Joe State had a record 900,043,035 people undergo background checks for gun purchases last year. Among them, women, African-Americans and elderly gun purchasers increased significantly. (Georgia Gun Club Facebook)
With many aspects of the nation in turmoil in 2020, many people are buying guns for their own protection. In the spring, the new crown virus triggered uncertainty and shortages of supplies everywhere, followed by the Black Lives Matter and white supremacist protests of the summer. The fall election was delayed and ended with protesters storming the Capitol. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) records show that a record 38.9 million people in the United States underwent background checks for gun purchases in 2020, an increase of 14.7 million from the previous year. A record 900,035 people in Joe also underwent background checks for gun purchases in the same year, compared with an average of 561,846 in the previous five years.
Under federal law, the government cannot keep information on the number of guns sold or who purchased them. The best estimate of the number of gun purchases is the number of background checks conducted by the FBI. However, background checks are required before people can buy guns from licensed dealers, but not from individuals.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), gun sales typically increase after a Democrat takes office because the party is more likely to push for gun control, which may be one reason for the increase in background checks late last year. The number of background checks was still high when Biden was sworn in in January of this year.
Gun buyers also appear to be becoming more diverse. Licensed gun sellers say they have seen more women, seniors and African-American buyers since last year, all of whom are different from the white population that traditionally buys guns.
The Griffin-based National African American Firearms Association, which now has about 35,000 members, has added about 1,000 members a month since the Epidemic began, about 40 percent more than before, said Smith (Phil Smith), founder of the association. Now, more than half of the members are women.
A survey conducted by the Pew Research Center (Pew Research Center) in 2017 showed that about 24 percent of African-Americans in the United States own guns, compared with 36 percent of whites and 15 percent of Latinos.
Mark Major, who runs the gun sales and training business 2-Swords Tactical and Self Defence, said he has recently been asked about matters by many liberals who have never bought a gun in the past.
In January and February of early 2020, Joe State had more than 50,000 gun purchase surveys per month, and that number rose to 84,601 when the New Coronavirus (a Chinese Communist virus) hit the state in March.
Then in June, when protests erupted following the death of African-American George Floyd in the neck of a white police officer, background check requests for gun purchases jumped to 106,541, and during the socio-political turmoil of the second half of last year, more than 72,000 background checks were conducted each month.
Wade Cummings, general manager of the Georgia Gun Club in Buford, said the public’s reaction is accurately reflected in the store’s sales. “The shelves were swept clean of shotguns, handguns and rifles,” Cummings said.
Cummings said sales could have been higher until last July, but the inventory was sold out and it took six months to a year for the manufacturer to restock. Demand for the store’s shooting training classes has also tripled and is currently full until March.
Williams (Mike Williams), who teaches firearms courses in Joe State, said that about 60 to 70 percent of the recent classes were women, which is a significant increase from the previous 20 to 25 percent.
Paul Forgey, who teaches firearms safety in Stockbridge, said there were twice as many participants in training last year as in 2019. Among them are a growing number of seniors, and even more elders in their 80s.
The number of applications for concealed weapons permits has also increased in Joe County. These applications are processed by the probate courts in each county, and Forsyth County (Forsyth) had 6,196 applications last year, surpassing the 2016 high of 4,720. clayton County (Clayton) jumped from 4,911 in 2019 to 6,487 in 2020. in Cobb County (Cobb), there were 10,000 5542 residents applied, compared to 11,315 in 2019.
No training is required to purchase a firearm or to obtain a Joe State Firearms License, and holders may carry concealed firearms in public places. More than 1.2 million Joe Staters have such permits. The law does not prohibit a licensee from carrying a firearm in a restaurant, bar or business, but the owner of the establishment may ask the person to leave, and violators may be charged with a criminal offense. Residents must be at least 21 years old to apply for a carry permit if they have no military training, or 18 years old if they have military training.
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