March and then June of this year broke records on gun sales.  March had 3.7 million NICS checks and June had 3.9 million NICS checks.

Those are good numbers, but I am hoping to see Americans break the 4 million mark later this year.  That would be a watershed.

The raw numbers don’t tell the whole story.

From NPR:

Sales Of Guns To First Time Owners Rise Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

Gun sales have hit new records as the country grapples with a pandemic and protests. But unlike previous spikes, it’s not gun enthusiasts driving sales, but rather first time gun owners. 

Americans are buying more guns than ever before. People worried about the pandemic sometimes buy guns. People worried about protests in this country sometimes buy guns. And by one estimate, people have bought 3 million more guns than normal since March. Almost half of all those sales are to first-time gun owners. NPR’s Chris Arnold reports.

Gun store owners interviewed across the country are anecdotally reporting even higher rates of first-time buyers.

Gun sales rising in 2020, especially among first time buyers

Empty cases and hooks with no displays have become Jeff Anderson’s new reality.

“I fill the shelves, and I can’t get them out here no quicker than that, and they’re gone,” Anderson said.

Since March, sales at Anderson’s shop, Gunz Inc., have been higher than ever. Anderson told WAVE 3 News a majority of the purchases are coming from first-time gun buyers.

“Sixty to seventy percent are first time [buyers],” Anderson said. “A lot of them tell us without asking that they’re scared.”

Gun shops see surge in gun and ammunition sales during COVID-19 pandemic

“It’s been quite dramatic as far as sales, there’s been a huge uptick,” said Steve Ou, sales manager at Guns Warehouse, which was packed with customers.

Ou said at their shop, they are noticing a spike in first-time buyers. “I think since we started around late March with covid I think 60% to 70% are first time buyers,” he said.

The stated half of gun sales to first-time buyers that the NSSF is claiming may be a national average or a more conservative estimate, but in some places, retailers are claiming 60-70% of sales are to first-time gun owners.

Not just that, but the demographic of first-time buyers is changing too.

Gun sales up, more first-time buyers, many women

Gun shops across the country are staying busy, including shops on the Gulf Coast.

“The way gun sales normally work is we go into the holiday season and people are buying gifts, that type of thing. We roll into tax season, that’s usually a good time, then it kind of drops off,” said Josh South, owner of South’s Outpost.

But this year is different.

He believes more people are just putting more thought into personal protection these days.

He said, “I think the pandemic started it, but I think people are just becoming more aware of their surroundings and want to be able to protect themselves and their family.”

And it sounds like he’s exactly right! People who have never owned a gun before are buying them now, particularly females.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a while but this is the tipping point and I need to protect myself,” said Innessa Solovyev, first-time gun buyer.

A surge in first-time gun-owning women.

In dark Blue cities and states across the country, mayors and governors have let violent and destructive riots happen.  Sometimes they support them tacitly, other times the government supports the riots openly.

The way the Left has turned on police has lead to a massive spike in crime.  Shootings are up 130% in NYC, 67% in Philadelphia, 87% in Buffalo, 71% in Fresno, 78% in Chicago,  and so on.  Whenever the news covers the violence, it’s rising.

Violence up, cops down, 24/7 coverage of “peaceful protesters” looting, burning, and beating people in the streets.

You are on your own and nobody is coming to save you.

It might have taken a confluence of horrible circumstances to do this, but a lot of eyes are being opened to that reality.

The Left just dumped a bunch of red pills into the water supply.