Gun enthusiastics stock up now

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Some Houstonians are stocking up. They are concerned some gun laws are going to tighten up now that President-elect Obama is on his way to the White House.

In the last few months, firearms and ammunition have been hard to keep in stock at Jim Pruett's gun store. In the eight years his store has been open, last Saturday he hit an all-time sales record. The colorful tickets reveal 31 gun sales in his modest store.

"The only other day we can compare it to is 9-11, when sales where astronomical," Pruett said.

So in a tough economy, where consumers are cutting back, what's driving gun sales? Many fear that President-elect Obama could tighten gun laws.

Pruett said, "With the kinds of weapons that we have in here, according to Obama these will be outlawed -- AK-47s, AR-15s."

"I don't think they should be restricted," said gun owner Steven Simpson. "Yeah, I'm worried."

Gun owners also worry that what's not banned will be heavily taxed.

"Tax them so much that they will be impractical to buy, or the ammunition to buy them," said gun owner John Butts.

"Obama has advocated previously a 500% tax on ammunition, so if he can't right out outlaw ammunition, he is going to tax it to a point where the people can't afford it," Pruett explained.

So we contacted Barack Obama's campaign to see if these worries are on target. They sent us a statement:

"Obama has been endorsed by the American Hunters and Shooters Association. ... Believes concealed carry law should be determined by state and local governments. He also states "we can work together to enact common-sense laws, like closing the gun show loophole and improving our background check system, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals."

Whether or not common sense laws restrict sales remains to be seen. In the meantime, Pruett's still racking up sales. Pruett also says he had another big day of sales Monday before the election.

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local, erik barajas

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