President Obama speaking at a White House performance last night focused on Memphis Soul Music. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The big political news today is President Obama’s latest budget proposal, a $3.77 billion plan that would be put into effect for fiscal year 2014, which starts October 1. Given the continuous battle back and forth between the Democrats and Republicans in Congress, The Wall Street Journal sums up the goal of the proposal as such: “Obama Reaches For Middle Ground With New Budget Plan.”

“The White House will seek to persuade Republicans to warm to its proposal to embrace more short-term spending, which administration officials say will boost jobs, while also locking in medium-term tax and spending changes to reduce the deficit,” the article says. “So far, the White House has found such an approach a tough sell, with Republicans opposing tax increases and saying much of the spending is wasteful.” Overall, the article says, the spending budget is up six percent to counteract the sequestration spending cuts (remember those?) that went into effect March 1.

At the start of the fiscal year, The New York Times explains, “the federal deficit would be $744 billion, according to administration officials. That would be equal to about 4.4 percent of the gross domestic product, down from a high of about 10 percent at the height of the recession. By decade’s end, the annual deficit would be 1.7 percent, officials said, though deficits would increase thereafter as aging baby boomers drive up costs for federal benefit programs.” The 10-year plan would cut spending by $1.2 billion and would raise $580 million by pulling more taxes from the wealthy, including the imposition of the Buffet Rule, which would  take 30 percent from anyone making a taxable income over $1 million.

The spending and taxes included in the proposal aren’t to the Republicans’ liking, who still want to see the federal budget decrease. What has riled Democrats are the proposed cuts to future Social Security benefits.

But there will be additional spending. Infrastructure is a priority in the budget, as is expanding prekindergarten education. And in response to calls from people across the political spectrum following the massacre in Newtown, CT, $235 million has been allotted for mental health programs. The money would pay to train teachers and other professionals to better detect the warning signs of mental illness in students, to provide in-school professional mental health services, and to help schools that have a high level of violence, according to The Washington Post. The paper says that mental health advocates are pleased with the attention, but note the billions of dollars in cuts that have been made across states over the past few years.

President Obama will be having dinner with prominent Congressional Republicans this evening in the hopes of talking through a compromise. Meanwhile, Congress could vote this week on gun control measures. The two sides seem to be ready to compromise on issues like universal background checks, says CNN.

Women who’ve lost family members to gun violence stand behind Robin Kelly, an Illinois congressional candidate. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

“Whites are far more likely to shoot themselves, and African Americans are far more likely to be shot by someone else” says The Washington Post, reporting on new data that shows gun deaths are often shaped by race.  The Washington Post analyzed data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and found that a white person is five times as likely to commit suicide with a gun as to be shot with a gun. And for each African American who uses a gun to commit suicide, five are killed by other people with guns.

Race is not the only factor in gun deaths. Location also plays into the results. According to the study, gun deaths in urban areas are much more likely to be homicides. Suicide occurs more often in rural areas. And here is another twist; the states with the most guns per capita, such as Montana and Wyoming, have the highest suicide rates. However, the states with low gun ownership rates, such as Massachusetts and New York, have fewer suicides per capita.

When it comes to gun control, the races also differ on the issue. African Americans are more likely to be backers of  tough gun controls, as opposed to whites. About three-quarters of blacks support stronger controls, compared with about half of whites, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll. Two-thirds of city dwellers support stronger gun controls; only about a third of rural residents back them.

The gun control debate is heating up. New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns are spending $12 million to place ads across 13 states, pushing for stiffer gun control laws. Organizing for Action, a nonprofit that supports President Obama’s issues of interest, is also looking for names on a petition pushing for greater gun control. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a meeting recently to review four firearm-related bills, bringing debate on Second Amendment rights and public safety to the forefront, according to a press release. These bills include: The Assault Weapons Ban of 2013; Stop Illegal Trafficking in Firearms Act of 2013; Protecting Responsible Gun Sellers Act of 2013; and School Safety Enhancements Act of 2013.

With the debate has come money to promote each side. Maplight, a nonprofit that tracks money and politics, finds that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has contributed $5,868 to members of the 113th Congress since January 1, 2009. The NRA, meanwhile, has contributed $1,453,637 to members of the 113th Congress since that date.  Texas is the top contributing state to the NRA.

