President Obama, one of the nation's most strident voices for gun control – to the point he's gained a reputation as an anti-Second Amendment crusader – nonetheless invests money in the firearms industry, albeit indirectly.
Reuters reported he has money in a pension fund that holds stock in ammunition and gun companies.
His investment is slight – valued at no more than $30 – but the optics are curious. Obama has spent much of his time in office advocating for harsher controls on guns, using notable acts of violence, from school attacks to police shootings, as platforms for his legislative hopes. And when Congress didn't act, Obama came out and announced executive actions aimed at circumventing the legislative process to implement broader background checks, as WND previously reported.
Gun purchases under Obama have soared, especially after his announced executive actions.
"More guns were sold in December than almost any other month in nearly two decades," the New York Times just reported. "The heaviest sales last month, driven primarily by handgun [purchases], followed a call from President Obama to make it harder to buy assault weapons after the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. Fear of gun-buying restrictions has been the main driver of spikes in gun sales ... according to an analysis of federal background check data."
The previous record-holding month for gun sales was December 2012, right after Obama called for more firearms restrictions due to the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, the newspaper reported.
"President Obama has actually been the best salesman for firearms," said one analyst with BB&T Capitol Markets, to the New York Times.
Over the past few years, investment companies have taken note of the sales surge.
Reuters reported that since 2009, mutual funds have expanded their investments in Smith & Wesson Corp. and Sturm, Ruger & Co., two of the nation's largest gun manufacturers, from $30 million to $510 million.