In 2020, so far, gun sales have overtaken the total number of firearms sold for the entire calendar year of 2019.
According to FBI numbers, there were 28,826,449 National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) requests made from January 2020 through September 2020. Putting this into perspective, there were 28,369,750 gun sales for all of 2019.
In a piece at WGNTV, National Shooting Sports Foundation public relations director Mark Oliva was quoted:
We have already surpassed all of the guns sold last year and we are well on our way to surpassing our record of 2016.
Additionally, Oliva noted that “40 percent of people buying guns in 2020 are first-time gun owners.”
AWR Hawkins of Breitbart News provided further context to this gun sale boom:
On October 4, 2020, Breitbart News reported that September 2020 was the ninth consecutive month of record NICS background checks. That means January 2020 saw more NICS checks than any January in history, February 2020 saw more than any February in history, March 2020 than any March, and so on, all the way through September.
Hawkins added:
October 15, 2020, Breitbart News reported that Smith & Wesson stock was up over 130 percent for the year amid the run on guns, and Sturm Ruger Co.’s stock was up 42 percent.
It’s for the anti-gunners to wake up and smell the hot java: Americans will not stop buying firearms. Even in the most anti-gun blue states, countless people are buying firearms. It’s a vote of no confidence in the the ability of leftist jurisdictions to provide public safety and order. These firearms sales are no casual occurrence, despite how much the media try to downplay them.
This is one of the largest political stories in 2019. Conservatives should always be on top of trends and exploit them as much as possible. Many first-time gun owners could be Democrats or apolitical individuals that could be brought to the right wing fold through solid persuasion tactics.
The right to bear arms is a bedrock of our society and liberty conservatives should stand proudly behind it. This is one issue that could open the doors to tons of other political discussions. Let’s take advantage of this moment while it lasts.
