By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

The number of people who applied for gun permits in December nearly doubled over the same month in 2014, Rowan County Sheriff Kevin Auten said.

He attributes the sharp increase to President Obama’s discussions about gun control and the violent climate as of late.

According to a monthly purchase permit report provided by the sheriff’s office, the department received 996 applications in December 2015, compared to 538 in that same month in 2014. The total number of purchase permits for the year also increased — from from 3,596 in 2014 to 4,812 in 2015.

Auten said he believes some of the reason for the increase in December is because of Christmas. Historically, the agency sees an increase in December during the holidays. He also believes the shooting in San Bernadino, California where 14 people were killed at a holiday party is a reason for the increase.

“And the president, anytime he talks about gun control we see this spike, but this is the biggest spike for a monthly total that we’ve ever seen,” Auten said.

He said the public has a different mindset than it did years ago.

“I think people feel the need to protect themselves. I think people aren’t comfortable with the job law enforcement can do or the military or anybody. Any attack on a person at their home, I think people are more willing to step up and say, ‘Hey, I gotta do this for myself. I can’t rely on anybody else to do it as well as I’m going to do it for myself or my family,'” Auten said.

Auten said it comes down to people just wanting to protect themselves.

Not only are more people buying guns, but they are buying more guns at once. Some are collectors, some buy them as gifts, but those are extremely high numbers in December, Auten said.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker 704-797-4253.