Year of the Gun: Record 13,829,491 sold this year, June breaks sales high by 600,000
Driven by the 2016 presidential campaign and anti-gun efforts in the White House and Democratic circles, guns sales hit another all-time high in June — and 602,428 higher than June 2015 — according to FBI background check information just released.
There were 2,131,485 background checks done in June, many more than the 1,870,000 done in May, which was also a record-selling month.
So far in 2016, the FBI has conducted 13,829,491 checks. That is an all-time high for the first six months of a year. Last year, which saw record sales, some 10,466,243 were done in the first six months. This year also recorded the highest ever number of checks in one month, 2.6 million in February.
Hyatt Guns of Charlotte, N.C., expects guns sales to continue surging if Hillary Clinton increases her lead over Donald Trump in the presidential race.
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Gun sellers say that the background checks done through the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, are a good gauge of sales, though considered a conservative count because they don't include all sales and trades.
June was the eighth month in a row of record NICS checks.
Justin Anderson, the marketing director for North Carolina's Hyatt Guns, one of the nation's biggest sellers, said he expects gun sales to continue jumping because of political attacks on the Second Amendment and Hillary Clinton's call for gun bans.
"The recent surge in gun buying is based on two variables: fear of government intrusion on 2nd Amendment rights, and, more importantly, people interested in personal protection," he said. "This is likely the beginning of a long rise in gun sales leading up the election. Should Hillary Clinton take a significant lead, it will only boost these sales."
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
Driven by the 2016 presidential campaign and anti-gun efforts in the White House and Democratic circles, guns sales hit another all-time high in June — and 602,428 higher than June 2015 — according to FBI background check information just released.
There were 2,131,485 background checks done in June, many more than the 1,870,000 done in May, which was also a record-selling month.
So far in 2016, the FBI has conducted 13,829,491 checks. That is an all-time high for the first six months of a year. Last year, which saw record sales, some 10,466,243 were done in the first six months. This year also recorded the highest ever number of checks in one month, 2.6 million in February.
Hyatt Guns of Charlotte, N.C., expects guns sales to continue surging if Hillary Clinton increases her lead over Donald Trump in the presidential race.
Stay abreast of the latest developments from nation's capital and beyond with curated News Alerts from the Washington Examiner news desk and delivered to your inbox.
Gun sellers say that the background checks done through the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, are a good gauge of sales, though considered a conservative count because they don't include all sales and trades.
June was the eighth month in a row of record NICS checks.
Justin Anderson, the marketing director for North Carolina's Hyatt Guns, one of the nation's biggest sellers, said he expects gun sales to continue jumping because of political attacks on the Second Amendment and Hillary Clinton's call for gun bans.
"The recent surge in gun buying is based on two variables: fear of government intrusion on 2nd Amendment rights, and, more importantly, people interested in personal protection," he said. "This is likely the beginning of a long rise in gun sales leading up the election. Should Hillary Clinton take a significant lead, it will only boost these sales."
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner's "Washington Secrets" columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
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