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"These statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS. They do not represent the number of firearms sold. Based on vary
by scottkduncan 13y ago
"These statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS. They do not represent the number of firearms sold. Based on varying state laws and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation
cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale."
I imagine the total's quite a bit lower than the stated figure since many of these background checks would be for transfers and sales of used weapons, not always just new guns entering the system. I also imagine some people go through the background check but then for one reason or another don't complete the sale. Still, the number of new guns in circulation is likely very large.
- jstalin 13y agoAlso keep in mind that one background check may represent the sale of several firearms. One additional data point - nearly 9 million guns were manufactured or imported into the US in 2010 alone: http://www.businessinsider.com/more-gun-stores-in-america-than-grocery-stores-2012-12 http://www.businessinsider.com/more-gun-stores-in-america-th...
- scottkduncan 13y agoFrom the same article, it says there were 16.5 million background checks during 2010. Perhaps the ratio between the number of new guns manufactured/imported into the U.S. is relatively stable with the number of background checks. If so, 168M background checks since 1993 would mean about 90M new guns in the United States during that period.