On Black Friday 2011, gun dealers deluged the FBI with background-check requests for prospective handgun and long-gun buyers, breaking the previous record by more than 30%. Background checks, required by federal law, surged to nearly 130,000 during the day, surpassing the previous high of 97,848 on Black Friday of 2008.
The second busiest day on record was two days before this past Christmas, with 102,222 checks. Dennis Henigan, acting president of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said he was “skeptical” of the Black Friday gun surge. He said, “I think there may be no real significance at all.”
Of course, Henigan is a gun-banner, and he can’t tolerate the idea that countless numbers of people — including women, young people, and all ethnicities — are rejecting the Brady message. Writing on PJMedia.com, Howard Nemerov points out that by the end of 2009, Brady’s total net assets were negative $564,123. “Between 2006 and 2009, Brady’s total revenues dropped from $4,636,210 to $4,004,014, including investment income and royalties,” he wrote. From a variety of sources, he calculates that Brady has only about 32,000 members. The Texas State Rifle Association alone has 40,000 members.
When people vote with their money, you know they’re serious, so the Brady Center’s bleeding out and burgeoning gun sales mean something. Certainly, the Brady Campaign is losing credibility, influence, and revenues because more people are waking up to the group’s propaganda.
But what about skyrocketing gun sales? The December 2011 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,410,937 is an increase of 24.5% over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,133,371 in December 2010. For comparison, the unadjusted December 2011 NICS figure of 1,854,400 reflects a 22.6% increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,512,265 in December 2010. That marks the 19th straight month that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year.
Additional historical comparisons for NSSF-adjusted NICS 2011 annual figure of 10,791,275 show a 14.4% increase over 2010, a 33.5% increase over 2007 (5-year) and a 54.1% increase over 2002 (10-year).
According to Business Week, “In the time since [Obama] took office, gun sales have soared. This year, they’re on track to surpass 15 million for the first time. Ruger has done especially well. Since Obama’s inauguration the company’s stock price has risen more than 400%, making it a better investment than gold, which is up 113%.”
Have you added guns and ammo to your safe during the current regime? I’d love to hear how much, and why. First names only is fine.
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