Figures from the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) suggest that Americans bought more firearms last month than in any August since the FBI began conducting background checks in 1998. In fact, every monthly total from this year has hit an all-time high, CNN reports, suggesting that 2016 will almost certainly prove to be the 11th record-breaking year in a row for firearm sales in the United States.
Firearm manufacturers Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Co. recently reported major increases in their business, with Smith & Wesson’s quarterly sales increasing by 40 percent and Ruger’s by 19 percent.
It’s no mystery why. With Hillary Clinton vowing to ban many semi-automatics and hold gun makers liable for crime—while threatening to pack the Supreme Court with justices who share her view that there is no individual right to arms for self-defense—Americans simply might be buying firearms while they still can.
