Post-Loughner, Firearms Sales Surge. Again. Still.

In case you hadn’t caught the faux head-scratching coverage of the recent increase in firearms sales by the pretend-perplexed mainstream media, just type “gun sales” into the search bar of Google’s News tab. Just be sure to look at the date; this is the second time the media’s seized on a sales surge. (The above video’s from 2009.) Although the stimulus creating the ballistic response is different—the election of President Obama vs. a murderous rampage by a stoned cold killer—the underlying reason is the same: fear . . .

As I illustrated in yesterday’s ed Why Spree Killings are Good for Gun Rights, the Safeway Massacre is even more sales-compelling than the [it turns out baseless] fear of another gun-grabbing Democratic Prez. But in case you need proof that this march down to the gun store is a trans-class, trans-gender, trans-party phenom, I offer the following from Angel Chandler at the Asheville Citizens Times:

Rep. Heath Shuler is going to be carrying a concealed weapon in order to protect himself due to the shooting of his colleague in AZ and a threat made to him in 2009. This announcement gave me pause. Although tragic, it is rare that a politician is targeted with violence. However, violence against LGBTQ citizens is a common occurrence. In 2009, 22 people were murdered because of their sexual orientation. The LGBTQ population are the victims of hate crimes more than any other minority. Note to LGBTQ citizens: let’s take a lesson from Shuler. If guns equal safety, we should be carrying.