High gun sales: 50 consecutive months of 1 million purchases

There were more than 1 million gun sales last month, making for the 50th straight month of those kinds of numbers.

The FBI recorded more than 2 million background checks last month. The National Shooting Sports Foundation says the number translates into more than 1.1 million firearms sold.

Some are pointing to concerns about government gun control, but foundation spokesman Mark Oliva points to growing violent crime as encouraging those purchases. Firearm experts say that personal safety concerns are now driving demand, as more women and minorities are purchasing guns for this purpose.

For example, Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was carjacked at gunpoint in Washington, D.C., this week. Cuellar said, “the message is very simple, you gotta support law enforcement.”

Meanwhile, Oliva says the attack is “a reminder why Americans continue to choose to exercise their Second Amendment rights.”