If gun makers and the big bad gun lobby had gotten together and designed a strategy to goose gun sales (which were already good by historically standards) they couldn’t have done much better than what Democrats have done on their own.
Between Beto’s media-enabled confiscation jihad and other candidates’ using O’Rourke for cover to jump on the gun-grabbing bandwagon, there’s no longer any ambiguity at all about what the forces of civilian disarmament want and are trying to do.
That message hasn’t been lost on Americans who value the right to keep and bear arms. As the latest National Shooting Sports Foundation monthly report reveals, September NICS volume is up 10% year over year. And given the latest FBI crime statistics showing that — yet again — crime has fallen while gun ownership is up, that’s very good news.
Here’s the announcement from the NSSF . . .
The September 2019 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,011,636 is an increase of 10.0 percent compared to the September 2018 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 919,979. For comparison, the unadjusted September 2019 FBI NICS figure 2,189,028 reflects a 15.5 percent increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 1,895,841 in September 2018.
Please note: Alabama state’s NSSF-adjusted NICS for September 2019 was 146.3 percent higher than September 2018 which accounts for an additional 19,358 checks over this time last year. Likewise, Minnesota’s NSSF-adjusted NICS for September 2019 was 53.7 percent higher than September 2018 which accounts for an additional 8.577 checks over the same time period.
The third quarter 2019 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 2,955,750 reflects an increase of 9.1 percent compared to the 2,708,048 figure for third quarter 2018.
The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.
Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide an additional picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions for sales or transfers of new or used firearms. FBI NICS and NSSF-adjusted NICS figures do not account for firearm sales or transfers using approved alternate permits such as a concealed carry license. Several states allow the use of such alternate permits that have become popular among consumers over the past several years.
It should be noted that these statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS. They do not represent the number of firearms sold or sales dollars. Based on varying state laws, local market conditions and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale.
