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 March 2020, with a record 1.2 million during the first week of April 2021. Gun sales based on the number of background checks conducted by the system is considered a reliable metric to estimate the actual number of gun sales in the country.
A study conducted by the General Social Survey also supports the numbers. The study by the University of Chicago research center showed that more than 39% of American households have guns on their premises – up from 32% in 2016.
A separate study by Northeastern University and the Harvard Injury Control Research Center showed that 6.5% of American adults – or roughly 17 million people – have purchased guns in the past year.
A fifth of those buyers who bought guns over the past 12 months – half of whom are women – are first-time gun owners. The study showed that 10% of those buyers were African American, 12% were Hispanic, and 73% were white.
“Americans are in an arms race with themselves. There was just as much a run on guns as on toilet paper in the beginning of the pandemic,” South Los Angeles city council representative Marqueece Harris-Dawson said.
The separate studies showing the continued increase in gun sales come as Texas this month became the 20th state to pass the so-called “constitutional carry” law. Under the law, permits will no longer be required to carry a concealed firearm.