Well, maybe. One study last year claimed 70 percent of gun-shop owners report more women buyers; a different study alleged that women owned 10.8 percent of the nation’s guns in 2008 versus 10.5 percent in 1980, an amazingly stable figure. Of course, the two aren’t necessarily contradictory: Could be that gun ownership by women was flat for decades until Obama was elected, sparking a buying frenzy fueled by panic that our new progressive overlords would soon crack down on sales. (Which is exactly what happened after the election.) I have to say, though, I’ve never thought gun-grabbing was a big part of The One’s agenda. His leftist dreams have always skewed more towards redistribution, and I think he rightly figures that in order to maintain the capital he needs to push his program in that area, he’d best avoid political battles pitting him against key cultural elements of middle and rural America. That’s why I thought that ESPN story about O supposedly wanting to restrict recreational fishing was bogus. There’s just too much to lose and too little to gain for him by picking that fight. I think he’s content to let the, ahem, “bitter-clingers” keep their guns and rods and reels if they leave him alone to siphon off their income to the state. Comforting.

The Wash Times speculates that suspicions about The One’s agenda are also behind the uptick in sales to women, but I think it has at least as much to do with economic anxiety. Higher unemployment = a more desperate population = more thieves (or worse) lurking in the shadows, which in turn means a greater need to pack heat for protection. At least, that’s my theory and I’m sticking to it. Click the image to watch.