Oddly, hardcore gun rights advocacy group the National Rifle Association suggests that they link between guns and suicide could be considered a virtue. “Gun owners are notably self-reliant and exhibit a willingness to take definitive action when they believe it to be in their own self-interest,” the NRA wrote in a fact sheet, called “Suicide and Firearms,” on the Website for the group’s lobbying arm. “Such action may include ending their own life when the time is deemed appropriate.”

According to WashPo, “Some experts say mass shootings such as the one in which 20 first-graders and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in December can often be seen as extravagant suicides rather than homicidal rampages.” Experts indicate that preventing these killings requires better treatment of mental health problems and limiting access to weapons.

A still from Colion Noir’s ad for the NRA.

The National Rifle Association has been on a tear these past few months, trying to convince the public and gun owners that the government is overstepping its boundaries with any sort of gun control reforms, including universal background checks. The organization has been running numerous ads across various states labeling efforts by President Obama, the Democrats, and other gun control advocates as “the single most devastating attack on the Second Amendment that this country has ever seen,” to use the words of the organization’s CEO, Wayne LaPierre.

Now the organization is beefing up its efforts to reach the African-American community specifically. The NRA has a new ad campaign that says the black community needs guns to protect itself from the government, using the Civil Rights movement as a jumping off point for its argument.

“The video is part of an effort by the gun lobby to grow the organization’s appeal beyond a mostly white, middle-class membership and attribute high rates of gun violence in some African American communities to “culture” rather than the prevalence of guns,” ThinkProgress writes.

The ad (available below) stars YouTube celeb and gun advocate Colion Noir, who rants for 1 1/2 minutes about the hypocrisy of the anti-gun violence movement and the need for firearms. This is ”[t]he same government who at one point hosed us down with water, attacked us with dogs, wouldn’t allow us to eat at their restaurants and told us we couldn’t own guns,” he says at one point.

At the end of the video, he says,”Guy telling me to get rid of my guns when I need them the most, isn’t my friend, isn’t looking out for my best interests and doesn’t speak for me or the community that I’m part of.” But is the NRA a part of the black community? Or is this an opportunitistic appeal to the black community at a time when the NRA needs all the help it can get to advance its agenda? News site Salon turns the hypocrisy accusations back on the NRA, citing a 2011 article in The Atlantic that highlights the historical efforts by the NRA and others to enact gun restrictions. “The one time NRA wanted gun control was when Black Panthers took up arms. Now it wants black support,” reads the Salon sub-headline.

ThinkProgress points out some disturbing statistics. For instance, blacks made up about 13 percent of the population in 2010, but 56 percent of the people killed by guns. And highlights a Minneapolis program that focused on city programs that would divert young people in vulnerable communities from gangs and other activities that typically lead to gun violence.

What do you think of the NRA’s appeal to African Americans?

Robin Kelly celebrating after her primary election win. AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast

Jessie Jackson Jr.’s time in Congress has been filled with highs, lows, and shocking revelations. So now all eyes are on Robin Kelly, who easily won the Democratic primary to replace  in Illinois’s 2nd Congressional District.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the former state representative easily won the special Democratic primary Tuesday night. Her race was helped by millions of dollars in pro-gun control ads from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s political fund. Kelly has been very outspoken for the need for gun control.

“You sent a message that was heard around our state and across the nation. A message that tells the NRA that their days of holding our country hostage are coming to an end,” Kelly told supporters in a Matteson hotel ballroom. “To every leader in the fight for gun control ready to work with President (Barack) Obama and [Chicago] Mayor (Rahm) Emanuel to stop this senseless violence, thank you for your leadership and thank you for your courage.”

According to the newspaper, Bloomberg’s Independence USA PAC was the largest campaign interest in the race. It dominated the Chicago broadcast TV airwaves.

And even though turnout was low due to a  snowstorm and lack of voter interest, Kelly easily won with 52 percent to 25 percent for former U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson and 11 percent for Chicago 9th Ward Ald. Anthony Beale with 99 percent of precincts counted.

