Gun Sales Set Records During Holidays

The one-day and one-month records for background checks for gun purchases were set during the recent holiday period, the FBI reported this week.

With a few days remaining in December, the FBI said background checks by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System numbered 1,534,414 — topping the previous record set a month earlier. Nearly 500,000 checks were done in the week before Christmas alone, the FBI said.

According to the FBI, the single-day record of 129,166 checks happened on Black Friday, the busy shopping day after Thanksgiving, and there were 102,222 more on Dec. 23, the second-highest day for checks. By comparison, the previous record was around 98,000 checks on Nov. 28, 2008.

Many people believed that President Barack Obama would try to restrict gun sales and ownership after he took office, and were purchasing guns before that happened.

However, a Colorado Springs gun dealer and the incoming president of the Pikes Peak Firearms Coalition said he heard few customers express that opinion while his sales increased during the holidays.

Paul Paradis of Paradise Firearms Sales cites increasing concern about crime, specifically the city’s record 2011 homicide rate and the brutal killing of elderly resident Kit Grazioli before Thanksgiving, as a major factor in surging gun sales.

“That’s made people think it could happen to them, and they need to defend themselves before police arrive,” said Paradis. “That was a recurring theme, hour by hour, throughout the store for the last month.”

Paradis said he saw more female customers and first-time buyers than he has in his 30 years at the shop. He also said several handgun models, priced between $300 and $800, were popular. But he adds that many guns were bought as presents, for hunting or because of good prices from manufacturers.

“Some customers were a little panicky,” Paradis said. “But we tried to talk with people and help them decide if a gun is really what they wanted, because they’re taking on a huge responsibility.”

Paradis said his gun training classes already have sold out for January and are nearly full for February.

The FBI gun sales figures generated public discussion about the pros and cons of gun ownership.

“I might consider it if someone wanted to take my life and affect the lives of my daughters and granddaughter,” said Christine Jackier. “I’ve been assaulted twice.”

“I don’t have a gun,” said George St. Denis. “I’m not going to go out and find one. It doesn’t really appeal to me, but I can understand why people do it.”