(PresidentialWire.com)- There are still two months left in 2020, and already, the all-time mark for gun sales in one year has been set.
Through the end of October, more than 16.5 million guns have been sold in America, according to FBI data. The previous one-year record was around 14.9 million for all of 2016.
This year, there’s already been a 33% increase in total gun sales over 2019, when 4 million fewer guns were sold. In the first 10 months of 2020, an estimated 7 million people purchased a gun for the first time, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
The massive uptick in gun sales can be attributed to a number of factors. This year, the coronavirus pandemic, releases of prisoners from jail, rioting and racial tensions, an economic downturn and a contentious presidential election are all probably playing a part in the increase in sales – especially for first-time gun purchasers.
As Mark Olivia, a spokesman for the NSSF, said in a statement:
“This much is clear as we head into Election Day: Americans of all political persuasions are exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms and doing so in record numbers.”
The two very contrasting views of President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden have also provided motivation for people to purchase guns.
Some have surmised that a Biden administration could tighten gun ownership rights. Biden himself has in the past said he’d support gun bans. His running mate, Kamala Harris, endorsed gun confiscation programs in the past as well.
The potential gun-control measures that could be put in place by Democrats are likely to also motivate gun owners to get out and vote on Election Day, if they haven’t already voted early.
As Olivia pointed out:
“It cannot be discounted that today’s gun buyers are faced with polar opposites of presidential candidates when it comes to protecting Second Amendment rights. President Donald Trump vowed to safeguard this right, and former vice president Joe Biden and his running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, have both embraced outright confiscation of lawfully owned firearms as the headliner of the most far-reaching gun-control agenda to be presented to the American voter.”
Gun sales for this October was the highest mark for any October on record. That trend has continued for seven straight months, too, which Olivia believes is evidence that Americans don’t like the potential gun-control policies a Biden administration would bring.
He continued:
“America is watching and is already voting with their wallets when it comes to lawful firearm ownership. This has been a sustained period of firearm sales since March. This is clearly not a one-off event.”
Olivia says there’s no reason to believe that November and December won’t also bring extremely strong gun sales marks. These are already historically considered two of the busiest months for gun sales – and that’s in a normal year.
As we’ve seen with gun sales – and in a lot of other ways, too – 2020 has been anything but normal.
