National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) numbers released by the FBI at the end of July show the U.S. has enjoyed four years of one million-plus gun sales a month.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) goes through the FBI’s figures following their release each month, and Public Affairs Manager Director Mark Oliva commented on the July 2023 numbers, saying:
This is a remarkable milestone of four continuous years of over 1 million background checks for the sale of a firearm. That’s no small achievement and is indicative of the strong and sustained appetite for law-abiding Americans to take ownership of their Second Amendment rights. It also shows the resilience of the firearm and ammunition industry to meet this continued demand for high-quality firearms that today’s gun owner expects.
Oliva added:
This milestone was achieved in the midst of the continuous attacks by the Biden administration which has demonstrated nothing but contempt for the Second Amendment and has twisted the levers of government to impede the ability of law-abiding citizens to legally possess firearms of their choosing. Americans are sending a clear signal each and every month. The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is not up for negotiation.”
The FBI data shows there were 2,015,789 background checks in July 2023, and the NSSF determined 1,023,903 of those checks were for gun purchases and/or transfers.
FLASHBACK — “2021 Started Off with a Bang”: Hawkins Details Record-Breaking Number of Firearm Background Checks
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. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at
