Last month, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said the Obama administration would seek to reinstate a ban on assault weapons that the Bush administration let expire in 2004. Last week, Obama said he will not reinstate the ban.

Two months ago, an Illinois Democrat introduced a bill to prohibit gun ownership without a license nationwide. But experts -- and Idaho Congressman Walt Minnick -- say House Resolution 45 (the Blair Holt Firearm Licensing and Record of Sale Act) is a political statement, not a serious initiative that has any chance of passing.

Minnick, a conservative freshman Democrat, has broken with the Obama administration on budget and stimulus bills in his first two months in Congress. He said Obama will rein in Holder and other Cabinet members who have advocated stricter gun controls and the administration will soon deliver a more consistent message.

"There is no possibility of HR 45, or the policy position it advocates, of passing this Congress or becoming law during this administration," said Minnick.

The fears fail to recognize that despite some Democratic support for gun control laws, gun-supporting Western Democrats in Congress will block any moves to do away with firearms for hunting and home protection, said John Freemuth, a Boise State University political science professor.

"They are hunters, they are gun owners, they are sportsmen," Freemuth said. "They won't let that happen.

"A lot of people, with the power of the Internet, they talk to each other and they get revved up," Freemuth said. "But the Obama people need to be clear what worries them and what they are trying to do and nip in the bud the rumor-mongering."

Since Obama won election and took office, gun owners have demonstrated their lack of faith in the administration.

From Jan. 1 to April 14, Ada County accepted 1,186 applications for new permits. In 2008, the county had 2,594 applications, Ada County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Andrea Dearden said.

Firearm sales across the country have surged since the November election. Data from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System show inquiries preceding the sales of firearms were 29.2 percent higher in March than in March 2008.

In the Treasure Valley, sportsmen are encountering bare store shelves when shopping for even the most common types of ammunition. People who find the ammunition they are looking for are stocking up, Ian Livesay, general manager of Larry's Sporting Goods in Nampa, said.

"I've never seen a day where I couldn't buy ammo," said Livesay, who has been in the sporting goods business for about 22 years. "I never had to make a two-dozen page waiting list for bullets and powder and primers."

Livesay had to order from Connecticut to restock .22-caliber ammunition. The day he stocks the shelves, the ammunition goes out the door, he said. He gets about a dozen shoppers a day looking to stock up.

"(The shortage is) getting pretty darn frustrating to tell you the truth," Livesay, said.

At Cabela's, one manager said the supply is good, but customers are buying more than normal. The most popular calibers are .223, .22 and 9 mm.

"Most every day we sell out of the most popular calibers," said Derrek Bailey, a manager at Cabela's in Boise. "It's basically on the consumer. We are getting (ammunition) in faster than we've ever had. We have a good supply. We get it, it sells."

Livesay and Bailey said handguns and rifles are selling quickly, too.

Bailey wouldn't speculate on what is causing the run other than rumors.

Shooting enthusiasts have their own ideas.

"I personally have to connect it with Obama and the administration," said Boisean Larry Wetzel, who is involved with several local gun clubs and has been shooting for more than 40 years. He said he fears that the president and his officials want to do away with hunting and guns.

Sport shooters fear an even worse shortage and are hoarding ammunition, Wetzel said.

"I think they are worried about the tax increases that could happen," said John Booth, a member of the Boise Gun Club. "It's rumor-mongering more than anything else. They are worried about something happening."

The Boise Gun Club serves shotgun shooters, who also are being affected by the shortage, Booth said.

A 25-pound bag of lead pellets is going for $50 today, compared to $12 a year ago, Booth said.

Minnick blames the surge in gun and ammunition buying in part on Internet rumors.

"There are no editors to that story on the Internet," Minnick said. "It's easy for this communication to become accepted conventional wisdom, even within the Second Amendment community."

The right to own and use guns is fundamental, Minnick said.

"There is a sentiment in Idaho that gun ownership is a bulwark against tyranny," Minnick said.

People and politicians should stop worrying about guns, Minnick says, and pay attention to the economy, jobs and health care.

"We shouldn't be devoting time and energy to divisive issues," Minnick said.

Kathleen Kreller: 377-6418