Some Kootenai County gun retailers and law enforcement are reporting a rise in gun ownership, though they say the trend started months before last week's shooting in Colorado. "It's an election year," explained Eric Johnson, trainer with Downtown Guns and Ammo. As rumors of policy change are thick in the air again with the approaching presidential election, fear of fiercer gun control is also resurfacing. "It was crazy the last time," Johnson recalled of folks harvesting firearms during Barack Obama's 2008 campaign. "Anytime a Democrat gets elected, people start to panic a bit. This year, there's even more on the re-election. The majority of people start to panic, then." Although retailers' shelves haven't been emptied like they were four years ago, gun sales at Johnson's downtown Coeur d'Alene store have risen about 30 percent this year, he estimated. No particular style or brand seems more popular than others, he added. "They're buying just about everything," he said. "Election years, they're always just a little concerned"/Alecia Warren, SR. More here. (Jerome A. Pollos Coeur d'Alene Press photo: Treven Weaver helps a customer browsing the gun selection Thursday at Black Sheep Sporting Goods in Coeur d'Alene)

Question: Has the current direction and/or economic situation in this country prompted you to purchase a gun (more guns)?