Background Check Record Breaking Year

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hso

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We know that 2020 was a record year for firearms sales and we're beginning to see what those record setting numbers look like.

https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-_month_year_by_state.pdf/view

Like many other states throughout the country, there was a record-setting surge in gun sales in Tennessee last year, with newly released data from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation revealing that firearm transactions increased by 53% compared to 2019.



https://www.forbes.com/sites/tommyb...le-background-checks-in-2020/?sh=62364efac426

KEY FACTS
Tennessee law requires that TBI personnel perform background checks on all prospective gun buyers and individuals attempting to redeem a firearm from a pawn shop.

According to TBI's Instant Check System, there were a whopping 740,000 background checks conducted in 2020, which is 256,000 more than in 2019.

Tennessee's TICS system has been in operation since 1998, and sales in 2020 alone accounted for more than 18% of all transactions during those 22 years.

The increase in background checks in Tennessee exceeded the 40% increase in FBI background checks for gun transactions nationwide in 2020.

Pam Beck, the assistant director of the TBI, said that the coronavirus pandemic was the primary reason for the rise in sales, but Beck also noted that national election, civil unrest and "talks of defunding the police, where people feel like they have to protect themselves" all contributed to people wanting to own a weapon.

BIG NUMBER:
58%. A report released by the National Shooting Sports Federation stated that 40% of all gun purchases (8.4 million) in 2020 were made by first-time buyers, and that the largest increase of any demographic category was the 58% spike in sales to Black Americans.

https://www.tn.gov/tbi/divisions/cjis-division/firearm-background-checks.html#:~:text=In line with Tennessee law,been in operation since 1998.




https://www.post-gazette.com/local/...andguns-fear-uncertainty/stories/202101250010

Gun-sales-demographics-500px.jpg

In 2020, Americans responded to perceived threats by breaking firearm sales records. In the new year, turmoil over the sanctity of the vote and fears that a new president might keep far-reaching gun-control campaign promises sparked a new rash of firearm sales.

Gun manufacturers’ supply lines in January are stretched thin. In Pittsburgh and across the country, retailers are struggling to meet demand, and some ammunition is hard to find.

“We saw record-breaking [numbers of] background checks in November and December, and finished 2020 with 21 million background checks,” said Mark Oliva, public affairs director for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearm industry trade association. “That’s 34% more than the previous high of 15.7 million in 2016.”

Mandated reviews of most gun customers’ police records by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and the Pennsylvania Instant Check System, are common barometers of legal firearm sales.


Even MA had significant firearms sales increases!
Capture.JPG

What do we do for all these new gun owners? The obvious, help them learn to shoot safely and responsibly and show them that gun owners are not the evil enemy. So, look for them and help them.
 

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I realize KY runs monthly background checks on their permit holders so they always have inflated numbers. However, Illinois had 7 mil + leading the nation, which is quite a jump in their historical numbers. :what:

Did they enact some legislation that ramped up their numbers?
 
how does the FBI know a first time gun owner from a long time owner?
I would guess the first time buyer doesn’t have any previous background check requests from the BAFTE. I wouldn’t think there was an actual checkbox or something, but I don’t know for sure and would like to find out as well.:)

Does anyone know this little tidbit?
 
I don’t know positively, @P5 Guy , but would imagine so...

Computers save everything, for the better or worse.
And, for better or worse, I believe very little of what the .Gov says about things is doesn’t do, just to protect our privacy...

One thing is certain. I do feel a little safer knowing there are more of “us” now, than at any other time.:thumbup:
 
Not all background checks result in an actual sale of a weapon. There are people who on Monday go into purchase a handgun, then are told there is a XX number of days wait and never return.

There is NO way for the FBI to determine who is a first time gun owner, or their sex. I know a few people who have never purchased a handgun from an FFL, just from in-state face-to-face sale and a few who purchased their first weapons at gun shows face-to-face and then ended up purchasing another gun(s) later via FFL.

In my last job I ran across a hell of a lot of people who had weapons and never got a background check and purchased their guns out of the back of an old sedan on a street corner or just stole them.

Good to see the numbers go up cause it does mean some new gun owners, and many gun owners increasing their numbers. But do not see how the actual figures are factual.
 
I guess you can extrapolate some figures based on the number of requested background checks.

Even if 10-15% of checks don’t result in an actual purchase, the numbers are still big.

Aren’t “sex and race” boxes to be checked as a form of ID on the Federal form?
 
There is NO way for the FBI to determine who is a first time gun owner, or their sex.

