About 2.3 million background checks for gun purchases were conducted last month, a shocking increase of nearly 300,000 from the number of background checks conducted in December 2013.
Compared to the rest of 2014, December posted considerably much higher numbers for background checks for gun purchases, according to the FBI's December figures. While there were 1.4 million background checks conducted in July and 1.5 million in August, the numbers were topped by 1.6 million in October and 1.8 million in November, CNN Money reported.
Since Black Friday, which falls in November, had nearly three background checks conducted every second, the numbers for the December had been expected to be extremely strong.
"It is important to note that background checks do not correlate perfectly to the number of guns sold," Breitbart reported. "Purchasers can buy numerous guns per each background check. For example, if the 2.3 million persons who underwent background checks bought two guns instead of one, then the number of guns sold by retailers in December was 4.6 million. If they bought three guns, the number of guns sold would have been 6.9 million."
The FBI made this clear in its report: "[The 2.3 million] represents the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS. They do not represent the number of firearms sold. Based on varying state laws and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale."
According to a December poll, a majority of Americans are more concerned with protecting gun rights than passing more gun control for the first time in more than 20 years.
While 52 percent of Americans polled by the Pew Research Center said it's important to protect the right to own guns, 46 percent of respondents prioritized more control of gun ownership. Since the question was asked in 1993, this is the first time that a majority has held a position of defending gun rights instead of "[controlling] gun ownership."
