According to the FBI, sales of firearms, especially handguns, broke the previous Black Friday record last week. The FBI said it completed 214,913 background checks on Friday, up over 11,000, or 5.5%, of the prior record set in 2017.
Before this, the agency received its highest number of background check requests in a single day on Black Friday, November 24, 2017. That year, the agency reported its National Instant Criminal Background Check System received 203,086 requests, according to USA Today.
This record beat the previous single-day record of 185,713 requests reported on Black Friday in 2016. These checks are a continuation of the nation’s backlash to growing violent crime and liberal calls for gun grabs.
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“The background checks reported by the FBI are in keeping with the trends NSSF has seen throughout the year,” said National Shooting Sports Foundation President Joe Bartozzi. “Firearm sales remain consistently strong, with over a million per month for more than four years running,” he added.
Although background checks closely follow gun purchases, they also do them for security checks. According to the industry group, it would determine a more accurate estimate of gun sales for Black Friday.
Since more than half of Americans now live in households with guns, some have expected sales to slow. However, concerns about crime and President Joe Biden’s demand for gun control and gun bans reportedly sparked sales.
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NSSF Spokesman Mark Oliva revealed that self-defence is a driving force, not just the preservation of Second Amendment rights. “It can’t be denied that concerns for personal safety continue to drive the concern of many gun buyers today,” Oliva said. “We saw that as the leading reason for firearm purchases during the violence and increased crime of 2020 and 2021.”
He also spoke about the elevated crime rate in the country and how some states have recorded increased crime rates. “Crime rates are still high, and there are continued talks by city officials in several metro areas to reduce police forces,” Oliva continued. “Washington, D.C. just recorded 250 murders this year, a 34% increase from last year and the highest in two decades.”
Like other states in the country, Washington experienced a surge in violent crimes such as carjackings. According to reports, teenagers committed many of the crimes. However, the city has taken little action to stop the crime wave. With fire burning on his roof, Washington’s mayor is reportedly in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar for climate talks.
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Consequently, Oliva said Americans are not waiting for government officials to protect them. “Over half the firearm sales in any given year are handguns,” he said. “Those purchases tell us exactly why people are buying those firearms.” He added that people use handguns for personal safety and recreational shooting, not for hunting, aside from rare exceptions.
However, despite the increasing cries for demand for gun control and gun bans, experts suggest the numbers will keep increasing. According to the annual background check data, firearm sales typically rise during the year’s final months, coinciding with hunting seasons and holiday sales.
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