FBI: April Was Twelfth Consecutive Month of Record Background Checks

FBI figures show that April 2016 was the twelfth consecutive month of record background checks for retail gun sales in the U.S.

The string of record-setting months began in May 2015 — when that month saw more background checks than any May on record. June 2015 set the all-time record for June, July set the all-time record for July, August the all-time record for August, and so on, all the way through April 2016.

According to the FBI, the number of background checks performed in April was 2,145,865. That beats the previous April record of 1,742,946, which was set in 2014.

Breitbart News previously reported that this streak of consecutive, record-breaking months includes December 2015, which not only broke the record for background checks in December but also broke the all-time, single-month background checks record. There were 3,314,594 background checks performed in December 2015; the previous single month record was December 2012, with 2,783,765.

The number of background checks performed does not translate into an exact number of guns sold. That’s because a background check is not performed on a specific gun, but on a specific buyer. And after passing the check, the buyer can purchase multiple guns if he chooses. This means the 2,145,865 checks performed in April 2016 could easily translate into 4,291,730 guns sold in April alone, if everyone who passed a check bought two guns.

PIX 11 reported the demand for guns in 2015 was so strong that the gun industry had to add nearly 25,000 jobs to keep up. That means nearly 25,000 new jobs were added to the U.S. economy due to Americans’ demand for firearms.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.