By: Teresa Mull

A Pennsylvania county’s firearms department has been slammed by so many firearms requests that they’re booked up for the next six months.

KDKA reports:

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Department announced on Facebook that the Firearms Division of the officer is booked through March 2021.

The department has been booking appointments to apply for firearms permits online and made the announcement on its Facebook page.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Firearms Division of the Sheriff’s Office is now booked through March 2021 and unable to offer any additional appointments,” the post said.

The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office is asking those wanting to apply for a firearm permit to periodically check their website and social media pages to know when more appointments will be accepted.

GPM has reported repeatedly on the ever-growing number of records that have been broken by firearms purchasers. The most recent numbers from 24/7 Wall St. reveal:

Annual gun sales have risen in most years since 1998, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation began firearm background checks. This year, at the current rate, sales will be close to 40 million, based on current trends. That will be up from the average of 25 million sales from 2014 to last year.

September firearm background checks will be released in a few days. So far this year, average monthly sales have been well over 3 million and have picked up sharply since the start of the pandemic. Through August, firearm background checks already reached 26 million. That is about the same level as for the entire years of 2017 and 2018. At the current monthly rate, 2020 sales will be close to 40 million.

Teresa Mull ([email protected]) is editor of Gunpowder Magazine.