OVER 1 MILLION GUNS SOLD NATIONWIDE LAST MONTH, NOW 46 MONTHS RUNNING

Americans reached for their wallets in support of Second Amendment rights last month, with federal background check data for May 2023 suggesting sales passed the same benchmark almost four years running.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation released the findings of the 46-month streak after crunching last month’s figures from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The unadjusted May 2023 FBI NICS total of 2,343,850 checks – a 3.2 percent jump from May 2022. After the data was analyzed by NSSF to remove checks and rechecks done for carry permits and other reasons to leave checks for likely gun sales, the figure remains at 1,174,142.

In the end, last month’s numbers continue the unbroken trend set in July 2019, with background checks for the over-the-counter sale of a firearm exceeding 1 million each calendar month.

NSSF experts point to the seven-figure benchmark as a temperature check on the public’s enduring view on the right to keep and bear arms.

“Sales of firearms at retail continue to remain robust, and this demonstrates that Americans continue to exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms at a steady pace,” Mark Oliva, NSSF’s public affairs director, told Guns.com. “By any measure, Americans are telling their elected officials that this fundamental right is a cornerstone of freedom. By the millions, for over 46 months continuously, law-abiding citizens have taken ownership of their rights and responsibility for their safety even as some states and the Biden administration continue to work to diminish and eliminate the Constitutional right to lawfully own a firearm.”