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As concerns over self-defense became more pronounced in 2020, initially during the cornonavirus hysteria and then during the current spate of protests and riots, two million Americans became first-time gun owners.
On Wednesday the NRA tweeted:
NEWS: During the first half of 2020, more than two million Americans have become first-time gun owners!
— NRA (@NRA) June 3, 2020
Earlier this week Breitbart News reported that May 2020 shattered the record for the number of National Instant Criminal Background System (NICS) checks performed in a given May. FBI numbers show 3,091,455 NICS checks were conducted in May 2020, easily surpassing the previous record of 2,349,309 checks set in May 2019 and dominating the numbers from any other May since records began to be kept in May 1999.
Small Arms Analytics & Forecasting reported that May 2020 gun sales were up 80 percent over sales in May 2019, and they explained the vast majority of the guns sold were handguns. This suggests self-defense is of paramount concern for gun buyers.
Breitbart News reported March and April 2020 both set records for NICS background checks as well.
The number of checks conducted in March 2020 was so high it was not only a record for March but a record for any single month, period. The most checks for any month since the NICS system was adopted in 1998.
Americans are choosing guns rather than gun control.