National News
Background checks up in states voting on gun-related ballot measures
November 08, 2016 posted by Steve Brownstein
Firearms background checks were up in four states the month before voters there will consider ballot initiatives that would set stricter standards for obtaining guns or ammunition.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) estimates that the number of FBI background checks for firearms purchases nationwide in October rose 11.7 percent over the same month in 2015.
Four states — California, Maine, Nevada and Washington — have measures on the Nov. 8 ballot that would tighten firearms laws. In each of the states, the uptick in the number of firearms background checks was estimated to be above and beyond the national average increase — from 14 percent in Maine to 72 percent in California.
“I can’t say whether it’s all due to the election and extra stuff on the ballot, but it is certainly a possibility,” said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF director of industry research.
Background checks for gun purchases and for permits to carry guns are conducted through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System via federal firearms licensees. While the checks serve as an indicator of gun sales trends in the U.S., each check does not always equate to a sale.
The NSSF culls the data to weed out background checks for concealed carry permits in order to provide estimates more closely aligned with the actual number of guns being purchased, though the data do not capture private sales in states where background checks are not required.
The number of background checks conducted across the country has increased at a record pace in recent years, with the 23.1 million checks reported by the FBI in 2015 eclipsing the previous record of nearly 21.1 million checks set in 2013.
Gun rights advocates have often pointed to mass shootings and politicians’ talk of gun control as driving factors in firearms sales increases.
