Annie, Get Your Gun – Now!

Retailing has managed to stay out of the political world this election season. Makes sense. If the country really is split 50-50 between the two candidates, what retailer would endorse one of them and risk alienating half its customer base?

But gun retailers have never been shy about wading into the political thicket. They acknowledge that one swing of the electorate in November will be beneficial for them, and the other will be disastrous. This is a very critical time for the gun community.

And so, gun retailers and gun makers are putting a lot of hopes in a victory for . . . President Obama!

Say what? If you don’t believe me, you’ll certainly believe The Wall Street Journal (“Gun Sales Hinge on Obama Re-Election,” Sept. 14, 2012). And the logic of it is irresistible.

If Mitt Romney is elected, all Second Amendment issues are expected to be pretty much resolved. Laws will be unchanged, sales of guns will proceed as they pretty much always have. “If … there’s no perceived threat on the freedom to own guns, people might decide to spend disposable income on things like outerwear instead,” a Cabela’s spokesman told The Journal. The chain said it would stock more items such as waterproof boots and camouflage hunting gear.

But if Obama wins, different story! That would bring to life the insidious plan the National Rifle Association is sure the president is hatching, to outlaw all firearms but BB guns and water pistols.

The fact is, there have been no substantial changes to gun-control laws in the first Obama term. But only bleeding heart liberals would be fooled by that. In a second term, Obama wouldn’t have to worry about being re-elected so “there’s no political downfall if he enacts more stringent gun-control measures,” NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam told The Journal.

It’s that great bait-and-switch the NRA has been predicting since 2008. Obama’s doing nothing is a trap to lull gun advocates into believing they’re safe. It’s all a carefully constructed trap, no doubt hatched by the same people who phonied up that Hawaiian newborn’s birth records 51 years ago so an American electorate would really believe it was putting a U.S. citizen in the White House.

David Humke an avid deer hunter in a Cabela’s store in Allen, Texas, told The Journal he’s worried guns might become less available in the future if Obama wins. “People feel it’s coming,” he said, “so they’re stockpiling.”

Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, Smith & Wesson and Olin Corp., which makes Winchester bullets, all said they’re anticipating a bump in sales this winter if the president is re-elected.

And if Romney wins? You’d better order your car rooftop dog crates before supplies run out.