By: José Niño
2021 turned out to be another strong year for gun sales, according to a recent post by Forbesreporter Joe Walsh.
Americans purchased roughly 19.9 million firearms last year, according to Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting (SAAF), which uses FBI background check data to get a rough estimate of gun sales. In 2020, there were 22.8 million gun sales, which is a single year record.
While 2020 saw 12.5 percent higher gun sales than last year, 2021 was still a historic year for firearm sales.
For perspective, 2021 was still the firearm industry’s second most prolific year on record. Sales reached their peak in January 2021, when Americans made approximately 2.2 million firearms purchases. In March 2021, firearms sales reached nearly 2.2 million. These two months were the busiest in 2021.
In December 2021, 1.9 million guns were sold, which was 6.1 percent decrease from December 2020 according to data from SAAF.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), one of the leading industry trade groups in the firearms space, estimated that 18.5 million gun sales were made in 2021. Per NSSF’s findings, this was the second-highest annual number for gun sales, which fell behind the 21 million sales that took place in 2020. The NSSF also found that gun stores sold firearms to roughly 3.2 million first-time purchasers in the first half of 2021.
In a similar vein, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) conducted 38.9 million background checks in 2021 and a record-shattering 39.7 million background checks in 2020. It should be noted that the FBI’s data does not perfectly match with firearms purchases due to how not all background checks are connected to individual sales of new firearms.
GPM reached out to Christopher Stone, the Director of Communications for the National Association for Gun Rights for his perspective on the increase gun sales. Stone remarked:
“Owning firearms is as American as baking apple pie and gazing upon bald eagles soaring across the sky. We’re always encouraged to see more law-abiding Americans purchase guns, especially women, one of the fastest growing demographics of new gun owners.
“Our mission at the National Association for Gun Rights is to defend and restore the Second Amendment, and we hope all law-abiding Americans learn how to operate their firearms safely, and then join us in protecting our God-given right to keep and bear arms.”
The Wuhan virus outbreak, coupled with the breakdown in public order that followed the death of George Floyd in the summer of 2020, prompted many Americans to arm themselves. The overall climate of uncertainty reminded many Americans that arming themselves is the best way to say safe when policing services could not be counted on to maintain order, and politicians were letting violent criminals run loose.
Such a trend infuriates Gun Control Inc., because it demonstrates that Americans still have a strong desire for safety via the Second Amendment. No matter what happens, Americans will not easily give up their firearms and they will likely put up a vigorous fight if the civilian disarmament crowd tries to infringe on their rights.
José Niño is a freelance writer based in Austin, Texas. Contact him via Facebook, Twitter, or email him at [email protected]. Get his e-book, The 10 Myths of Gun Control, here.