By: Teresa Mull
Coronavirus mandates and societal unrest are making Americans fearful and compelling them to find a means of self-defense. Gun sale records continue to be smashed, and Fox News reports many of the people buying firearms are arming themselves for the first time:
During a record number of firearm sales in the first part of the year, more than 2 million Americans became first-time gun owners, a firearms trade association said Monday.
Firearms retailers estimated that 40 percent of their gun sales during the first four months of 2020 were to first-time buyers, according to a survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), an American national trade association for the firearms industry.
The early part of 2020 has been unlike any other year for firearm purchases—particularly by first-time buyers—as new NSSF research reveals millions of people chose to purchase their first gun during the #COVID19 pandemic. https://t.co/4zYXLJrjmU
— National Shooting Sports Foundation | NSSF (@NSSF) June 2, 2020
According to Fox Business:
Gun sales spiked more than 80 percent year over year in May as consumers responded to safety concerns and civil unrest prompted, in part, by the novel coronavirus pandemic, experts said.
Approximately 1,726,053 guns were sold in May – a record-breaking 80.2 percent increase from last year, according to data released late Monday by Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting, which examines the raw data obtained from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS.
Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].