Add Indiana to the list of states on pace to smash previous records for gun purchases. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is already reporting more than 730,000 criminal checks through April, an enormous increase over the 302,672 totaled in the the first four months of last year—a year when Indiana processed the state’s current record of more than 1 million checks.
Background checks in the Hoosier State have grown each year over the past dozen, however this year’s jump is far and away the highest. Midwest Gun Exchange manager Rocco Rigsby shared reasons for the spike with The South Bend Tribune. “We’re seeing more and more first-time buyers with concerns about their own safety,” Rigsby said. “There tends to be a little bit of a surge in election years, especially if people are undecided on what way it’s going to go and people feel their ability to purchase firearms may go one way or the other.”
