There was a “36 percent” increase in the number of background checks conducted in January, February, and March 2016 compared to the number conducted during the same time period in 2015.
According to CNN Money, “7,682,141” background checks were conducted in the U.S. during the first three months of this year. The number of checks conduced during the same period a year ago was “5,644,866.”
Gun industry analyst Rommel Dionisio observed that “the NICS background check data began to accelerate sharply in December, after the San Bernardino and Paris incidents.” He believes the surge will continue throughout the year because of the gun control fears associated with the looming presidential election.
News of this year’s sharp increase in background checks comes after the FBI released figures showing that March was the 11th consecutive month of record background checks in the United States. Beginning May 2015, record numbers of Americans have undergone a background check to acquire firearms and it appears the desire for firearms has yet to abate.
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.