Gun sales spiked 8.3% year-over-year in October, with a clear link to the massacre of Jews in Israel and the Maine mass shootings as impetuses for the increase, according to firearms industry analysis.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation said its adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) made last month the third-highest October on record (2020, 2021) for sales. The raw FBI NICS figures show an 11.4 increase from October 2022. It's also a jump of 150,264 background checks from September, according to the FBI database.
"This is telling, given the stark reminders of the importance of the Second Amendment protecting the right for law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms and protect themselves and their loved ones," NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva said. "The horrific attacks on Israel followed by the escalating hate speech toward Jewish Americans, coupled with the tragic murders in Maine, are reminders that every American has the right to legally purchase a firearm to provide for their own defense."
Further, gun rights activists have seen an uptick from Jewish Americans since Hamas' slaughter of more than 1,400 in Israel, more than 800 of those civilians, beginning Oct. 7.
"We are frequently faced with responding to antisemitic attacks, but I can say that from what our organization has seen firsthand, the last week and a half has certainly been the largest spike," Rabbi Yossi Eilfort, president of the Jewish non-profit Magen Am, told The Reload last month. "The day that the attack happened, we had 638 calls to our hotline number from Sunday to Thursday of last week, which for a small organization like us is a lot to balance. On an average week, I'd say we maybe get 40 or 50. All of last year, we had around 950 calls to that hotline."
The mass shooting in Maine that left 18 dead sparked the rote response of the left for more laws and stricter gun control. However, a survey released last week show Americans would like to see existing laws enforced first.
According to Rasmussen Reports, 57% of those surveyed chose enforcement of current gun laws over the 33% who said they'd like to see new laws. Further, 49% said they don't think stricter laws would prevent shootings like the one in Maine.
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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