U.S. gun sales broke 1 million for a record 36th straight month in July as crime spikes in major cities across the country and congressional Democrats push to ban assault weapons.
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, an industry trade group, adjusted figures from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System showed 1.23 million background checks for gun purchases in July. Background checks are the most common tool firearms experts use to estimate the number of gun purchases.
That’s the third-highest total on record for July after 1.28 million checks last year and a record-high 1.