Residents of South Carolina have set a new state record for concealed weapons permit requests.

The number of permits issued so far this year has nearly doubled that of 2008’s permit record with 28,197 new permits issued compared to 14,630 respectively according to the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division.

"People are thinking, 'I want to get it and get it now,'" Tom Thompson, president of the Mid-Carolina Rifle Club in Gaston, in Lexington County, told The State. "In case the Democrats try to pull something on us, we're going to have it."