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Background Checks and Concealed Carry Up Significantly in 2016

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Americans have been buying more guns than ever for a variety of reasons – from personal security to hunting.

The FBI has reported that background checks, which generally correlate to gun sales although not number for number, went up by 36 percent in the first quarter of this year versus the same period in 2015, which could turn this into a record-breaking year.

The number of background checks have risen significantly over the terms of the last three presidencies, including the two Obama terms. President Clinton saw an increase of 750,000 background checks per month while George W. Bush had just a few more at 800,000. President Obama’s two terms saw a much bigger jump from 973,000 in his first term to 1.5 million in his second term.

This increase in background checks is interesting, and since gun purchases are the most popular reasons for background checks, it’s safe to say there has been an increase in gun sales.

The increase also applies to concealed carry permits. In Texas, the second largest state in the union, more than one million people are now licensed for concealed carry. Texas has a population of nearly 27 million people. As of April 30, 2016, 1,017,618 of those are concealed carry permit holders. Open carry has only been legal in Texas since 2015. Florida still has more licensed concealed carry permits, at more than 1.3 million out of nearly 20 million people.

A recent New York Times report confirms other recently released statistics showing that concealed carry permits are increasing for senior citizens. While the minimum age to be licensed is 21 except for 18-year-old members of the military, an increasing number of armed citizens are 55 and older. In Texas, the 55 and up age bracket comprises 22,871 permits and is the largest group of license holders. There are also 268,000 women permit holders in that number.

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