Sheri Ellis of Quilcene recently stopped at Bear Arms looking for a fishing license for her 11-year-old son and walked out of the Hadlock gun shop ready to buy a Ruger revolver.

Donna Prater, who lives on the Toandos Peninsula and was with Ellis that particular spring day, tried and liked a Ruger as well.

Coincidentally, gun shop owner Nate Bryant had just been talking with several visitors about women buying guns in Jefferson County and offering his take on why concealed pistol license applications are up this year - by 35 percent over last year.

As of the end of April 2009, 201 people, including Ellis and Prater, had applied for concealed pistol licenses in Jefferson County.

And the numbers are growing.

In all of 2008, 443 people had applied for pistol permits or renewals.

So what's triggered the sudden interest in carrying a concealed handgun?

The double murder in Quilcene in March of two beloved members of the community?

The election of Democrat Barack Obama as president? A liberal Congress? The troubled economy?

Or all of the above?

"It's more of the current administration that makes me want to get" a concealed pistol permit, said Prater. She said she's concerned that the current people in power in Washington, D.C., will try to take away her right to own a gun.

Ellis, mother of Rhody Festival Queen Cecily, agreed and said she also feels strongly about women being able to protect themselves. She carries pepper spray and has a "very long knife" in her purse.

More and more women are coming into Bear Arms, says Bryant, who has owned the shop for seven years. When he first started, women accounted for 10 percent to 15 percent of gun sales. Today, it's up to 25 percent, he says.

"They are being more assertive. People are finally figuring out that when push comes to shove, we as individuals are, in the end, responsible for our own protection," Bryant said.

Like Prater and Ellis, Bryant also believes liberals who now control Congress will take aim at a firearms ban - when the time is right politically.

"I doubt if we'll see a hard-hitting firearms ban until after the 2010 mid-term elections. That's my prediction," Bryant said.

As a U.S. senator, Obama supported legislation to limit handgun sales to one a month, and he also voted to prohibit multiple sales of handguns within a 30-day period, according to barackobama.com/factcheck.

Obama also has talked about the number of students killed on the streets of his hometown, Chicago, and called for "sensible gun control to prevent senseless death." And he has disagreed with the National Rifle Association, for example, saying he's not against lawful use and ownership of firearms, "but I do think it is entirely appropriate for the state to monitor it."

Sheriff's take

Sheriff Tony Hernandez, a Democrat running to keep the job Sheriff Mike Brasfield groomed him for, says he's aware some people fear Obama is going to make laws on gun ownership more restrictive.

In a rural community like Jefferson County, Hernandez says owning a gun is a way of life: Guns are used for hunting, in agriculture to scare off varmints, and for self-protection.

Still, people can't take a weapon into some public places, such as schools or the County Courthouse.

"The people who follow the laws are not the ones we're concerned about. To see the CPLs [concealed pistol licenses] tells me people are doing what they are supposed to be doing and following the law. Criminals are going to do whatever they want to do. It's not fair to punish the law-abiding citizen for following the law," Hernandez said.

Hernandez has another take on the increase, though.

"I think people are looking at the tough economic times, and that may be a consideration. They may think they need to carry a firearm," he said.

Looking over the applications - new applications and renewals can't be separated out easily in the statistics the county keeps - Hernandez says he doesn't see any particular trends in gender or region.

Hernandez notes that more people are killed in traffic accidents than by legal firearms, even those that fall into the hands of criminals.

Hernandez's department recently displayed weapons that were stolen in two burglaries in Jefferson County. Three people were arrested and charged with the burglaries and thefts. Two men are also suspected of stealing guns in Kitsap County.

Hernandez acknowledges that an increase in gun ownership - and an increase in concealed pistol licenses, which is occurring nationwide - often accompanies a change in power in Congress.

Interestingly, CPLs were at a low point in Jefferson County in 2004 and 2005, when President Bush was in office - 248 permits were issued in all of 2004 and 263 licenses were issued in all of 2005 in Jefferson County.

Gun safety

John Ebner, who teaches gun safety at the Jefferson County Sportsmen's Club, couldn't agree more about the politics of gun ownership.

"Obama was probably the best thing that happened to gun sales since Clinton," Ebner said.

Talk of any legislation that could restrict Second Amendment rights leads to fear, says Ebner.

And that fear has led to hoarding of ammunition as well as the purchase of guns.

"Many students are having a hard time finding ammunition. Wal-Mart used to be one of the biggest [suppliers] and now they have nothing to speak of. They get a shipment once in a while, and when they get it in, boom, it's gone. There are people who probably have a basement full of it," Ebner said, likening the current interest in guns and the shortage of ammunition to Prohibition.

More people also are requesting and taking classes to learn how to use the guns they've recently bought.

"I'm seeing a lot of families, husband-and-wife teams, and lots more women than last year, and the range is being used for practice more," Ebner said of the Sportsmen's Club, which is sited on Gun Club Road, just south of Port Townsend on Jefferson County land. It's where Ebner teaches his gun-safety classes as well as shooting lessons.

There's another political phenomenon that also could be impacting interest in the gun club.

Ebner believes Jefferson County's no-shooting zone policy - which allows creation of no-shooting zones - is putting pressure on the gun club to provide a safe haven for people to practice, something that used to be a given when the county was more rural and less residential.

Membership in the Sportsmen's Association has increased, up from an estimated 580 a year ago to 700 or so now, he says.

It all comes back to politics and fear and concerns that government policy makers will target law-abiding citizens and their right to bear arms, he says.

Take Blair Holt's Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act of 2009, HR 45, a bill introduced in Congress to "provide for the implementation of a system of licensing for purchasers of certain firearms and for a record-of-sale system for those firearms, and for other purposes."

Like Bryant, Ebner believes that's a sign of the political times.

"They're testing the waters to see how far they can go without too much resistance," Ebner said of the proposed legislation.

In the meantime, the price of ammunition has gone up and supplies of some guns and ammo is drying up.

"I used to be able to buy a 100-round box of Winchester target ammo for $11 and something. It's slowly kept creeping up, and the price tag now is about $22. And .45 auto is about the same. It's doubled almost, if you can get it," Ebner said.

Bear arms

Back at the Bear Arms gun shop in Hadlock - the only gun shop in Jefferson County - owner Bryant shoots the breeze with people daily about guns, politics, history, even gold prospecting in Alaska. The coffee is usually on, and hot - just like the conversation.

"We've been experiencing a nationwide shortage of ammunition. Supply cannot keep up with the very high nationwide demand." He says he's out of .38 special, .357 and .44 magnum ammo.

The women who came in for fishing licenses for their sons were more interested in testing guns than worrying about future ammunition.

"What does a gun do for you?" Bryant asked the women.

"It's pure power, but you have to be willing to use it," said Ellis, who admitted she wanted a laser on any gun she buys.

Guns can be "accessorized" with lasers that point a red beam at a target - and they can even be painted pink for women like Ellis, who admits to being a "girlie girl."

"Remember," Bryant told Prater as she pointed the Ruger at the wall, "It's not about the guns you've got; it's the one that you have with you when you need it."