While its been many many years since I have had to to the NICS check (TX CHL precludes the need) I do recall sex, race, height are all part of the NICS check. Its the firearm itself that there is no real info given.. (i.e. Long Gun-Handgun-Other)
 
how does the FBI know a first time gun owner from a long time owner?
I’d imagine if a NICS was never run on them before they assume they’re a first time buyer, but that wouldn’t account for people who buy in places where NICS checks aren’t performed.
 
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I realize KY runs monthly background checks on their permit holders so they always have inflated numbers. However, Illinois had 7 mil + leading the nation, which is quite a jump in their historical numbers. :what:

Did they enact some legislation that ramped up their numbers?

This caught my eye as well. Illinois exceeds both Florida and California by a good bit.
 
While its been many many years since I have had to to the NICS check (TX CHL precludes the need) I do recall sex, race, height are all part of the NICS check. Its the firearm itself that there is no real info given.. (i.e. Long Gun-Handgun-Other)

Yep I was thinking the same. For Texas and other states where concealed permits also serve as a background check substitute, these transactions wouldn't be included in the figures. You could also make a pretty fair assumption most concealed permit holders are not first time buyers.
 
How many of these new gun purchases were by the new left organization members who have intentions other than self defense?
I hope I am being too pessimistic, but it’s something to keep in mind.
 
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How many of these new gun purchases were by radicals who have intentions other than self defense?
I hope I am being too pessimistic, but it’s something to keep in mind.
I would imagine most of the ‘radicals’ that were on TV 3 weeks ago already own guns.:cool:
 
How many of these new gun purchases were by radicals who have intentions other than self defense?
I hope I am being too pessimistic, but it’s something to keep in mind.

I prefer not to consider labels when approaching this topic. To many, people who support the 2nd Amendment are "Radicals". If you mean people that intend to do harm to others with firearms, they are likely not worried about getting firearms through legal channels.
 
Inaccurate data + inaccurate conclusions= Journalism.

NO one knows how many guns were sold in 2020. Why? First, there is no federal gun registration or central registry. Second, the figures in the graphic above is from the NSSF, the firearm industry trade group.....they love to inflate statistics ( I've been a member for twelve years). Not once have I been surveyed about who bought guns.

FBI NICS checks are not required for those states with a state firearm permit that exempts the buyer from the FBI check. At least 80% of my transfers do not have a FBI NICS check run.

As to whether the buyer is a first time buyer......who the heck knows. Certainly not the FBI as that isn't part of the NICS check.

Ya'll need to discern the difference between official (FBI data) and that put out by a marketing and sales organization (NSSF) justifying its existence for its members and industry.;)
 
Bureau of Justice Statistics, last federal survey of representative samples of federal and state prison inmates who carried or used a gun in their last offense, 9% acquired guns through ordinary retail sources; 91% acquired guns through non-retail sources, including burglars, fences, thieves, black market, drig dealers, smugglers, etc.

The NICS stats are mostly non-criminal persons buying guns legally.
 
New gun owners purchasing new guns for which they obviously would not have ammo implies purchase of ammo along with the new gun.
Which would explain the empty ammo shelves at gun sellers.
 
Given one of my professions of the past 20 years, I've made friends with a lot of people who are not gun owners or people who are not motivated by gun ownership. I can't tell you how many people came to me this year wanting advice. Just yesterday, I got a phone call about getting a permit.
Also, when the 45th president was elected in 2016, I had several female friends inquire about how to purchase a firearm. Between the political state and the pandemic, I'm not surprised that guns sales went through thr roof this year.
If only I was smart enough to buy stock in gun companies last year.......

(This is not meant to start a political conversation and please don't do it!)
 
It has been interesting when the pandemic and the “peaceful protests” began how many Colorado citizens couldn’t find guns there and came to Wyoming to buy their guns.
This was back last year when guns were still available.
It was amazing when they found out you couldn’t buy a gun here and just take it home. They found out, buying guns isn’t as easy as they had been led to believe.
Many were really pissed at having to have guns go through FFLs to get them home.
Welcome to the real world Friends.
 
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If you buy multiple guns at once, is it still a single background check? I saw a guy get a shotgun, 2 rifles and 2 handguns in one visit to the LGS.
 
If you buy multiple guns at once, is it still a single background check? I saw a guy get a shotgun, 2 rifles and 2 handguns in one visit to the LGS.

Once, when I bought two rifles simultaneously, both went on the same 4473, so I presume only one nics check was involved, though I wasn't present when the salesman ran it through their computer.
 
If you buy multiple guns at once, is it still a single background check?
Of course.
The background check is on the buyer, not the guns.


I saw a guy get a shotgun, 2 rifles and 2 handguns in one visit to the LGS.
I've transferred 100 AR lowers to a single buyer.
150 Glock 17's to a security guard company's vice president.
80 assorted rifles, pistols, revolvers and shotguns to the beneficiary of an estate.
 
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