Gun industry thrives during Obama's term

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama has presided over a heyday for the gun industry despite predictions by the National Rifle Association four years ago that he would be the "most anti-gun president in American history."

An analysis by The Associated Press of data tracking the health of the gun industry shows that sales are on the rise, so much that some gun manufacturers can't make enough guns fast enough. The number of federally licensed, retail gun dealers is increasing for the first time in nearly 20 years. Washington has expressed little interest in passing new gun laws, despite calls to do so after deadly shootings in Colorado and Wisconsin.

Obama has made no promises for new gun control legislation, which doesn't have support from Congress or voters. During Tuesday's debate, Obama suggested renewing a ban on assault weapons and devising an overall strategy to reduce violence. Both Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said the government must enforce gun laws already on the books.

The number of federally licensed retail gun dealers in the United States increased slightly in 2010 and 2011, to 50,812, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"Business has been very good," said Frederick Prehn, who a year ago opened a small gun store in Wausau, Wis. Prehn's business has relocated twice to larger spaces and grown from one employee to eight.

Sturm, Ruger & Co. and Smith & Wesson represent nearly 30 percent of the U.S. gun manufacturing industry and lead the market in production of pistols and revolvers, according to government statistics. The two companies have been running production lines around the clock, said Jim Barrett, an industry analyst at C.L. King & Associates Inc. in Albany.

Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said it's "incredibly ironic that the gun lobby is opposing Obama," who has done "disappointingly little" on gun control.

But NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said, "Gun owners and hunters fear that a second Obama administration with no future political campaigns to worry about will try to destroy this great American freedom."