Following national trends, Baton Rouge firearms stores are seeing an increase in sales — some say because of President-elect Barack Obama.Since winning the No. 4 presidential election Nov. 4, Obama’s stance on gun control has propelled many residents to purchase semi-automatic guns. “People are buying [certain types of guns] because the possibility exists that we are not going to be able to buy them in the future,” said Jim Brown, buying director for Bowie Outfitters on Perkins Road. “That’s what’s driving the market right now.”In October and November sales have increased well past sales in 2007 during those same months, Brown said. This increase stands out because the economy was in better shape a year ago, and the current sales increase is in addition to the normal increase seen around hunting season, he said. Brown said the majority of guns sold over the past few weeks have been AR-15s — semi-automatic, military-style rifles that fell under former president Bill Clinton’s assault-weapons ban of 1994. Obama supports re-instating the ban, which expired in 2004. Most people who buy firearms at Bowie Outfitters are purchasing them for recreation — like hunting or target practice — or home protection, Brown said. “Most people that love to shoot don’t like to be told what they can or can’t buy,” Brown said. Other firearms stores, like Jim’s Firearms on Siegen Lane, have seen similar increases in gun sales. Jim McClain, president and CEO of Jim’s Firearms, said his store has seen a 30 percent increase in sales of semi-automatic guns. “People are worried about the future of their Second Amendment rights,” McClain said. Jim’s will normally have between 300 and 500 AR-15s in stock. That supply has dwindled to about 15 in stock today. McClain sites Obama’s voting record on gun control as the reason for his worries. Obama voted against a 2005 law prohibiting lawsuits against gun manufacturers stemming from acts committed by others using their products, according to CNN.com. He also supported an amendment placing restrictions on ammunition that is “designed or marketed” to be armor-piercing in 2005. Obama has supported local bans on firearms, not signing a friend-of-the-court brief that urged the Supreme Court to overturn the District of Columbia gun ban. Obama voted for an amendment prohibiting confiscation of firearms from private citizens, particularly during times of crisis or emergency in 2006.”[The gun sales increase] is mostly irrational fear that Obama is going to take away [people’s] guns,” said Kirby Goidel, mass communication professor and public opinion expert. Goidel said the fears are largely because Obama is a Democrat, and the fears are irrational because people over-speculate what a president can accomplish. He said Obama may increase the enforcement of existing laws but will most likely not severely limit gun ownership.  Goidel said a controversial statement Obama made early in his campaign may also be causing some of the fear. “You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years, and nothing’s replaced them,” Obama said at a fundraiser in San Francisco. “And they fell through the Clinton administration and the Bush administration, and each successive administration said that somehow these communities are going to regenerate, and they have not. “And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.”Goidel said Obama is a smart politician and will not make gun control a big issue in his administration because “it is not a winning issue with him.” Rebuilding the economy and the healthcare system are most likely at the top of the president-elect’s to-do list, he said. “I think if [Obama] had enough power he would [severely limit gun ownership], but I don’t think he’s going to be able to do enough to change that,” said Justin Greenleaf, architecture senior. “The Second Amendment is a big deal.”Greenleaf, who learned gun safety as a child and owns guns for hunting, said he is worried about Obama’s upcoming term.—-Contact Kyle Bove at  [email protected]