A monthly report from the FBI looks at the number of background checks run during the previous month for new gun purchases in the U.S. That NICS report (National Instant Criminal Background Check System) doesn't count the purchases, per se; it counts the number of times a background check was run, which is required when an individual buy a gun.
American Family News spoke with the National Shooting Sports Foundation about the NICS data. The Foundation reports that last month marked the third-highest October on record for a number of background checks conducted for gun purchases. It also marked the 51st month in a row that more than one million adjusted background checks were conducted for gun buys in America.
"We saw that 1.3 million background checks were conducted for the month of October," says NSSF's Mark Oliva. "People are taking ownership of firearms very seriously."
Oliva notes that the record number of background checks happened during the conflict in Israel.
"People were … looking at what it means to have a Second Amendment right here in America," he suggests. "And of course, all of that that follows along with it here in America, with the anti-Semitic remarks and [anti-Semitic] language that's been happening. People are taking into consideration that they need to protect themselves."
Oliva adds that NSSF is clearly seeing that people are showing a continued interest in Second Amendment rights. But are people buying weapons in response to the conflict in Israel? "Since we don't have a national firearm registry in America, I can't tell you that I didn't own a gun yesterday – but today I do," he replies.
The NSSF spokesman also mentioned reports happening on local levels around areas that are predominantly Jewish communities. More Jewish Americans, he states, are going into their local gun stores, asking questions, and learning what it is to become a gun owner in their community.
