For the third month this year, the FBI reported record-shattering gun sales background checks, the latest indication that the 2020 election and concerns about the coronavirus crisis and race protests are pushing gun purchases to an historic high.
On the heels of the 3,931,607 background checks in June, the most ever in the 14-year history of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the FBI today said that July checks totaled 3,639,224, the third highest monthly total ever. March saw the second highest ever, at 3,740,688.
Overall, the FBI has conducted 22,819,271 background checks this year, nearly 44% over last year when checks through July totaled 15,890,359.
Month over month, July’s numbers represent a 79% increase over July 2019.
While the number does not exactly correlate with gun sales, it is used to estimate the number of weapons that trade hands. It also includes checks for those applying for concealed carry permits.
The number of NICS checks helps to explain the lack of guns and ammo at stores and the record backlog of orders at gun makers and ammunition suppliers.
At the huge online firearms site Brownells, for example, weapons sales are up 90%, led by handguns. Ammo sales are up 30%, and web traffic to Brownells.com has been up 60-70%.
A visit by Secrets last week to three gun stores in Virginia found two with just a handful of weapons for sale and a third where ammunition was swept off the shelves the minute it was stocked.
“We can’t put it out fast enough,” said a store manager.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/gun-sales-exploding-july-fbi-checks-jump-79
No comments:
Post a Comment