Lock and load. While you still can.

That's the attitude of some gun buyers who are worried Barack Obama will restrict gun rights if elected president at a time when they fear potential economic chaos will make gun ownership a necessity.

FBI background checks for pistol ownership are up 9 percent nationally from this time last year, The Washington Post reported. Locally, guns are “flying off the shelves” at H&H Firearms Inc., 1525 Director's Row, according to owner Mark D. vanBurk.

VanBurk, who said he sells hundreds of guns per month, said Tuesday that sales were up 25 percent in September over August and up about 20 percent this month compared with September.

VanBurk said there are two primary reasons. The first is Obama's support for the federal assault weapons ban and restricting law-abiding citizens' right to carry pistols in Chicago while an Illinois state senator. The second is the economy.

“With the state of financial panic that's been going on, people feel they need to protect their personal property,” vanBurk said. “It's been unbelievable. We'll have 40, 50, 60 people in here just any time. We've had to hire extra security on Saturday just to handle the crowds.”

B&H Firearms owner Bill Harris said he hasn't seen an increase like vanBurk's over sales level from last year, but he anticipates an increase if Obama wins.

“It's pretty simple,” Harris said. “If the Democrats get in, (laws) are going to tighten up.”

Obama's Indiana spokesman, Jonathan Swain, calls that belief “unfounded” and said gun owners have nothing to worry about. “Barack Obama has been very clear on his support for the Second Amendment,” Swain said in a voice mail to The News-Sentinel.

Try telling that to H&H customer Jackson Shelton of Decatur. Shelton's vote is the kind Obama ought to be able to count on. He's a Democrat and a union man. However, Obama's and running mate Sen. Joe Biden's support for the assault weapons ban and the Brady Law, a 1994 federal law requiring federally licensed firearms dealers to do criminal background checks, have Shelton planning to vote for McCain.

Obama the presidential candidate has been more supportive of gun rights than Obama the U.S. senator from Illinois and state senator from Illinois. Both he and McCain expressed support for the historic July 26 Supreme Court District of Columbia v. Heller ruling, which allowed District of Columbia residents to own guns and was a major victory for Second Amendment backers.

“I know that what works in Chicago may not work in Cheyenne. We can work together to enact common-sense laws, like closing the gun show loophole (where background checks aren't done) and improving our background check system, so that guns do not fall into the hands of terrorists or criminals,” Obama said after the decision, according to Time Magazine. “Today's decision reinforces that if we act responsibly, we can both protect the constitutional right to bear arms and keep our communities and our children safe.”

The National Rifle Association doesn't buy it. Their Web site includes a link to AboutGunBaNObama.com which includes a 2004 Obama quote to the Chicago Tribune opposing “concealed carry” pistol permit laws.

On the other side of the gun debate is the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, which on Oct. 13 endorsed Obama and Biden.

“Our weak gun laws have too many loopholes which lead to over 30,000 deaths and 70,000 injuries from guns every year,” wrote Brady president and former Fort Wayne Mayor Paul Helmke in a news release. “Senators Obama and Biden know that we can reduce those deaths and injuries by strengthening our Brady background system check, getting military-style assault weapons off our streets and giving law enforcement more tools to stop the trafficking of illegal guns.”

The endorsement is incentive for H&H customers like Fort Wayne resident Dennis Plank, who on Tuesday was shopping for a pistol for home protection. Plank said he's concerned about the effect of an Obama presidency and Democratic majority in Congress on gun ownership. “They want to outlaw guns,” Plank said.