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This always happens during an administration change, says Barry Perry, owner of Perry’s Gunshop in Wendell.
Whether these fears that the Obama administration could clamp down on gun sales are purely rumor or fact may be debatable but from Perry’s perspective —“We don’t think it’s going to be favorable to the gun industry.”
Perry said, however, the winter months are historically busy with the Christmas season. He also sees people coming in with concerns about crime rates driven up by the economy.
At the last gun show he attended before Christmas, Rudy Evans of Roanoke Rapids was floored. “I’ve never seen that amount of people before in my life,” he said. “The line went on and on. I’ve never seen anything like it. They were buying, not looking. The ammo (section) was chaos. It was unreal. I saw people buying who never owned them (guns).”
Evans said he doesn’t know what will happen when Obama takes office. “I don’t think anyone knows, that’s what is so scary. No one knows and people are on a gun-buying frenzy. Everyone’s trying to take a concealed carry course.”
While he has heard the Obama administration may hand gun laws back to states, there are no actions on the table to change the gun laws. Evans believes, however, “People aren’t taking the chance. They see a Clinton administration returning.”
Bobby Colston, who owns Colston’s Tackle Box in Gaston, believes it’s all scare tactics created by the NRA to spread fear among Republicans that the Obama administration is going to create as strict gun laws as possible. “This is about assault rifles,” he said. “No one needs assault rifles.”
Colston said people point to stores that once sold guns like Wal-Mart as examples that more stringent gun laws are coming. The reason Wal-Mart stopped selling weapons, he said, is because they made mistakes on the paperwork. “All he (Obama) has said is he has no problem with recreational hunting and shooting. Shooting people is not hunting.”
Perhaps the biggest indication people are showing more interest in guns is in the number of concealed weapons permits being issued at the Halifax County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s been a splurge of people asking for them,” Sheriff Jeff Frazier said.
Usually the sheriff’s office processed between 15 to 20 permits a month. Since October, the number is around 55 to 60 a month, Frazier said. “It’s going to be up about 200 if it continues on pace,” he said.
Several things factor into this, the sheriff said. “It’s just a scare on the Constitution,” he said of when a new administration takes over. “They have that fear they are trying to get guns up, take them from them. Nothing in the federal world is changing.”
Frazier believes the economy may factor in as crime increases. “I think that all plays a role, homeowners wanting to have protection with a shotgun, handgun. With the economy it’s a little bit scary.”
There are 868 concealed weapon permits in Halifax County, according to Lt. Van Barfield, who heads the Civil Division at the sheriff’s office.
There are some 102 permit applications being processed now. It is an involved process that consists of background checks and fingerprinting and an application that takes 40 to 45 minutes for the applicant to fill out.
These permits take up seven filing cabinet drawers in Barfield’s office. “To me it’s been a lot busier this year.”
Many people are applying so they can have a gun for their safety. “A majority getting them are business owners.”
For Joel Taylor of Roanoke Rapids, however, getting a concealed permit has nothing to do with political fear or bad economic times. “I just want to have one for when I want to buy a gun,” he said while stopping by to drop off his application. “I’m not living a life where I need to carry a gun.”
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