Next, Kelly will go  head to head with the winner of the Republican primary in an April 9 special general election in the heavily Democratic district. On the GOP side, fewer than 25 votes separated Paul McKinley, who has a criminal past, and businessman Eric Wallace. The unofficial vote leader was McKinley, 54, who was arrested 11 times between 2003 and 2007, mostly for protesting. Almost all of the charges dropped. “In the 1970s and ’80s, McKinley was convicted of six felony counts, serving nearly 20 years in prison for burglaries, armed robberies and aggravated battery,” writes The Tribune.

Source: WENN

Just one week following the arrest of her daughter’s alleged killers, Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton is speaking out, in hopes of sparing other mothers from the heartache that she was forced to endure as a result of the senseless murder of her daughter. In an ad paid for by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Cleopatra tells the story of her daughter Hadiya, who had her entire life to look forward to, unfortunately, that life was cut short as a result of senseless gun violence.

The ad displays footage of Hadiya at President Obama’s inaugural parade, just one week prior to her untimely death. Cleopatra expresses how happy partaking in the inaugurual festivities made Hadiya, describing it as “the happiest day of her life.” In the thirty-second ad, Pendleton goes on to urge congress to implement laws that would assist in keeping guns out of the hands of criminals, such as background checks on gun sales. The ad also provides a phone number in which people can call and request that congress support these reforms.

Hadiya’s mother is undeniably strong. It hasn’t even been a full month since her daughter’s death and she’s already putting forth efforts that could possibly prevent other moms from experiencing similar tragedies. Hopefully this situation will help raise awareness that if something is not done soon, the senseless killing of innocent children will only continue.

Watch the “Demand A Plan” ad on the next page. Do you think Cleopatra speaking out will have an impact? 

A Georgia gun show, last month. AP Photo/Mike Stewart

President Obama, introduced to the podium by an eloquent speech from Vice President Joe Biden, gave the details of a proposal to curb gun violence that includes universal background checks. In front of an audience that included the parents of children killed in the Newtown shooting, and children who wrote letters asking the President to take action on gun violence, Obama signed 23 executive actions that strengthen gun control. These actions don’t require Congressional approval. They also include nominating an Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) director and clarification to the Affordable Care Act that tells doctors they’re not prohibited from asking patients about guns in the home.

The proposal also included items that require Congress’ approval. Among them is a reinstatement of the assault weapons ban and placing a limit on ammunition magazines to 10 rounds. The New York Times has a complete list of items in the complete proposal. According to CNN, “A main focus of Obama’s steps was closing loopholes in background checks. While requiring universal background checks would require congressional approval, some of the executive actions signed by Obama were intended to bolster the existing system.”

Already, and as expected, the GOP has an issue with the proposal. “Nothing the president is proposing would have stopped the massacre at Sandy Hook,” said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in a statement.

Others who are opposed to more strict gun laws say the President’s proposal doesn’t address the criminal element forcefully enough.

Of course, among those opposed to the President’s suggestions (opposed even before they were made) is the NRA. Prior to today’s press conference, the NRA released an ad that called the President an “elitist hypocrite” and asked “Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” because they get Secret Service protection. Slate, which has the ad, quotes White House spokesperson Jay Carney, who said:

Most Americans agree that a president’s children should not be used as pawns in a political fight. But to go so far as to make the safety of the president’s children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly.

We couldn’t agree more. Carney and the White House weren’t the only ones with a strong negative reaction.  If you care to see it, it’s after the jump. The NRA also recently released a target practice game that came under fire. Unbelievable.

Following today’s press conference, stocks for “gun-related companies” as USA Today calls them, jumped more than five percent across the board.

To watch the entire press conference (it’s about 26 minutes), click here.

A protester, dressed as the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre, outside of today’s press conference.

The National Rifle Association (NRA) held its awaited press conference today, suggesting a new program that would put an armed guard at “every school” nationwide.

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” said Wayne LaPierre, the organization’s EVP. He reprimanded the media, saying that it had “demonized gun owners,” blamed violent video games, and criticized politicians for seeking stronger gun control laws.

“Politicians pass laws for gun free school zones, they issue press releases bragging about them. They post signs advertising them. And, in doing so, they tell every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk,” LaPierre also said in his remarks, which you can read in full here.

The NRA is calling for the creation of the National School Shield, which would train armed security guards.

