NSSF: Chipman Nomination to Head ATF Helped Sell Another 1.3 Million Firearms Last Month

Oh look! Another monster gun sales month. Who could have possibly seen that coming? It’s almost as if nominating the most anti-gun individual in history to run the federal government’s firearms regulator has a measurable effect on Americans’ desire to buy the guns they want while they still can.

While the raw number of NICS background checks performed by the FBI in May was up over the year-ago total, the National Shootings Sports Association’s adjusted number for last month (the better indicator of actual gun sales) fell from the May, 2020 number.

Still, over 1.3 million firearms sales background checks were conducted last month. The NSSF’s Mark Oliva had this to say about last month’s totals . . .

May 2021 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of over 1.3 million background checks conducted for the sale of a firearm shows that firearm sales continue at a pace only exceeded by what was witnessed at the onset of the pandemic.

The May 2021 figures were the second strongest for the month on record, surpassed only by May 2020, when 1.6 million background checks for a firearm sale were conducted. Over 8.5 million background checks for the sale of a firearm have been completed this year. That figure outpaces 2020’s totals at the same point, which topped 8.1 million.

The continued record level of background checks for firearm sales demonstrates that Americans are voting with their wallets when it comes to firearm ownership and their Second Amendment rights. These figures are hardly surprising to the firearm industry which is battling against the Biden administration’s attacks on gun rights of law-abiding citizens.

Anyone looking for the root causes of why this continues can easily see the reasons. These include the nomination of David Chipman, a paid gun control lobbyist and gun control zealot, who admitted before the Senate Judiciary Committee that he wants to ban the most popular selling rifle in America, along with the administration’s proposed rule to redefine unfinished firearm parts as completed firearms and the pending proposal to reclassify pistol fitted with a brace as items strictly controlled by the National Firearms Act.

These actions show the contempt this administration holds for gun owners. The reaction is predictable. Americans are exercising their right to keep and bear arms before this administration oversteps their Constitutional authority to deny that right.

Second Amendment rights begin when law-abiding citizens are able to legally purchase a firearm at the gun counter. Americans are sending a clear signal they value and will exercise that right. The White House and Congress are blatantly disregarding the will of their constituents by chasing special interest gun control policies. Americans are telling them month after month exactly where they stand when it comes to gun rights.

Here are the FBI’s un-adjusted NICS background check totals . . .

And the NSSF’s press release . . .

The May 2021 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,324,419 is a decrease of 17.0 percent compared to the May 2020 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,595,790. For comparison, the unadjusted May 2021 FBI NICS figure 3,206,589 reflects a 4.6 percent increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 3,066,740 in May 2020.

The May 2021 figures were the second strongest for the month on record, surpassed only by May 2020, when 1.6 million background checks for a firearm sale were conducted.

Please note: Twenty-five states currently have at least one qualified alternative permit, which under the Brady Act allows the permit-holder, who has undergone a background check to obtain the permit, to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without a separate additional background check for that transfer. The number of NICS checks in these states does not include these legal transfers based on qualifying permits and NSSF does not adjust for these transfers. Recently, the states of Alabama and Michigan had law changes that affected their Brady Law standing which removed qualifying alternate permits usage for firearm transactions.

The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.

Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide an additional picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions for sales or transfers of new or used firearms. It should be noted that these statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS. They do not represent the number of firearms sold or sales dollars. Based on varying state laws, local market conditions and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale.