Gun sales maintained a record pace for a second straight month as people in the United States rushed to arm up amid safety concerns over the growing coronavirus pandemic and the likely nomination by Democrats of the most anti-gun ticket in history.

As in March, when the sweep of the virus shocked the nation, the FBI today said April background checks for gun sales and concealed carry permits hit a new record of 2,911,128 background checks, a surge of 576,879 over April 2019.