Firearm background checks hit an all-time high in the U.S. last month, with 3.93 million inquiries run. It was the highest number of checks conducted since the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was created in 1988, and over one million more than the same period last year (June 2019).
The previous record of 3.31 million checks occurred in December 2015, and all of the four weeks of June were among the six busiest weeks NICS has ever seen.
Extensive civil unrest over the last several months have caused many Americans to rethink their personal protection and that of their families.
Last month it was reported that more than 40,000 Illinois state residents have applied for a gun permit, an increase of more than 500% over the same time period last year for that state, according to Illinois State Police.
Surprisingly (or perhaps not) many of the first time gun owners in Illinois have political views can be described as liberal, and anti-gun.
David Lombardo, a gun instructor and owner of the Safer USA, a firearm training and safety organization in the state, says he’s had several liberal students sign up for private training because “they don’t want anyone to know they’re doing the training, let alone going to buy a firearm.”