Gun Control Push Backfires as Sales Hit All-Time High
The anti-gun left declared all-out war against the Second Amendment, the National Rifle Association and all who defend the right to keep and bear arms following the February mass shooting at a high school in Florida.
Several students from that school were vaulted to the forefront of the gun control movement by the national liberal media and gun control groups anxious for fresh faces to present to the public.
Those students urged the imposition of strict gun control measures — by legislation or corporate fiat — and any who questioned their confiscatory and unconstitutional ideas were berated and smeared by the anti-gun media who demanded they be silenced.
However, if those who have been wholeheartedly pushing gun control for the past several months thought their focused efforts would result in fewer firearms in circulation among Americans, they may have just realized that they actually achieved the exact opposite effect.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, gun sales are estimated to have hit an all-time high for the month of May, besting a previous record high set in May 2017. Sales for April and March this year set records for those months as well.
There were no less that 2,002,992 background checks processed through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, over the course of May, which beat the previous record of 1,942,677 set last year.
That marks the third record-breaking month in a row for gun-related background checks, a welcome turn of events for a firearms industry that experienced a slow-down in sales during some of 2017 after pro-gun rights Republican Donald Trump defeated outspoken gun grabber and Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
To be sure, the number of background checks doesn’t correspond exactly to the number of weapons purchased, the Free Beacon noted. But the number of background checks for gun sales conducted through NICS by federally licensed firearms dealers is viewed as the best metric by which to measure gun sales.
Considering that multiple firearms could be purchased on a single FBI background check, that private sales between individuals don’t require checks in most states, and that some checks could have been part of applications for concealed carry or gun ownership permits, the number of guns actually sold could be lower — but is probably a bit higher — than the number of background checks conducted.
In other words, the vociferous push by gun grabbers to belittle, demonize and shame gun owners by virtue of linking them all to psychotic mass murderers has backfired spectacularly on the anti-gun crowd. All they really did was prompt more Americans to purchase a firearm, or two, or three, as well as the accessories and ammunition to go with them.
Meanwhile, The Daily Caller reported near the end of May that the preeminent organization to stand in defense of the Second Amendment, the NRA, had experienced a flood of new memberships concurrent with the surge in gun sales.
While the NRA and its members were smeared as being on par with a “terrorist organization” for supposedly valuing firearms more than students’ lives — a despicable lie if there ever was one — Americans chose sides in the growing battle over our constitutionally protected gun rights.
According to Townhall, the NRA just reached the 6-million member mark near the end of May after holding steady at a membership of around 5 million for quite some time.
Again, there is no reasonable explanation for the surge in gun sales and NRA membership outside of it being an obvious response to the hateful rhetoric and vitriol spewed by the anti-gunners.
A note to the gun grabbers out there that is worth considering: American citizens don’t like being lied about or lied to, and they darn sure don’t like being held accountable for the murderous actions of criminals they’ve never met and have absolutely nothing to do with.
They also take great exception to being told they aren’t responsible enough to own firearms, or to be lectured by ignorant people who think they know it all about which kinds of guns American citizens are and aren’t allowed to possess.
But by all means, would-be gun grabbers, keep up the smear campaigns and keep talking about confiscatory gun bans, as it is working out so very well for you and your allies in the Democrat Party and liberal media.
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