DATA
Enter
Why
We Buy
Guns
*FBI background checks are required
every time a federally licensed gun
dealer makes a sale. The FBI says the
data don’t represent the actual number
of firearms sold “based on varying
state laws and purchase scenarios.”
Nevertheless, the gun industry uses
the figures as a proxy for sales. The FBI,
mandated by the Brady handgun-control
law, launched the National Instant
Criminal Background Check System, the
source for this data, in November 1998.
Of the 151 million checks conducted
by the system, more than 700,000
attempted gun purchases were denied,
according to the FBI.
JAN
FEB
MAR
HUFFINGTON
09.09.12
Barack Obama has been almost as good for gun sales as
the December holidays, according to FBI firearm purchase
background checks. The month Obama was elected
president, November 2007, background checks jumped 41
percent from the same month a year earlier. From 2008
to 2011, the annual number of checks soared 47 percent.
And 2012 is outpacing 2011 by more than 11 percent
through the end of July. In December, holiday shopping
traditionally boosts sales, the data show.
A gun industry analyst wrote in an April note to investors
that the firearms and ammunition industry calls Obama
“salesman of the year,” inspiring enthusiasts to stock up in
anticipation of “a possible more restrictive environment.”
Other big events also appear to inspire Americans
to buy guns. Here’s a look at the number of FBI firearm
background checks on a timeline of news events.*
— Kurt Heine
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC
2M
1.5M
1M
500K
2000
2001
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
2008 2009
TAP YEAR FOR MORE INFORMATION
2010
2011
2012