BLOUNT COUNTY (WVLT) – Gun shops have noticed a jump in over the last several weeks leading up to the November 4th election. The managers at Gunny’s Indoor Shooting Range in Maryville said they’ve noticed an increase in customers and many are citing the upcoming election as the reason for their interest in a new firearm.

"We are hearing it everyday now, 'well I've got to go ahead and get my gun before Obama gets in office,’" said David Perry of Gunny’s. "A lot of people are very familiar with Obama's gun policy and past record, which makes them very nervous."

Barack Obama’s record on gun control varies. While a member of the Illinois State Senate, he cast a vote in favor of allowing retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed weapons.
At the same time, Obama cosponsored a bill limiting handgun purchases to one a month, favored allowing local handgun bans, and voted against letting citizens violate local weapons bans in cases of self-defense.

He also strongly disagreed with President George W. Bush’s decision not to renew the Federal Assault Weapons Ban four years ago. During the October 24th, 2004 US Senate candidate debate between Obama and republican nominee Alan Keyes, Obama said, “I think it is a scandal that this president did not authorize a renewal of the assault weapons ban.”

At the democratic primary debate in Philadelphia on April 16th, Obama explained that he believes in both the right to bear arms and legislative regulations on the right to bear arms.

“Just because you have an individual right does not mean that the state or local government can not constrain the exercise of that right," he said at the debate.

One week from the election, national polls favored Barack Obama over John McCain by between two points as in the Gallup Poll and 15 points as in the Pew Research Poll. Gunny’s has seen handgun sales increase over the last several weeks, but they said customers are now buying semi-automatic assault rifles at double the rate they normally do.

“I'm going to have a gun one way or another,” said Harris Cunningham, who was in the market for a gun. “I think I need a little protection to hold my own at my age."

While some customers are purchasing their guns for self-defense and others are doing so because they fear a new ban might be passed if Barack Obama is elected, a third group is buying them as an investment. According the Gunny’s the investors are hedging their bets in case new gun control laws are passed. They believe that if another assault rifle ban is signed into law, the value of the weapons they had just purchased will sky rocket.