Amid highly publicized mass shootings, talk of the end of days and a presidential election, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation issued 39,875 concealed-carry permits last year, the highest total ever recorded in the state.

The figures, released Tuesday by the bureau, also show the number of concealed-carry permits issued in the state has skyrocketed during the presidency of Barack Obama.

From 2009-12, the bureau issued 126,868 concealed-carry permits to Oklahoma residents, more than the seven years prior combined. OSBI does not have figures available before 2002.

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