The number of background checks for 2013 grew by almost 2 million compared to the figures in 2012. According to Breitbart News, the number of checks reached 21,093,273 for firearm purchasers. Researchers believe that fears of stricter federal and state gun control laws are the main cause of the increase in background checks.

As the Washington Times report stated that these checks, which is also a good indicator of the amount of firearms actually purchased, has hit a new milestone in 2013 following the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that happened at the end of 2012. Though ammunition sales do not come close to the same figures.

In Ohio alone, FBI data showed that licensed firearms dealers in the state ran a total of 680,930 names through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System or NICs for 2013. Gun store owners attribute the increase in sales due to the fear that the federal government would implement stricter laws on gun ownership and gun control due to the recent shooting incidents and the promises made by the Obama administration.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services are moving to tighten controls that would make it harder for those with mental illness to purchase weapons. HHS would enable certain institutions to overcome confidentiality provisions in order to disclose information to the federal background check system, according to the Washington Times.