National Instant Background Check System Reports Record Numbers

By Ready to Fire News On Dec 12, 2018

While the government is working hard to regulate and restrict guns, the FBI has indicated the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) has reported record-setting totals for the number of background checks for the month of November 2018.

The majority of Americans have shown that they are in favor of their Second Amendment rights not only by showing up to the polls to indicate so but also by the number of background checks shown in the recent NICS report.

The astonishing report from November 2018 indicates there were 2,393,043 instant background checks, which is the second highest November on record since 2016 when there were 2,561,281 background checks performed. In fact, the numbers are shaping up to indicate that 2018 just may be the largest year for background checks in the history of the NICS since it started in 1998, as it is already the 3rd largest year on record. Based on statistics that indicate that December is the busiest month of the year, combined with the fact that over 2.5 million more NICS are expected to be performed during this last month of the year, 2018 is on track to be record-setting for background checks.

Authorities believe the increase in instant background checks and gun purchases is fueled by the extensive media coverage, the government’s push for more restrictions, and the threat of infringements on the Second Amendment. This increased fear of losing the right to own guns, as well as the timing of the holiday, plays a large part in firearm purchases in December.

It’s worth noting, however, that the expected 2.5 million+ NICS checks in December, which will bring the total NICS to over 26 million background checks for 2018., is not just for firearm sales. This total also includes a great deal of background checks completed for carry permits and existing permit rechecks. For the record, most of these reports for permit and permit rechecks came from just two states – Kentucky and Illinois – with over 650,000 NICS reports combined. The actual number of guns that were purchased in the U.S. will not be noted until the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) report is released in about a year.

This report indicates the exact number of licensed, manufactured firearms as well as the legal import and export totals of the weapons. Of course, this report from the BATFE does not consider the estimated hundreds of thousands of firearms that are legally and illegally made in the U.S. each year without a license, as well as those that are illegally imported or exported.

The National Instant Background Check System expects the number of private guns at the end of 2018 to exceed 430 million, and continue to grow as long as the trend of tighter gun restrictions and infringed Second Amendment rights continues to flourish in the U.S.

~ Ready to Fire News