With Barack Obama as commander-in-chief, and the possibility of another Clinton winning the Oval Office, record numbers of Americans responded in defense of their freedoms. The result: More FBI background checks for gun purchases were conducted in 2016 than in any other year in history.
Additionally, the monthly record-setting pace continued, as November’s 2.5 million checks bested last year’s total by nearly 320,000. For 19 straight months now, we’ve seen new records set in gun sales.
But Philip Van Cleave believes this spike is due only in part to Obama’s disdain for gun rights and threats of more gun control. “Part of that sales record is also the threat of terrorism, actual acts of terrorism on American soil, rising racial violence, riots and violence because of political hatred, and even attacks on police,” says the Virginia Defense League president. “Those issues have not yet changed because Trump has been elected.”
