Mirroring a nationwide trend, retail sales of firearms in Illinoisskyrocketed in the weeks since Election Day. Whereas many states saw gunsales increases in the neighborhood of 10-20%, Illinois gun owners outpacedtheir November 2007 gun purchases by a full 38%.

According to figures compiled by the Illinois State Police, 24,076background checks were conducted in November 2008 -- a considerable plus-upfrom the 17,363 conducted in November 2007 and the 17,249 conducted inNovember 2006. Illinois gun dealers report that sales have remained briskthroughout Thanksgiving weekend with many customers acquiring several firearmsat a time along with sizeable quantities of ammunition.

"Illinois gun owners aren't stupid -- they see the handwriting on thewall," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. "They're acutelyaware of just how treacherous the Daley/Blagojevich/Obama gun grabbing machinecan be. Illinois gun owners have well-founded fears that, in November 2009,the number of background checks could very well tumble to zero."

"In recent days, I've been in contact with gun dealers from across thestate," said Pearson. "Without exception, they are reporting significantincreases in customer traffic since Election Day. As seen in other states,semiautomatic rifles and pistols sold out first. Likewise for popularammunition calibers such as .223, .308, 7.62x39, and 9mm. Dealers reportthat, at this point in time, customers are scooping up whatever gun modelshaven't sold out. They'll take any gun left in stock."

"The dealers report that they are seeing many first-time gun buyers aswell," continued Pearson. "Many of these folks have wanted to own firearmsfor a long time, but just never got around to buying their first gun -- untilnow. According to many dealers with whom I have spoken, most of theircustomers fear that this may be the last chance they get to purchase a firearmlegally."

"Since the election, a lot of calls have been coming into ISRAheadquarters from gun owners fearing that their rights are about to gettrampled," reported Pearson. "It's encouraging to hear that these folks arenot going to go down without a fight. They're looking for ways to protecttheir rights. I remind them that political action is the key to success. Iencourage all callers to contact their representatives in congress and thestatehouse and remind their elected officials that having so-called 'respect'for the 2nd Amendment isn't enough. That respect must translate into thatcasting of votes that preserve and protect our nation's heritage of safe andlawful firearm ownership."

The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsiblefirearms ownership. Founded in 1903, the ISRA has represented the interestsof millions of law-abiding Illinois firearm owners.

Web site: http://www.isra.org

SOURCE Illinois State Rifle Association