Black Friday shoppers broke the previous record of gun background checks with 185,000 in one day, according to USA Today. More Americans had background checks performed on them in order to purchase guns on Black Friday than any other day on record, according to the FBI data released this week.
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) processed 185,345 on Black Friday, Nov. 27, up five percent over Black Friday last year. The agency processed just under 21 million background checks in 2014, roughly 57,448 per day.
"The numbers are just out, so we have not yet had the opportunity to gather viewpoints from across our industry to provide color commentary for what continues to be year-over-year healthy firearms sales," Michael Bazinet, director of public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation said, according to the Washington Post. "We think more individuals making the decision to exercise their right to keep and bear arms along with the rising interest in target shooting provide the underlying long-term narrative."
Gun background checks have risen steadily since 2006, with 17.5 million performed through Oct. 31 of this year.
"We were certainly busy," Larry Hyatt, the owner of North Carolina's Hyatt Guns said, according to the New York Daily News. "Black Friday is big for us every year, since it coincides with the start of hunting season."
On the flip side, Federal Statistics show that NICS issued federal denials fo 1,247,848 background checks in the last 17 years, figures dating back to Nov. 30, 1998.
Of the denials, 145K were denied as the purchasers for being fugitives from justice, 15.9K were denied for being illegal or unlawful aliens, 20.2K for adjudicated mental health, 50.1K were denied for having a restraining order for domestic violence, 68 denied for denouncing U.S. citizenship, and 688K were denied for being convicted of a felony crime punishable up to one year.
Gun transactions between private parties and gun shows, usually do not require background checks. President Barack Obama called for tighter gun control laws on Saturday, in the wake of the Planned Parenthood shooting.
"This is not normal," Obama said. "We can't let it become normal. If we truly care about this - if we're going to offer up our thoughts and prayers again, for God knows how many times, with a truly clean conscience - then we have to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them. Period. Enough is enough."
All of this comes on the heels of yet another mass shooting, in San Bernadino, Calif., as reported by HNGN.
