The second-highest amount of gun-related background checks were done in 2017, according to an FBI report on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
The number of background checks — 25,235,215 — was almost 2.3 million fewer than the top year in 2016, and more than 2.1 million higher than in 2015, which is the third-highest year on record.
"These statistics represent the number of firearm background checks initiated through the NICS," according to the FBI report. "They do not represent the number of firearms sold. Based on varying state laws and purchase scenarios, a one-to-one correlation cannot be made between a firearm background check and a firearm sale."
All new gun sales and almost all gun sales total, made through a dealer who is federally licensed, require a background check, The Washington Free Beacon reported.
Despite the lower numbers than 2016, 2017 was a strong year, a National Shooting Sports Foundation spokesman said.
"Ahead of a presidential election in which one presidential candidate promised more gun control on the federal level, 2016 was an all-time record year and no one in the industry expected a repeat of that," Michael Bazinet, the foundation spokesman, told the Free Beacon. "Even so, 2017 was a good year on a historical basis, showing underlying strength for the shooting sports and for Americans wanting to exercise their Second Amendment rights."
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