By Dave Workman Editor-in-Chief
The FBI reported more than 3.9 million background checks during June, the highest on record for that month, and according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which adjusts the raw figures, it still translates to more than 2.1 million checks that reflect a sharp rise in gun purchases.
“The sharp in increase in Americans buying firearms in June continues a trend we saw start in the spring,” said Mark Oliva, NSSF director of Public Affairs.
He said civil unrest, rioting, looting and calls to defund police “are unquestionably motivating factors of why this trend is increasing.”
“Americans are right to be concerned for their personal safety,” he stated. “It’s entirely reasonable that law-abiding citizens are exercising their Constitutional right to purchase a firearm to protect themselves. Our nation’s elected representatives should take heed of where their constituents are on gun ownership today.”
According to NSSF, the June adjusted NICS figure “is an increase of 135.7 percent compared to the June 2019 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 924,054.”
Recently, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms noted in a statement that the recent gun-buying surge that began with the COVID-19 pandemic and continued through the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody “has created millions of new gun owners who will now eagerly protect their right to protect themselves and their loved ones, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms predicts.”
“Look at all of the new people who suddenly decided to exercise their Second Amendment rights to keep and bear arms,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “We’ve witnessed something that is nothing short of a sea change, and in some cases might approach the level of epiphany, about gun ownership. We’ve heard anecdotal reports from all over the country about people flocking to gun shops who had never before owned a firearm. Now that they are gun owners, we expect them to be very protective of their rights.”
One problem that some of these new gun owners have experienced, at least in Washington State, has been continued refusal of law enforcement agencies to process new applications for concealed pistol licenses because the process involves fingerprinting. That would require personal contact between agency staff and the applicants. Since April 1, the Evergreen State Department of Licensing data shows a decline of more than 6,000 CPLs, from more than 650,000 to just over 644,000. That decline has been because new carry applications have not been accepted for almost four months, and critics are complaining that there is nothing in state statute that allows for a suspension of the process because of a viral outbreak.
Several agencies have started their licensing process back up, again, with stringent requirements for applications, clean hands and masks.
