FBI background checks for guns jumped in March, ending speculation that President Trump’s election would chill sales that broke all records in 2016 because potential buyers feared a President Hillary Clinton would impose strict gun control and sales rules.
The FBI just reported that March saw the third highest number in the history of the National Instant Background Checks system, 2,433,092, 198,275 more than in February. Overall this year, there have been over 6 million gun sales background checks.
While the background checks aren’t an exact count of gun sales, they track very closely. The system also includes denials of sales, but doesn’t include private sales.
The industry had banked on Clinton winning and produced historic numbers of weapons in anticipation of an after-election rush that didn’t show up.
But instead of a huge fall off in sales, stores reported that sales held steady due to overstock sales, more women and African Americans buying guns and continued fears of crime and terrorism.
“Our sales were up over 25 percent in March and they are continuing to trend upward,” said Justin Anderson, the marketing director for Hyatt Guns of Charlotte, N.C., one of the nation’s biggest.
“We knew sales were holding strong, but the amount of business has truly exceeded our expectations and we are looking forward to record-breaking summer. We can only attribute this again to people who are continuing to make the decision to take responsibility for their own security. In addition, gun ownership is quickly becoming more acceptable in all walks of life. This is an amazing time to be in the gun business,” he added.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]
