“Walmart pulls guns off shelves as a precaution ahead of election”
“The orderly transfer of authority as called for in the Constitution routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every 4-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle.” —President Ronald Reagan, 1981
“Believing in the peaceful transfer of power through democratic elections and a solid respect for human rights unites all of us here today with millions of people across the globe.” — President Ronald Reagan, 1985
“In the early morning hours of March 4, 1801, John Adams, the second president of the United States, quietly left Washington, DC. Since then, the loser of every presidential election in U.S. history has willingly and peacefully surrendered power to the winner, despite whatever personal animosity or political divisions might exist.” ~Sarah Pruitt, author, History.Com
In 1960, John F. Kennedy, the Democratic senator from Massachusetts, and Richard Nixon, the Republican Vice President, were locked in a tight battle through Election Day. Overnight, the election was called for Kennedy by a comfortable Electoral College vote of 303 to 219, but a narrow margin of 112,000 in the popular vote. Rumors quickly spread that voting in Illinois and Texas had been manipulated by Kennedy forces; Nixon supporters urged their candidate to contest the results. But Nixon conceded peacefully.
The New York Times, Oct 8 2020:
“The vice president [Pence], like Trump, evaded a question on a peaceful transfer of power.”
“I’m in my 70s, and I feel like this is one of the scariest times I’ve ever seen for America” . ~ Monica Ponton, 72, St. Petersburg, Florida.
• Americans are increasingly worried about what will happen at the finish line of this year’s tumultuous election.
• Over the past year, the appetite for weapons has reached unprecedented demand, that, in many places, can’t keep up with supply.
• Gunmakers have seen their stock prices trade higher and gun sales have skyrocketed.
• Average daily sales of firearms jumped from 92,000 in January and February to over 120,000 per day.
• 12.1 million people went through the system between January and July. That is up nearly 72% for the same period in 2019.
• Nearly 5 million Americans purchased a firearm for the very first time in 2020. Fifty-eight percent of those first-time buyers are African-American men and women.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2020/10/29/929342190/want-to-buy-a-gun-at-walmart-youve-got-to-ask-for-it
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/walmart-pulls-guns-off-shelves-as-precaution-ahead-of-election-1.1515111
https://www.history.com/news/peaceful-transfer-power-adams-jefferson
