[url]http://www.worldnetdaily.com/frame/direct.asp?SITE=www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/nation/958332[/url]

From www.boortz.com/nealnuz.htm

GUN PURCHASES ARE DOWN...BUT THAT'S NOT THE ENTIRE STORY

These are the facts the Justice Department reported Sunday:  In 1999, 8.6 million people tried to buy firearms from federally licensed firearm dealers.  In 2000, 7.7 million people tried to buy guns.  That's a drop of 11 percent.

A criminal justice professor at Northeastern University in Boston said it's the long-term result of a lower crime rate.  People feel safer, and therefore they don't feel as inclined to go out and buy a gun for self-defense.

Now...why on earth would the leftist news media want to bring you this story about legal gun purchases in the past year?  The numbers are going down.  That's a good sign to them.  The story is designed to ask you, the prospective gun buyer: Since fewer of your fellow Americans are buying guns, why should you want to buy one of your own?  The country's the safest it's been in decades.  You're less likely to become a victim of crime.  You won't need that gun.

But let's not forget that in California--which is becoming the socialist's gun ban utopia with each passing day--the violent crime rate is starting to tick upward again.  Except, that is, in Orange County, where citizens can still obtain concealed-carry permits.

And as for the "drop" in gun sales...let's remember that these are only gun sales known to the Imperial Federal Government.  The figure does not take into account private transactions between law-abiding individuals, nor does it account for the fact that you can buy multiple guns on a single federal application.  Even the Justice Department's people admit that their statistics do not indicate that gun sales are down.

But the media won't report it that way.  They'll point to the numbers and say that Americans are buying fewer guns.

See, the move to disarm Americans isn't just aimed at taking guns away from them.  It's also designed to discourage firearms purchases.  Paint a skewed portrait of a safe, crime-free America and then ask citizens why they think they need a gun.

and maybe they are down because some locations have laws that are so restrictive that it is almost impossible to own or purchase a firearm.  
obviously, if you are in an area that has a limit on purchases or makes a purchase so restrictive, ie., no firearms meet local law requirements or gun manufacturers not shipping to certain states because of restrictive laws, sales would drop.

I feel disenfranchised (do I get bonus points for using a buzzword?) by these statistics.  I'm not represented by counting the NICS checks since I have a CCW.  I've also bought more than one gun at a time, making it even worse.  Of course, private party transactions seem to be plentiful too.  

They only compare to 1999.  I think another reason they are down in 2000 from 1999 was the Y2k scare.

In December of 1999 I went a gunshop in Indy to buy some more carry ammo.  The guy was sold out of almost all of his hollow point ammo.  People that normally would not have bought guns bought several.

Kind of a stupid means of comparison, I think alot of people were splurging in 99 due to the Y2K scare.

Also have to agree on the more restrictive laes.