FBI Saw Record High Numbers in Background Checks for Guns on Black Friday

ola olugbemi | November 27, 2017
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On Saturday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation reportedly received over 200,000 background check requests for gun sales on Black Friday, setting a new record for the most requests in a single day.

The official number, 203,086, marked a near ten percent increase from the previous two years. The past two records were also set on Black Friday, according to USA Today. The actual number of guns sold is likely higher because buyers are allowed multiple purchases in a single transaction.

The record breaking event comes after Attorney General Jeff Sessions ordered a wide-ranging review of the FBI background checking database in response to the recent Texas church shooting. The shooter, Devin Kelley, would not have been able to purchase a weapon if the Air Force had reported his criminal history to the FBI.  

Fox News reported Attorney General Sessions' statement on the FBI review:

[The database] is critically important to protecting the American public from firearms-related violence. It is, however, only as reliable and robust as the information that federal, state, local and tribal government entities make available to it.

Some authorities believed that fears of tougher guns laws in the future bolstered demand for guns over the Thanksgiving holiday. USA Today reported that gun check numbers have leveled off after a surge driven by more restrictive measures by the Obama administration.   

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