Fears of new gun control regulations proposed by President Barack Obama and Gov. Martin O’Malley have intensified sales at Maryland gun shops.

While the boost in sales has bolstered gun dealer’s profits, it has also led to a shortage in the supply of guns in the state, especially assault rifles, gun shop owners said.

"Everybody is panicking. Every day has been absolutely crazy for the last three weeks," Henry Calvert, president of Calvert Firearms, Inc. in North East, a town in Cecil County, said of his customers. “It’s a bear market. Everyone is purchasing everything that comes in."

Obama proposed a set of gun control regulations on Wednesday, which included a universal background check for all gun sales and a ban on military-style assault weapons. On Friday, O’Malley proposed a similar ban on assault weapons in Maryland and limits on the size of magazines.

The increase in gun sales in Maryland predates the proposals in Annapolis and Washington, according to gun shop owners and FBI background check statistics. Gun shop owners said the increase started in October, in response to discussions of new gun control regulations during the presidential debates and intensified following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in December.  

In November and December 2012, the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System processed 36,220 background checks for gun purchases in Maryland. During the same two months in 2011, the agency processed 24,376 background checks for gun purchases in Maryland. That represents a 49 percent increase from 2011 to 2012.   

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System allows Federal Firearms Licensed gun dealers to quickly learn if prospective customers are eligible to buy a firearm.  

Background check data for January is not yet available.  But gun shop owners said the strong sales have continued into January, and they expect them to increase as state and national lawmakers debate new gun control measures more intensely. 

Andrew Raymond, co-owner of Engage Armament in Rockville, saw exponential sales growth in December. In the four days following the Sandy Hook shooting on Dec. 14, his store did 10 times more business that he had anticipated.  He expected to sell $25,000 worth of merchandise and ended up selling $260,000. 

The increase in profits came in part because he raised his prices in response to strong market demand. He noticed that competitors were selling weapons he stocked for significantly more money than he was. For one particular assault rifle, he raised the price from $1,200 to $2,000. 

"Basically, we ended up raising our prices to meet the demand," Raymond said. "I don't like that personally. It doesn't feel good." 

While business is strong now, Raymond said he is concerned about the future.

“What we specialize in as a business is assault rifles,” he said. 

Assault rifles account for 60 to 70 percent of Engage Armament’s business, while handguns account for the rest. A federal or state ban on assault rifles could force him out of business, he said.

Michael Faith, the marketing director at Hendershot's Sporting Goods in Hagerstown, said that sales have been brisk for the past few months. The uptick started the day after the second presidential debate on Oct. 16, when Obama mentioned renewing the assault weapons ban.

“The sales are fear driven right now,” Faith said. Although Faith was not in the gun business when the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban passed, he deals with suppliers who have been in the industry for more than 20 years. His suppliers told him that they are seeing demand today that they have never seen before.

“From a business standpoint, sales have been good,” Faith said. “I can sell every handgun and AR-15 I can get, but the problem is supply. I think that's the difference this time.”

Faith also has concerns about any new proposed gun control legislation.

“New York passed legislation that bans anything over seven rounds. If Maryland passes legislation like New York, that affects more than 95 percent of our pistol inventory,” he said. Hendershot's Sporting Goods hired eight new employees to handle increased demand after the second debate. Legislative changes could cost these employees their jobs, Faith said.

Current Maryland Gun Laws:

Handguns:

• 21 years old to purchase
• Sales regulated
• No permit necessary to purchase, however permit is required for concealed carry
• No license to own required
• Registration required through Maryland State Police
• Safety training program through Maryland State Police required

Assault Weapons:

• Currently 30 guns, and their copies, make up the list of assault rifles.
• 21 years old to purchase
• Sales regulated
• No permit necessary to purchase
• No license to own required
• Registration required through Maryland State Police
• Safety training program through Maryland State Police required

Ammunition Magazines:

• Limited to 20-round capacity
• List of three groups of people labeled as prohibited purchasers of firearms: People who have been convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors, people with a mental illness, drug and alcohol abusers.

Proposed Changes to Maryland Law:

• Complete ban on assault rifle sales
• Reduce magazine capacity to 10-round maximum
• Digital fingerprinting required for handgun ownership; will go into police database
• Updated safety training for handgun ownership
• Not-yet-detailed expansion of definition of an assault rifle
• Require background check for all handgun sales
• Increased focus on mental health/school safety
• Adding people in guardianship, and people who have been court-ordered to a mental treatment facility and are deemed as potentially violent, to the list of prohibited purchasers of firearms
• Creation of Maryland center for school safety

Proposed Changes to Federal Law:

• Increased focus on mental health/school safety
• Close background check loopholes that permit private gun transactions to occur without background checks
• Ban “straw purchasers,” people who purchase firearms for people who would otherwise not be able to obtain them
• Increased investment in local police departments
• Reinstate and expand assault weapon ban of 1994-2004
• 10-round maximum for magazines
• Remove restrictions on the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Bureau to enable it to better enforce regulations
• Establish annual report on lost and stolen guns
• Require all guns be traced from manufacturer to dealer to purchaser
• Ban armor-piercing bullets

Allen Etzler also contributed to this article.