In mid-March, the Pennsylvania State Police’s background check system crashed — not because of a technological error per se, but because it could not handle the influx of applications from individuals looking to purchase firearms.
That was when the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak, and people were scrambling to stock up on groceries and bunker down for the next several weeks. Tension and uncertainty were at an all-time high, it seemed, so many people in Pennsylvania and across the United States decided to buy guns to secure some sort of peace of mind.
That demand continued to grow as protests broke out in the wake of George Floyd’s death. Many of these protests became violent. Stores were looted; private buildings were burned to the ground. In big cities, criminals were emboldened as law enforcement struggled to manage the protests while following new, restrictive guidelines that officials passed in response to protesters’ demands. In New York City, for example, 24 shootings were logged in June, which is the most violent June the New York Police Department has seen in 24 years, according to the New York Post.
As a result, gun sales skyrocketed. Background checks for New York gun purchases more than doubled. Gun suppliers in New York and elsewhere have confirmed this spike and said they are having a difficult time keeping inventory on the shelves.
“I’ve been in this business going on 14 years, and I have never seen this much demand. There are shortages of nearly every single defensive firearm currently manufactured,” Justin Anderson, the marketing director for Hyatt Guns in Charlotte, North Carolina, told the Washington Examiner earlier this summer. “Large shipments are arriving in the morning and are selling out the same day. Our concealed carry classes are filling up so fast that we are adding dates to try to keep up with demand.”
In total, more than 5 million people purchased guns for the first time this year, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. That’s a significant number — one that proves people are unsure about the future but want to be ready to handle whatever comes their way.
