New York on Pace to Record Second-Highest Level of Gun Sales Ever

New York is on pace to record its second-highest level of annual gun sales ever as 2021 draws to a close.

Field & Stream reports that “FBI pre-sale background checks indicate that New Yorkers are on pace to purchase their second greatest number of firearms since the NICS (National Instant Criminal Background System) check program went into effect.”

The Hudson Valley Times Union looked at background checks for gun sales from January 1, 2021, through the end of November and noted: “There have been 425,778 firearm background checks in New York in the first 11 months of 2021, far surpassing pre-pandemic gun-buying levels in 2019, when the FBI reported 355,374 total firearm background checks in the state.”

Mid-Hudson Sporting’s Steve Meyen spoke to the surge in gun sales, saying, “The increase in new shooters has been astronomical.”

National Shooting Sports Foundation president Joe Bartozzi noted that strong gun sales are being seen around the nation: “This year has already been shaping up to be the second strongest year for firearm sales on record, second only to 2020’s record-breaking number of 21 million background checks for a firearm sale.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.