January 2019 NICS Checks Similar to the Previous two of the Trump Era

Ammoland ^ | 19 February, 2019 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

We have entered the third year of the Trump era of National Instant Background Checks (NICS). It started with a January very similar to the last two years. National Instant Background Checks (NICS) is the background check required for most sales of firearms by federally licensed firearm dealers.

There were 2,165,094 checks for January of 2019. In the first January of the Trump era, ihn 2017, There were 2,043,184 NICS checks. In the second January, (2018), there were 2,030,530. The three Januarys are remarkably similar, all within a range of only 134,564 checks.  The smallest number is in 2018. It is 93% of the largest, in 2019.

These numbers are tempered by the increasing numbers of NICS checks that are done for other purposes. The number of carry permits in the U.S.A. continues to grow. That number is approaching 18 million. Permit checks and permit rechecks done in the NICS system are about half of all NICS checks.

In half of the states, this is offset because permit holders are able to purchase guns by using their permit to meet the background check requirement, instead of another background check. 25 States do not require an additional NICS check once the background check for the permit is done.

Here are the states where a NICS background check is not needed for purchasing a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer, if you have a state carry permit:

[marktwain]

NICS checks are holding pretty steady during the Trump era.