June 2020 Adjusted NICS Checks

The National Shooting Sports Foundation adjusted NICS figures have been released. June 2020, while having the most raw NICS checks on records, actually is behind March 2020 when adjusted for permit checks and rechecks.

Nonetheless, June was an impressive month and the first half of 2020 was likewise impressive.

From NSSF:

The June 2020 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 2,177,586 is an increase of 135.7 percent compared to the June 2019 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 924,054. For comparison, the unadjusted June 2020 FBI NICS figure 3,909,502 reflects a 70.6 percent increase from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 2,291,066 in June 2019.

The second quarter 2020 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 5,451,599 reflects an increase of 92.8 percent over the 2,827,606 figure for first quarter 2019.

The NSSF-adjusted NICS figure for March 2020 was 2,375,525.

It should be pointed out the states of Alabama and Michigan have had their qualified alternatives under the Brady Law removed in 2019 and 202 respectively. This means in those states, you can no longer use a carry permit as a substitute for a NICS check. That raised the percentage of NICS checks in those states by over 400% compared to last June.

To see how June 2020 compared to the month of June in past years, look at this graphic. You can see that it just skyrockets!

As I remind everyone when I post these numbers, neither the raw nor the adjusted-NICS checks are a one to one correlation with gun sales. They do not capture private sales where legal, they don’t capture sales where an alternative is accepted, and they don’t figure in multiple firearms sold with one NICS check. The Form 4473 has room on it for up to four firearms per transaction. Thus, it is safe to assume the actual number of firearms sold in the month of June is well past 2.1 million.

Now if all those new gun owners will vote the Second Amendment, we should be in good shape. Time will tell.

A Curfew Comes To The Mountains

The City of Asheville (NC) declared a city-wide state of emergency and an 8pm to 6am curfew beginning tonight.

Requires individual to remain at home with the exception of medical emergencies and acquiring goods or services that are necessary to sustain the well-being of themselves or their families;

Does not apply to medical professionals, public safety workers, medical or healthcare workers, military personnel, public transportation personnel, public utilities personnel, and media;

Restricts travel within the city limits of Asheville;

Violators will be charged with a Class 2 misdemeanor.

This comes after two evenings of protests that went from peaceful to not-peaceful.

From the Citizen-Times:

The first night of demonstrations in Asheville May 31 caused the shutdown of interstate traffic, but were less violent and destructive than many other protests happening around the nation that have included the shooting of officers and at least one death.

On Monday night, Asheville protesters did not march but the intensity ramped up with guns brandished and fired and more property damage near the city center….

But after hours of peaceful protest, the night ended in a series of tear gas canisters and eventually gunfire. 

You can see things start to deteriorate in this video from local TV station WLOS. We were watching parts of it live last night and I thought reporter Caitlyn Penter was going to suffer whiplash the way her head was swiveling back and forth.

You can see some of the damage to downtown Asheville in the next video taken a couple of hours ago. As the reporter notes, much of the damage was sustained by home-grown businesses just starting to get back on their feet after the stay-at-home orders were eased.

All I can say is that I’m glad I live miles away from downtown Asheville and live outside the city limits. And as always, we keep our doors locked as a matter of course.

Radical Thought Of The Day

Lawrence Person at his BattleSwarm Blog had some thoughts on the current spate of rioting in cities across the United States. The one that stood out to me was this:

Here’s a radical thought: What if the backers and antifa and #BlackLivesMatter want Trump to win? The insane wing couldn’t get Bernie Sanders the nomination, and they can’t control the Democratic Party if Biden wins and leaves the Clinton hacks in charge of the gravy train for the next 4-8 years. As in the 1960s, looting and rioting boost the chances of law and order candidates, which is clearly Donald Trump this year. They need Trump to win again to completely take over the Party for the radical left.

That is a radical thought that just could be correct. I have yet to come across anyone – right, left, or center – who thought kneeling on George Floyd’s neck was anything other than unconscionable.

What if the radical elements seeking control of the Democrat Party from the Clintonistas are creating their own “Reichstag fire” moment to destroy the Clinton wing of the party. I’m sure that they would be willing to endure another four years of Donald Trump if it meant control of the party.

Weirder things have happened in history.