In January 2021, the FBI conducted 4.3 million background checks, according to Fox News. That is the largest number of checks in a one-month period since the NICS checks began in 1998. Previously, 3.7 million checks in March 2020 held the record. And before that, the high was 3.3 million in December 2015 when more gun control was suggested after the shootings in San Bernardino, California.
The Need for Self-Defense
Why are Americans purchasing guns at record levels?
There seem to be two factors. First, a widespread concern that civil services — fire, police and health — could become severely eroded, leading to a breakdown in law and order. Europe has recently experienced riots over government lockdowns due to the COVID. Locked-down U.S. states could be next.
Then there are concerns that big government and cancel culture are infringing on American freedoms. This could start, though likely not end, with gun rights. Many public health measures (shelter-in-place, restricting peoples’ movements and restricting purchases) raise legitimate fears about tyranny.
Gun Owners Need to Speak Up and Sign On
And, less mentioned in mainstream media, there are the efforts to defund police agencies now on agendas in certain jurisdictions.
Considering the new administration and following the terrible mass shootings in Atlanta and Boulder, responsible gun owners must be vigilant and loud. Law-abiding carriers are not responsible for tragic acts of violence. But a good guy with a gun may very well have minimized the carnage
Now is the time for congress to be pro-active — to do something positive and pass a national concealed carry law. The Constitution speaks directly to our right to own and carry a gun. Rep. Richard Hudson’s (NC-08) bipartisan H.R. 38, the National Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, has a record 154 original cosponsors. Imagine the power America’s 140 million gun owners have to ask Congress to do the right thing.
