by firearm & ammunition makers, billions more in federal and state tax collections related to guns & ammo, increased membership in the [National Rifle Association (NRA)], and hundreds of thousands of new Americans carrying concealed handguns. Therefore, should the firearms industry support President Obama for a second term or not?"

That's actually a good question -- although it's not being taken seriously by the NRA.

During the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre declared Obama's lack of interest in gun regulations to be part of "a massive Obama conspiracy."

"We see the president's strategy crystal clear: Get re-elected and, with no more elections to worry about, get busy dismantling and destroying our firearms' freedom, erase the Second Amendment from the Bill of Rights and excise it from the U.S. Constitution," he said.

An infographic compiled by the site claims taxes on the sales of new firearms and ammunition have gone up 48 percent since 2008, and state-by-state breakdowns show that North Carolina, Iowa and Utah have all seen more than 100 percent increases in gun sales.

President Obama has made quite literally no effort to impose additional regulations on firearms, and has actually expanded gun rights in America by signing a measure that allows Americans to carry guns in national parks. That very measure allowed a group of tea party supporters to stage an "open carry" protest in 2010 just a few miles away from the White House.

Obama was even criticized by Democrats in the wake of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' (D-AZ) shooting for failing to take action against high-capacity ammunition clips like the one used by Giffords' assailant. Responding to their concerns, Obama published an op-ed in The Arizona Daily Star saying that most gun owners are responsible people, but that the laws on the books should be better enforced.

"I believe that if common sense prevails, we can get beyond wedge issues and stale political debates to find a sensible, intelligent way to make the United States of America a safer, stronger place," he wrote.

This info-graphic is from Ammo.net, published Feb. 21, 2012.

(H/T: USA Today)