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It's Friday night and in the Bay Area that means many people are unwinding from a long week of work. That could be dinner at a four star restaurant, hitting one of the dance clubs scattered between San Jose and Marin County or simply staying home. For the 30 or so people hanging out at Jackson Arms, a gun shop and indoor shooting range in South San Francisco, they're looking down the barrel of a semi-automatic with one eye on the paper target hanging in front of them.

It's well past 9 p.m. and the range is packed. "There's no doubt, we are definitely busier since Sept. 11," the range master said. Proving his point, he adds, "I haven't had a day off in the last month."

Before the terrorist hijackings of Sept. 11, Jackson Arms had 80 people a day using its range and that was considered busy. In the last four weeks managers say the daily count has jumped to 200 or more.

And they say sales are up 300 percent from this time last year. "Just the other day I had a guy in here who slapped down his credit card and bought five-thousand dollars in different guns. He got a handgun, a rifle and another handgun."

That may be considered extreme to some but the scenario is similar in other shops. Only 15 minutes down the road from Jackson Arms is Tabor's Shooters Supply in San Bruno. Located on busy El Camino Real, the gun shop has seen the same surge in business as the shooting range. The top shelf of the glass- enclosed case usually stays stocked. On this particular weekend afternoon, only one small revolver sits on the first shelf.

"Before Sept. 11 things were slowing down," Tabor's owner said.
Managers at both Jackson Arms and Tabor's agree that the one driving motivator for this recent increase in people exercising their Constitutional right tied to the Second Amendment is fear.

Fear of the unknown and the endless possibilities associated with terrorism have hundreds of people shopping for the extra security that comes with owning a gun. Tabor's owner says some customer comments remind him of the same hysteria surrounding the beginning of the year 2000, nicknamed Y2K. "When people realize there's nothing real to be afraid of our sales will probably drop off and we'll actually have some return their purchases."

The Palo Alto Police Department says it's not surprised by the proliferation of concern and paranoia brought on by the barbaric attacks of Sept. 11. What worries them is that most gun shoppers in the last month are doing it for the first time in their lives. "Buying a gun on a whim is a bad idea. That means you usually don't have sufficient training or storage", Lieutenant Brad Zook said.

Not only are people buying guns, they're also requesting concealed weapon permits to carry them. "While we usually have four or five in one year, we've had about five since Sept. 11," Zook said.

This recent rush on guns doesn't mean the situation is considered out of control. The police department is very selective in who qualifies for a concealed weapon permit. While anyone is allowed to keep a gun in their place of business, their residence or private property, the California penal code requires a permit for anyone carrying a gun with them or in their car. Getting caught with a gun and no permit is a felony.

Palo Alto Police Chief Pat Dwyer, who's responsible for granting gun permits within the city, will not issue someone a concealed weapon permit unless there's a proven bona fide threat. Zook says, "Permits are not issued for the reason, 'I'm afraid'."

Those behind the counter at the different gun shops aren't exactly rushing to put a gun in a first-timers hand. A couple who came looking to buy a gun for the woman because of her supposed terrorism fears was talked out of making an immediate purchase. While it would be easy to take a "quick sale", sales clerks are encouraging people to give serious consideration to buying a gun and they recommend training classes.

In the opinion of many law enforcement officers, the less guns out there the better. "Anytime there's one extra gun out on the streets, it's a concern," Zook said.