The NRA had stayed noticeably quiet following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT last Friday that killed 26 people, including 20 children ages six and seven. Indeed, the NRA blamed everything except guns for the tragedy.

Moreover, the group is being taken to task on Twitter and in the media for its inability to secure its own press conference. Protesters interrupted the event not once, but twice.

“Even while the N.R.A. was offering to help schools better protect themselves, it proved unable to guard its own media event from protesters,” writes The New York Times.

Gun sales have gone up in the wake of the horror, with concerned parents even investing in backpack armor for their children. The President has pledged to put a gun control proposal before Congress next month, with a task force led by VP Joe Biden expected to also look at secondary issues surrounding gun violence, like the state of mental health treatment in this country. Many people, including some in Washington who were previously staunch supporters of the NRA and its agenda, have come out in favor of some changes to tighten up the laws.

Criticism of the NRA’s proposal today came swiftly and furiously. For those who’ve never been supporters of the NRA (and those who don’t believe every person in the US should be armed to the teeth, which includes many gun owners), the speech landed somewhere on the spectrum between “out-of-touch” and “insane.”

Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg (NJ) is quoted on the ABC News site: “It is beyond belief that following the Newtown tragedy, the National Rifle Association’s leaders want to fill our communities with guns and arm more Americans.”

Democratic Congressman Chris Murphy (CT) tweeted, “Walking out of another funeral and was handed the NRA transcript. The most revolting, tone deaf statement I’ve ever seen.”

Even Michael Steele, the former RNC chairman, said, “I just found it very haunting and very disturbing that our country now is talking about arming our teachers and our principals in classrooms,” on MSNBC today. “What does that say about us? I do not believe that is where the American people want to go,” he added. (via Politico)

The press conference was shocking, given that this was supposed to be a response to a mass killing that left small children dead in their school. More guns are the answer? Unbelievable. And indefensible as evidenced by the NRA’s refusal to take questions… at a press conference. What do you think?

NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg (far left) at a press conference with victims and family members affected by gun violence. AP Photo/Seth Wenig

As the country recovers from the horror of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, people across the country are beefing up their stockpiles, purchasing guns faster than stores can keep them in stock.

President Obama held a press conference yesterday in which he announced that new gun control proposals would be in front of Congress next month, a quick response to the horrors at Sandy Hook last week.

“The president’s pledge came as House Republicans restated their firm opposition to enacting any new limits on firearms or ammunition, setting up the possibility of a philosophical clash over the Second Amendment early in Mr. Obama’s second term,” The New York Times reports.

The plan will be developed over the next few weeks with VP Joe Biden leading a group from across multiple government agencies. Rumor has it that a ban on assault weapons and “high-capacity” ammunition magazines could be part of the proposal, the NYT says. Both sides, especially the GOP, want to take a look at changes to the mental health system, education, and other factors besides direct gun control measures as well.

Mayor Bloomberg, a longtime gun control advocate, has thrown his support behind the President’s efforts. That support will likely come with financial backing, as the billionaire mayor is known to put his money where his mouth is. And he has a history of successfully achieving his policy goals. He’s not the only politico in favor of change. Rep. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) has come out in favor of stronger regulation and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) has said she will introduce gun control legislation next year. For a list of lawmakers who have changed their tune about gun regulation, click here. (Rep. Heinrich is on the list.)

At the same time, people are making a mad dash to their local gun shop to get their hands on assault rifles and armored backpacks. “A spike in gun sales is common after a mass shooting, but the Connecticut tragedy has generated record sales in many states,” BusinessWeek reports. Background checks in states like Colorado and Nevada broke records in the days after the Connecticut shooting. And Walmart says it was sold out of semi-automatic weapons in five states including Pennsylvania and Alabama. Shoppers are also turning to eBay to purchase ammunition.

Parents are taking precautions with their children, investing in armor that slips into a child’s backpack, priced at $150 to $300. However, CBS News points out, the armor is designed to stop handgun fire, not assault weapon shots. A man quoted in that story bought one for his one-year-old son. All the parents argue it’s a measure they’re willing to take if it will do anything to protect their kids.

