Federal gun background checks spike as election nears

Federal gun background checks spike as election nears

“People are very fearful of what a Clinton presidency would do to their Second Amendment rights,” said GOA Executive Director Erich Pratt. “Obama had the sense to mute his support for gun control during both campaigns. But not Hillary.”


Federal gun background checks spike as election nears

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System ran about 2.3 million checks in October, up 18 percent compared to October 2015.

Gun transactions continue to break records under President Obama, who analysts said spurred fears of future restrictions on which firearms gun owners could buy. The increases in recent months also could be due to the presidential debates, in which Mr. Trump, the Republican nominee, has warned that gun rights are at stake in the election.

There was a similar surge of NICS checks in October 2008 and October 2012 — the last two presidential elections.

The federal data do not represent a one-to-one correlation in gun sales but are used as a general approximation of the market.

Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, said fear of a Clinton presidency coupled with terrorist attacks have spurred people to arm themselves and obtain permits to carry concealed weapons.

“People are very fearful of what a Clinton presidency would do to their Second Amendment rights,” Mr. Pratt said. “Obama had the sense to mute his support for gun control during both campaigns. But not Hillary.”

Indeed, Mrs. Clinton has campaigned on a platform of stricter gun controls, essentially daring groups like Mr. Pratt’s and the National Rifle Association — which has endorsed Mr. Trump — to come after her….

Democrats at the national level had largely shied away from gun control as a major campaign issue in recent cycles, after some blamed the 1994 assault weapons ban passed under former President Bill Clinton for the party’s losses in that year’s midterms and for Al Gore’s loss in the 2000 presidential election.

But Mrs. Clinton has said she wants to see such a ban reinstated.

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