Gun sales—as approximated by background checks—have declined each year since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. From 39,695,315 in 2020 to 38,876,673 in 2021. But despite this trend, gun purchases remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System tracks how many gun buyers are cleared to purchase a firearm. All but…
Tag: FBI NICS
Gun Background Checks Conducted On More Than 400 Million People Since 1998
The number of background checks conducted for gun purchases has reached 400 million since 1998. Background checks hit the impressive milestone last month when around 2.7 million checks were performed. The background checks were conducted through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, which is operated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation….
Illinois Passes Law To Criminalize Private Gun Sales
Illinois Governor JP Pritzker just signed new legislation that would soon criminalize the private selling of firearms if the buyer does not go through a background check using the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The Democratic governor said after signing the new legislation that the new measure was necessary to prevent those…
Pandemic-Driven Gun Sale Surge Continues Into 2021
Gun sales in the U.S., which sharply rose during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, have continued to increase this year. Around a fifth of those sales are from first-time buyers. Data from the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows that gun sales had topped more than 1 million per week since…
June 2020 Sets Highest Ever Background Check Record
The number of people in the U.S. that are now arming themselves is continually increasing amid continued fears following the continuous riots and protests. Last month’s FBI background checks, which are used to estimate the total number of guns sold in the country, hit a new record high. Official data from the Bureau indicated that…
Gun Checks In May Third-Highest On Record, June Checks Expected To Spike
The number of background checks for the month of June is expected to skyrocket as more Americans arm themselves to protect their businesses and properties amid the continued rioting and looting.
2019 Set To Hit New Gun Sales Record
Despite an apparent dip in total gun sales since US President Donald Trump’s took power, 2019 is still on the running to beat the record set in 2016. While the official numbers for the month of December have yet to be published, the number of firearm checks done so far has put last year in…
FBI NICS Firearm Checks Jumped By 10 Percent In September
The number of firearm background checks conduction in the month of September this year has significantly increased when compared to the same month last year. New data released by the Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check Systems (NICS) revealed an increase of over 10 percent year-on-year. Unadjusted numbers for the month of September…
NICS Firearm Background Checks Hits 2 Million Mark For Sixth Straight Month
This year has seen a landmark number of firearm purchases across the United States, with more than 2 million transactions per month since January. In fact, 2019 is the first year in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) history where checks have surpassed the 2 million mark for every month from January through…
Gabby Giffords and House Democrats to Reintroduce Universal Background Check Bill
Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords, and Rep. Mike Thompson return to the Capitol to reintroduce a new background check bill. Back in November 2017, the politicians along with 200 lawmakers introduced similar legislation. The bill will require background checks on all firearm purchases including private transactions. Fourteen Republicans supported the bill…