Of course, what will really protect children and adults alike would be fewer people firing guns at other people. The National Rifle Association, which crows about the Second Amendment when anyone even mentions gun regulation or gun control, waited until Tuesday to issue a statement, available here. After expressing shock and sadness over the Sandy Hook shooting, they said,”The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.” The group is planning a press conference tomorrow in Washington and its Facebook page is back up and running (and accepting insane comments) after being shut down in the wake of the tragedy. We couldn’t find any detail about what they might be prepared to discuss, however, if you’re interested (and you should be) in the history of the NRA and how it became so politically powerful, check out this New Yorker story from April. It’s eye-opening.

On a positive note, New Jersey held its gun buyback program over the weekend in Camden, one of the state’s most troubled cities. A new record was set, with 1,137 guns turned in, beating the previous record of 700. Among the weapons returned were sawed-off shotguns, rifles used for elephant hunting, and fully automatic weapons. With $110,000 in cash and $6,000 in gift cards to hand out, the program ran out of money. The New York Post says that nearly all of the weapons will be destroyed.

And some companies are taking steps to distance themselves from the gun industry. The Washington Post reports that package’s Sporting Goods will stop selling sporting rifles, at least for the moment. And investor Cerebus Capital Management, which has a stake Freedom Group, the company that manufactures Bushmaster Rifles, said that it will be selling that stake. “It is not our role to take positions, or attempt to shape or influence the gun control policy debate. . . . There are, however, actions that we as a firm can take,” Cerebus said in a statement.

The paper says that the gun industry generated $11.7 billion in sales this year. Sales have been strong since the moment President Obama took office with gun advocates nonsensically fearful that gun laws would tighten to the point where they wouldn’t be able to add to their collections.

New and stronger gun regulation is needed in this country. If Sandy Hook (and the the other recent shootings) hasn’t made that clear, then nothing will. Of course, we haven’t yet addressed all of the hundreds of millions of guns that are already in people’s homes and on the streets. A fundamental change in our gun mentality will have to be coupled with any legislative measures.

Diane Brame, fired and rehired lunch lunday.

Last week, two stories about black women getting fired from their jobs made the news, but only one of their firings really resonated with people.

The first was the story of Rhonda Lee, the black meteorologist who was fired for responding to comments about her ethnic hair, among other things, and the second story revolved around Dianne Brame, a black lunch lady in Missouri, who was fired for giving a needy student free lunch. Despite the almost identical arrival in the media, Lee’s story was the only one to go viral and receive real attention.

Well of course, you haven’t heard of the latter. But that’s my point. Anyway, here is the gist:

“Dianne Brame had worked in the cafeteria at Hudson Elementary in the Webster Groves School District for the last three years. This fall she noticed the family of a fourth grader on the free lunch program hadn’t renewed his eligibility and the child wasn’t coming to school with money to pay for lunch. Brame says the boy’s mother doesn’t speak English and probably couldn’t understand the paperwork.  Brame tells News Channel 5 the child was supposed to be reduced to a cheese sandwich and a carton of milk for lunch. But she worried he’d be made fun of by the other students.  So instead, Brame gave him regular meals, for free, for nearly two months. A co-worker caught on and alerted Chartwells, the food service provider for the Webster Groves School District. Brame says the company fired her on Tuesday.

Initially, Brame was given the option to be demoted and transferred to another school, but because of the financial difficulties acquired after the death of her husband, she didn’t have the transportation to get to her new site, so she was terminated. Brame readily acknowledges that she violated company policy, which says that only children enrolled officially into the program can receive regular free lunch; however, she said that morally it was the right thing to do to ensure that this kid continued receiving daily nutrition.

A few days after the story ran on one of the local stations, Brame was offered her old job back – under the condition that she would have to undergo mediation and a review of the company’s policy. However, there is a lot to be outraged about in this story. For instance, are we seriously firing people for feeding hungry children? And then accusing them of theft?  Also, what kind of hateful coworkers do we have in this world that will turn in a person for feeding said hungry children? And why do we have a two-tiered lunch system in America? No wonder bullying is such a huge problem in our schools. Cheese sandwiches? For real? Isn’t that what we feed prisoners?  And on a side note…are there not any fruits and vegetables? Here is a chance to talk about the impact that income inequality, immigration reform, governmental austerity measures and straight up bureaucracy have on people, but yet, this story failed to take wings.

Generally speaking, it is the poor, who not only suffer the worst in all social contexts, including racially and socio-economically, but find themselves routinely ignored by our national consciousness – unless of course, we are using them as statistics, or someone very capable does something to help the poor. When we do find ourselves outraged by stories from this section of society, it usually involves some scenario, in which they [the poor] are the perpetrators of some sort of atrocity or indignation as opposed to the victim. People like Brame are on the frontlines of how racism and classism affect the most vulnerable of society, the poor, and children, particularly poor children.  And yet when it comes to the –isms in our society, it is stories like Brame’s, which seem to stir our emotions the least. But it was the hair and firing of Rhonda Lee, that had people really talking. What’s up with people not seeming to care about the struggles going on with poor people every day?

Speaking of poor people, in November alone, there were 149 shootings in Chicago, most propagating from black and poor communities.  Hovering near 500 murders, Chicago has already eclipsed last year’s homicide rate and is expected to return to levels not seen since before 2008. In my enclave of Philadelphia, two teens shot into a crowded El train after a disagreement about – of all things – a Sixers game last Thursday night. But it would take the mass shooting murders of nearly 26 people – 20 of which were children – in Newtown, Connecticut, which occurred early Friday morning, for lawmakers in Washington to be inspired into action. Noting how our leadership only appears ready to act on gun control when the violence gets too close to their enclaves, Kelli Goff, of The Root, writes:

“After Columbine, some newly inspired gun-control activists, many of them upper-middle-class mothers from predominantly white communities, expressed regret to mothers of color for not being involved in the fight for gun control earlier, when gun violence claimed the lives of kids who didn’t grow up in leafy suburbs and whose deaths were not likely to garner extensive coverage on the nightly news. The activism ignited by Columbine resulted in more stringent gun control laws and more diligent enforcement of existing laws, particularly on the state level.”

And like clockwork, the Washington Post is reporting that several lawmakers in Washington are mulling over the idea to ban assault rifles in the wake of the Connecticut shooting. Unfortunately, for folks in metropolitan areas like Chicago, where revolvers and semi-automatic handguns are the weapon of choice in most crimes, a ban on assault rifles probably is not the gun control, or solution to the violence, that they were hoping for. But it puts some attention on a long overdue issue and that is a good thing…I guess.

Children being led from Sandy Hook Elementary School. AP Photo/Newtown Bee, Shannon Hicks

Today’s horrific shooting at a Newtown elementary school (the latest details put the sickening death toll at 20 children and six adults, including the gunman and his mother) is one of the worst in the history of the US. Information about the situation is still being gathered with officials saying that there is no time limit to this investigation and “there is a great deal of work that has to be done.” A visibly moved President Obama spoke this afternoon on behalf of the nation, saying that “our hearts are broken today” and calling for “meaningful action,” though he didn’t specifically reference the issue of gun control.

However, that isn’t stopping many others from bringing up the need for gun control legislation. The shooting today at Sandy Hook Elementary School follows a mass shooting at an Oregon mall on Tuesday. Everyone from the members of the media, ordinary citizens, and celebrities have taken to Twitter to call for gun control laws to put a stop to these deadly acts.

MSNBC tackled the issue directly with Alex Wagner saying, “There has got to be some kind of measurable change, some kind of reaction. One would hope that there will be some political capital to reform the way in which we handle gun and gun violence in this country.” The rest of her show was dedicated to the discussion with panelists and other newscasters, including David Gregory, chiming in.

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reports that revenue “soared” 48 percent during the second quarter at gun maker Smith & Wesson, rising to $136.6 million from $92.3 million the year before. The company credits an increase in the number of women gun owners. Background checks for gun ownership also broke a record on Black Friday. The FBI says it took 154,873 calls that day, trumping the previous record of 129,166. One gun shop manager, quoted in The Huffington Post, says the election, and the fear that gun legislation is coming, has prompted the uptick. That sentiment is seconded by gun shop owners who spoke with the Houston Chronicle recently.

“Similar stories emerged in cities across the country, with stores attributing higher sales to fears of stricter gun laws passing in Obama’s second term,” the story says.