Raleigh, N.C. — Applications for gun permits in Wake County nearly tripled in the last six weeks over the same time period last year, according to the Wake County Sheriff's Office.

From Dec. 1, 2012, to Jan. 11, 2013, 3,628 people applied for and were granted permits. In the same time period a year earlier, 1,372 applied for permits and were granted.

The sheriff's office, which administers applications for the county, could not say how the Dec. 14 mass shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., affected the number of permits.

People filling out the applications at the sheriff's office Tuesday said that, although the Connecticut shootings and other gun threats aren't the only reasons they were seeking a permit, there's no doubt the public violence has created a higher sense of urgency.

"With all these shootings in the schools and being a single mom, I felt like I had to go and apply for a concealed weapons permit," said Nancy Wade.

Others are concerned about how gun laws could change. President Barack Obama is set to announce proposed measures Wednesday to tackle gun violence.

"I think a lot of people are afraid that right is going to be taken away from them," said gun owner Amber Skrzypek.

Skrzypek says she believes the public has nothing to fear from gun owners like herself who follow the law.

"It's when it falls into the wrong hands that it becomes a bad thing," she said.