NICS Gun Sales for December 2023 and the Rest of the Year

The variety of gun gross sales estimated utilizing the Nationwide On the spot Background Examine System, or NICS, for December of 2023 was about 1.74 million weapons. This was the fourth-highest variety of gun gross sales for December within the NICS system. The variety of background checks was about 2.73 million. This was the sixth-highest December for NICS background checks.

December confirmed a slight drop within the development for 2023 however is sustaining what has change into the brand new regular of gun gross sales, which arguably began in 2011 when annual gross sales handed the ten million mark.

2023 had the fourth-highest complete for gun gross sales of any yr recorded by the NICS system, about 15.31 million, which is nearly tied with the full gun gross sales for 2016.

The numbers within the NSSF chart above are barely totally different as a result of the NSSF and this correspondent use barely totally different strategies for estimating gun gross sales from NICS numbers. Given the inherent uncertainty of the estimates, the numbers are very shut. Each estimates present years 2016 and 2023 are very shut to one another for gun gross sales.

The full variety of privately owned firearms in the US of America is estimated at 503 million, or about 1.5 privately owned weapons for each particular person within the USA.  With a present inhabitants of individuals over the age of 18 at 265 million, there are about 1.9 firearms per grownup within the USA.

2024 is a presidential election yr. Electoral politics have change into probably the most contentious since maybe 1860. President Lincoln was elected in a four-way race. Ten southern states refused to have Lincoln on the poll.  On the time, the southern states weren’t defying the Supreme Court docket. In 2023, a number of states are brazenly defying the Supreme Court docket selections on the Second Modification. About 40 % of voters have severe issues concerning the integrity of the election course of. Chaos in main cities and weird overseas coverage selections are making giant numbers of individuals involved about their safety. The development of comparatively excessive gun gross sales is anticipated to proceed.

A few of the gun gross sales are associated to excessive charges of gun gross sales amongst minorities and ladies. A part of that’s the persevering with restoration of Second Modification rights by the Supreme Court docket.  Minorities who’ve been advised they’re handled as second-class residents are discovering they’ve Second Modification rights, simply as everybody else.  When an individual learns they’ve a proper to maintain and bear arms, and the precise is revered by the federal government, their perspective modifications.

Internationally, the chaos is leading to elevated curiosity in arming residents. Argentina’s President Milei needs to revive Argentina’s proper to self-defense. Nigerian politicians are urging the arming of villages. Muslim assaults on Christians within the Nigerian north are rising. Israel has enacted minor reforms, permitting just a few extra stellar residents to be armed.

With out sturdy management from the US, freedom of the seas is threatened. China is encroaching on its neighbors. The Ukrainian/Russia warfare continues. The Ukrainian warfare has change into a “drone warfare”, displaying the vulnerability of armed males to ubiquitous small drones.  Iran continues to threaten Israel, the US, and most of Europe.

This correspondent predicted the USA would attain the half-billion mark in non-public firearm possession in 2023. That prediction has been fulfilled.

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a army officer, was on the College of Wisconsin Pistol Workforce for 4 years, and was first licensed to show firearms security in 1973. He taught the Arizona hid carry course for fifteen years till the purpose of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has levels in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Division of Protection after a 30 yr profession in Military Analysis, Growth, Testing, and Analysis.