One year later, much of the furor over Obama’s potential for gun-grabbing has died down.  Sure, he may get around to it one day, but he’s got far bigger concerns on his plate, and he is losing his mandate.  As a result, gun control has, thankfully, remained off the legislative front burner, even as the Supreme Court is considering several new 2nd Amendment cases.

It would follow, then, that the sale of guns and ammunition would have returned to their pre-Obama behavior.  Surprisingly, they have not.

In the third quarter of 2009, sales of pistols and revolvers jumped 23.6 percent, ammo sales increased 8.4 percent, and long gun sales fgrew 4.1 percent, according to data from the  federal excise taxes collected during that period .  (I am also willing to bet that ammunition sales would be up even more if there was more ammunition available on the market.)

Look at these sales figures from this article:

“Smith & Wesson is expecting sales to rise by 30 per cent to $102 million (£61 million) in the first quarter of the next financial year, after growing by more than 13 per cent this year to $335 million.

“At Sturm and Ruger, sales for the third quarter hit $71.2 million, up 70 per cent from the same period last year. At Glock, the leader in law enforcement markets, pistol sales rose by 71 per cent in the first quarter of the financial year for 2010, in comparison with the same period last year.”

It if isn’t gun control driving sales, then why are gun sales up?  It’s a simple one-word answer: Fear.

Fear that the cratering economy and rising unemployment will spur a rise in crime as desperate people do desperate things to feed their children and pay their bills.  I believe fear of crime has generated the 23.6 percent increase in the sale of handguns and a surge in concealed carry license applications.  It’s keeping production rolling and Glock, S&W and even Ruger, as well as at their privately owned brethren.

Fear that we will see a collapse of the dollar and a failure of our financial system which could cause unrest and rioting that could spill into the streets.  Fear that the only way to survive the resulting anarchy will be to have a battle rifle, a few well-armed friends,  and plenty of ammunition.

Fear that law enforcement will be overwhelmed by the great unwashed hoards of hungry, angry, desperate people who have lost everything, including the veneer of civilization.  Fear that upright citizens will have to defend themselves and create their own law and order when the police are occupied elsewhere.

Those of us who live with a gun strapped to our side know that while cowardice is to be scorned, a trickle of fear keeps you sharp, heightens the senses, and prepares you for what is to come.  Fear is our early warning system, part of our flight or fight response, and we should listen to it.  It’s an instinctual response to a situation that isn’t right; the gut instinct that saves us if we are smart enough to listen to it.

So if you feel a trickle of fear at what the future holds, don’t ignore the feeling that you might need another gun, some more ammunition, and some spare magazines.  Check your personal gear; make sure you have some spare parts, extra batteries, web gear, and a Plan B.  Get your family up to speed with weapons familiarization in case you can’t be there to protect them, or if you need some back up one day when the radio is down.

If I was unprepared and I had $500 dollars, I would stock up on dried and canned food with at least a one year shelf life and maybe some MREs.  But if I was unprepared and had $1,000, I would buy the food, plus another 1,000 rounds of .223, and two boxes of high performance bullets for my pistol.

You can review the entire article here, but I’ve clipped a few key paragraphs:

“In an incident on Monday played down by the military as an aberration and described by some political commentators as a crossing of a red line, a handful of soldiers protested against the partial dismantling of a settler-outpost in the West Bank…

“Two of the soldiers disobeyed orders and refused to secure the settlement site, which had been built without government permission and where police razed two buildings. They were sentenced respectively to 20 days and 14 days in jail.

“Two other soldiers, who held up a sign at an army base in the West Bank saying their battalion would never evacuate settlements, also faced a disciplinary hearing at which each received a month-long prison term”

While I think the chain of command displayed bad judgment when it ordered the IDF to do a job previously done by the police force, it was not an illegal order.  (Short-sighted and stupid, yes, unlawful no.)  Political leaders and commanders must realize that the military should be focused on external threats, of which Israel has plenty.  Only oppressive regimes use the military to quash internal dissent.  Is this the company in which Israel wishes to find itself?

Regardless of whether an order goes against a soldier’s personal, political, or moral beliefs, a lawful order from an officer must be obeyed.  That these soldiers can get away with this behavior and receive such a light sentence is a sad commentary on the current climate within the IDF and its leadership.  One hopes it is not be symptomatic of a greater weakness, both from a combat-ready standpoint and from a  position of political will power.  Israel was a military power in its neighborhood and the IDF was a mighty fighting force that kept the wolves at bay for the latter half of the 20^th century.  Is it still, or has political wavering weakened it?  We may find out in the not-so-distant future.