Record 4.7M FBI Gun Background Checks in March

A month which saw multiple mass shootings — including high-profile murders in Georgia and Colorado — also featured a record number of FBI-conducted background checks for firearm purchases, complicating the narrative at a time Democrats are trying to push new gun control legislation.

Background checks in March were up 36% from February, as around 4.7 million were initiated, FBI data shows, according to CNN.

The number of checks do not equal the number of guns purchased, but they do tend to correlate with the volume of sales. Gun sales have historically trended higher as safety fears gripped America or when citizens anticipated upcoming gun control measures.

Atlanta, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado, shootings left more than a dozen people dead and coincided with a pair of Democrat-sponsored gun-control bills passing the House. Also, COVID-19 impact payments went out to more than 125 million Americans, giving extra spending money to facilitate some of the gun purchases, CNN reported.

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