September Gun Background Checks Highest Yet

Numbers are being released that show September 2016 gun background checks were the highest on record.

According to FBI stats, firearm-related background checks conducted this September were higher than any other September on record, which goes back to 1998. The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) through the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) announced that there were 1,992,219 firearm-related background checks submitted last month, breaking the previous record for the month of September. That’s an increase of 197,117 background checks performed, compared to September 2015.

Since May 2015, each monthly record has been broken, which has now reached a 17-month streak. Not every single gun purchase goes through a background check, and a small percentage of people requesting a background check are denied. That number is around 1 percent of people who are denied. People don’t like to talk much about why they buy their guns or how many they own, but a recently conducted survey claims to represent the most complete picture of gun ownership in America.

We know that people are buying guns because the upcoming election has people worried. I don’t personally believe that any candidate will take our guns away, so that doesn’t bother me but I talk to plenty of folks that does worry them greatly. We also know that people are increasingly worried about self-defense, as sexual assaults and crime in general have people on edge. People are worried about social and economic collapse. Some people just like to go out hunting once in a while or go to the range.

Whatever the motivation is, when they do come to “take our guns away,” they’re going to have a hard time doing it, because there’s a lot of guns out there.