The number of background checks for gun sales has skyrocketed since the proposed assault ban legislation was introduced, according to CBI records.

During a three-month period between December 2012 and February 2013, when Congress proposed the assault weapons ban, the total gun-buyer background checks for handguns and long guns soared to almost 148,000.

By comparison, in the three-month period between December 2011 and February 2012, gun-sale background checks totaled just over 73,000. About half of these were long guns or assault rifles…

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) signed into law Wednesday a series of new gun laws, including limiting ammunition magazines to 15 rounds, universal background checks for the sale or transfer of guns, and a measure requiring those who buy guns to pay for those background checks.

Meanwhile, Sturm, Ruger & Company (RGR) and Smith & Wesson (SWHC), two publicly traded gun manufacturers, have seen share prices decline more than 20 percent over since the Friday shooting as gun control advocates have called for new firearm regulations that would restrict the sale of popular firearms like the AR-15, as well as so-called high-capacity magazines.

Today those stocks are bouncing back. Smith & Wesson was up 5 percent as of noon Wednesday when President Barack Obama started speaking about new gun control initiatives his administration will pursue. However, shortly after Obama declared that Vice President Joe Biden would lead a commission to look into remedies to the rash of school shootings, the stock began to spike.

By the end of Obama’s press conference, Smith & Wesson was up 8.34 percent for the day and Sturm, Ruger & Company was up 6.03 percent.

CBS12 News, from Augusta, Ga., spoke to Butch Roberson, owner of Carolina Outdoors, who said the rise comes from “the discussion on gun control. It’s been talked about for years and years.”

He added, “Any time you have an election like you did last night that you have people that are fearful that certain types of guns are going to be banned.”

Similar explanations are being made in other parts of the country.

Trevor Hale, a self-described “Gun Enthusiast” in Oklahoma, said he is buying guns “in case there is a ban on how much we can buy at a time, or what kind we can buy or what kind we can’t buy.”

The uptick in sales is also having an affect on stock prices. In their report today, FOX66 of Erie, Pa. said that the gun makers Sturm Ruger and Smith & Wesson have seen 6 percent and 10 percent boost in their shares, respectively.

Sale of assault rifles are going through the roof, as talk by President Barack Obama of an assault weapons ban has some guns doubling in price.

“Because a lot of them are talking, they are just putting them away. Right now, the stock market is down, they are getting better returns on these rifles if the election goes Barack Obama’s way,” said Greg Burge, Beech Grove Firearms. [...]

“So if you can buy a rifle today for, say, $900 and speculate that after the election and, if he should win it, is gonna be worth $1,800, you can do the percentages versus your 401,” said Burge.

“September was our record month for the seven years we’ve been open,” said owner William Behnke. “Sales have been very, very good the last couple of months and seem to be picking up with hunting season now.”

Behnke said many of those buying guns have done so out of concern for home security, and he said more women have taken an interest in guns over the past few years.

“We have more older couples,” Behnke said. “A lot of older couples come in and say, ‘I’ve never had a gun before, but I want one. I think I want one now.’”

The Nevada Firearms Coalition says fear is driving these sales — fear that a bad economy could bring more crime and that an Obama re-election might leave some without their gun of choice for protection.

After the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., President Obama did make a statement on gun control saying he does not want to take your guns away but is for banning assault weapons.