Gun Sales, Stocks Spike as Obama Implements Controls

WASHINGTON -- Critics are fighting back against President Barack Obama's executive actions on gun control. The news comes as gun sales hit a record high, according new federal data.

It's an emotionally charged debate, with many wondering -- are any restrictions on guns appropriate in a nation where the right to bear arms is engraved in the Constitution?

Peter Read says yes. He lost his daughter, Mary, nearly nine years ago when a disturbed student opened fire at Virginia Tech. Since then he has pushed for more background checks on gun buyers.

"It's hard for me to understand why anybody would want to get in the way of a background check to make sure that people that are already legally prevented from owning the firearm can't buy the firearm or get it in some other way," Read said.

Read stood with Obama as he announced plans to skirt Congress and take action on guns.

"Every time I think about those kids it gets me mad," the president said, wiping away tears as he remembered the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Last year, nearly 12,000 people were murdered in America, about one-third the number of people killed in auto accidents.

"There is a ritual about this whole thing that I have to do," Obama said. "I believe in the Second Amendment. It's there written on the paper. It guarantees a right to bear arms."

The president says his goal is to clarify existing law --anyone who sells guns must get a license and conduct background checks on buyers.

He wants to hire 200 ATF agents to better enforce existing gun laws. He'll ask Congress to invest $500 million to expand mental health treatment. And he wants to work with the gun industry to update gun safety technology.

"If a child can't open a bottle of aspirin, we should make sure that they can't pull a trigger on a gun," Obama stated.

The president acknowledges Congress likely won't change gun laws for a long time. Instead he's focusing on the gun lobby, portraying the National Rifle Association as the big bad wolf.

"The gun lobby may be holding Congress hostage right now, but they cannot hold America hostage. We do not have to accept this carnage as the price of freedom," declared Obama, drawing applause from the audience.

But the NRA fired back via Twitter, tweeting, "The American people do not need more emotional, condescending lectures that are completely devoid of the facts."

In a statement, the NRA also accused the president of trying to "distract attention away from his lack of a coherent strategy to keep the American people safe from terrorist attacks."

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., promised the president's actions will be challenged in court.

"The president has never respected the right to safe and legal gun ownership that our nation has valued since its founding," Ryan charged.

Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton tweeted, "Thank you, @POTUS, for taking a crucial step forward on gun violence. Our next president has to build on that progress."

Most of the GOP hopefuls promise they'll undo the president's executive actions.

Presidential candidate Ted Cruz is marking the occasion by raffling off an engraved shotgun.

The president is aware his actions have little staying power if a Republican succeeds him in the White House, so he called on voters to demand gun control at the ballot box.

"If you make it hard for them to win an election if they block those laws, they'll change course, I promise you," the president said.

Another guarantee? When the president talks about guns, more people go out and buy them.

"Anytime he talks about guns, gun sales go up," Buckeye Firearms Association Executive Director Dean Rieck told Cleveland.com. "Anytime anyone threatens to tighten the laws on firearms, that tends to drive sales up as well."