SAVANNAH, Georgia (WTOC) – Arms sales soared in Georgia and South Carolina in 2020.
The data that the FBI just released on background checks on weapons in 2020 shows that records of arms sales have been broken across the country. The Coastal Empire and Lowcountry were no exception.
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System – better known as “NICS” – is considered the most reliable way to track arms sales in the United States. And, the recently released numbers for the year 2020 show an impressive increase.
Across the country, 28 million background checks were recorded in 2019. 2020 broke that number with more than 39,695,000 background checks. An increase of more than 11 million.
In Georgia, background checks jumped at an even higher rate from 539,000 to more than 900,000. South Carolina also jumped from about 330,000 to 530,000.
“This was something we’ve never seen before in this industry, because it was a rush everywhere,” said Shane Brown, Director of Operations and Training at Thunderbolt Guns.
Brown says his sales tripled in 2020. He says that certain events triggered the increase.
“We already had the virus, we had elections, we had protests, we had many reasons why people are really concerned now about their own protection.”
When the coronavirus threatened to close the country for the first time, store owners said the guns started flying off the shelves.
Even with some forced to close the doors. Georgia recorded 84,000 background checks in March.
That’s an increase of more than 27,000 in 2019.
South Carolina also broke a state record in March, with more than 50,000 background checks recorded.
“I had lines in March, which was funny for me, because I thought, ‘what, are you going to shoot the virus?'”
March’s figures were quickly exceeded. As the country experienced civil unrest in June, background checks on weapons almost tripled in Georgia, compared to 2019, from 34,000 to more than 106,000.
Brown says the arms race has caused a huge backlog.
“I wish we could have spread this out a little more, because there are a lot of people now who can’t get the weapons they need to work better for their needs,” he said. “These factories operate 24 hours a day, they are pouring as much ammunition as possible into the public. But there are about a year of back orders now. “
Brown says there was another increase in arms sales after the recent US Capitol riot. And he says he doesn’t expect sales to decline anytime soon.
A big headline coming out of this is the increase in gun owners for the first time. According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, retailers report that 40% of gun buyers last year were first-time users.
If you want to see the FBI’s criminal record check numbers, click here.
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