Report: Colorado gun sales decline for third straight year

DENVER (AP) - Research shows gun sales in Colorado have dropped for the third consecutive year and experts suspect a correlation to which political party is leading the country.

The Denver Post reported that the Colorado Bureau of Investigation conducted 335,370 background checks in 2019. That's a 1.4% decrease compared to the year before.

Department officials say the state does not track the number of firearms sold so background checks are used to calculate totals.

Experts say data suggests sales tend to increase under Democratic presidents and decrease under Republican leadership.

Experts also say legislation at both the state and federal level can also affect sales.