New Background Check Numbers Shows that 1 Million Firearms Sold on a Monthly Basis is the New Normal
Jose Nino
|
According to NICS (National Instant Background Check System) figures released for May of 2023, there were over 1.13 guns sold. This represents the fourth-highest May for gun sales and also the third-highest May for the NICS background checks, which the FBI presides over.
In May of 2022, there were almost 1.14 million guns sold via the NICS system.
As Dean Weingarten of AmmoLand noted, “May of 2023 is the 46th consecutive month of over a million firearm (gun) sales recorded by the NICS system.” Since August 2019, firearms sales have surged past a million as Americans are turning to private gun ownership as a means to protect themselves and their loved ones.
These figures are not a shock. Americans have strong pro-gun instincts and they have lost faith in law enforcement and the broader political class’s ability to protect them. This was most apparent during the George Floyd riots of 2020, when police were told to stand down and allow violent protesters and rioters to tear American cities apart. In turn, disenchanted Americans are relying on the time-honored tradition of the right to bear arms to defend themselves against criminals.
These numbers will remain high as the US becomes more institutionally unstable in the years to come and people lose faith in the overall political system.
Share: