More Guns Than People

No matter how much the anti-gun folks want to make gun ownership a thing of the past, those who want to protect the inalienable right to own firearms (and themselves) are sticking it to the David Hoggs and Demanding Moms of the world by buying more guns than ever.

The FBI recently released a report stating the amount of National Instant Criminal Background Checks processed in May 2018. Gun owners broke an all-time record for gun sales for the month of May by applying for 2,002,992 (two million!) background checks. That’s 60,315 more checks than May 2017!  In total, NICS checks are up nearly 700,000 from this same time last year.

According to Personal Defense World, these numbers included concealed carry permit applications and renewals, pawns, rentals, private sales and returns—a background check does not necessarily mean a final sale. However, it is still a good measure of judging how many people in America are exercising their right to bear arms.

Another report by The Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies from Geneva, Switzerland called the Small Arms Survey, details gun ownership. The study claims Americans own 46% of the world’s firearms. In their count, there are 393,300,000 firearms in the United States. Their count includes legal, illegal, black powder and “other” firearms.

Of course, the number of NICS background checks, the Small Arms Survey or any other study/report/poll can indicate the true number of firearms owned in the United States. Private sales, inheritance and the fact that it is illegal to create a federal registration of firearms rightfully protect our privacy. Further, it’s only been since 1998 that FFLs have been performing background checks on potential gun buyers. Since then, according to the FBI, 1.3 million checks have been denied.

Despite what gun-grabbers want the world to believe, gun crime in America is actually declining and has every year since 1981. (If you sit on the other side and are reading this—this statistic was released by the U.S. Department of Justice under the Obama Administration and is still true today.)

Though they’d like people to believe that more guns mean more blood in the streets, it’s just not true. Most firearm-related deaths are not due to mass shootings. 63% of gun deaths are suicides.  Suicide is tragic. It leaves friends and family members bewildered, devastated, confused and overwhelmed with guilt. And though killing yourself is technically illegal in some states, it isn’t an action I consider a crime. Without a doubt, gun owners need to do as much as we can to prevent suicide, but it’s not fair to lump those who are suffering so tremendously in with criminals who meaninglessly slaughter innocent people.

A student-run grassroots campaign called Road to Change is touring this summer to register young voters and push gun control under the guise of “gun reform.” Road to Change wants universal background checks, a federal register of gun owners, and a ban on “high-capacity” magazines and “semiautomatic assault rifles.” However, no new gun law has ever decreased the amount of gun crime in our country.

With these facts in hand, I feel safe concluding America does not have a “gun problem” or a “culture of gun violence.” What we have are loud mouths and a fact-skewing, partisan, agenda-driven media problem.

So, by all means, my fellow freedom-loving Americans, keep buying guns. Don’t let a small senseless minority ruin it for the rest of us.