For seven million Americans, buying their first gun was a rite of passage in 2020. Then there was the corollary between toilet paper and guns this year: If you couldn’t find one of them in the store, you wouldn’t find the other, either.
A local Kansas City media outlet reported this week that Missouri was no different, as record numbers of Missourians stocked up on guns during the pandemic.
By the end of October, the FBI reported that they had already conducted more than 576,000 background checks for gun sales. In comparison, the entire year of 2019 only saw 498,000
At the current pace — and with over a month left for 2020 — Missouri is on pace to hit more than 690,000. If the pace continues, that number would make 2020 easily break any previous record for gun sales dating back over two decades. That’s when the FBI began keeping records of NICS background checks.
Of course, gun owners know that NICS checks don’t correlate perfectly with sales. The main reason is that any gun owner who has a concealed carry permit has already gone through a background check and thus doesn’t need to go through one again to buy again — only show their concealed carry permit.
Additionally, a single NICS check is done even if the customer is purchasing multiple guns in the transaction. And last but certainly not least, it doesn’t account for private sales.
The highest numbers of the year came in March, as the Corona shut downs swept the country — and fear of social unrest, unresponsive police, and food shortages were real in the minds of Americans for the first time. Missouri saw 76,262 checks in March — a 48 percent increase over March of 2019.
Concerns about the Corona Scare took a backseat in May and June as Americans watched in horror as rioters and looters took to the streets in cities across the country.
For that reason, Missouri’s gun sales have outpaced 2019 every single month by the tens of thousands.
There Was That One Incident In St. Louis….
The media in Kansas City and St. Louis were quick to report on higher gun sales in 2020, but blamed Corona, or just crazy, fearful right-wingers.
But they forgot to mention how Mark and Patricia McCloskey of St. Louis became viral sensations on June 28th when a mob of angry, chanting Black Lives Matter protestors broke down their private gate and marched through their back yard, hurling threats and insults.
Gun owners in Missouri — and nationwide — watched in shock as the local prosecuting attorney, Kim Gardner released every single violent protestor that the police rounded up and sent them back out on the streets.
Once word leaked out that George Soros had put over $70, 000 into her election campaign fund, nobody was shocked when she charged the McCloskeys each with a felony for defending their home.
We’d imagine a few Missourians went out to buy a gun after that little incident.
The Same Story Nationwide
These numbers are bearing out nationwide. Retailers and manufacturers reported unprecedented gun and ammunition sales every single month this year.
We can’t help but think that the record sales were the result of millions of Americans realizing that this summer of rioting and looting is part of the left’s “New Normal.”