Figures recently released by the FBI indicate that 2013 was another record year for gun sales in the United States, marking a nearly 8 percent increase in background checks over 2012.
The data is the latest in a decade-long uptick in gun sales that accelerated sharply after the election of President Barack Obama in 2008.
Background checks for gun purchased spiked after the mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., in December 2012, with eight of the top months ever for National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, inquiries occurring in 2013, according to the Washington Times.
In all, the NICS program handled over 22 million checks for both gun purchases and concealed carry permit requests. That's up from 19 million in 2012.
"Last year was a record setting year for gun and ammunition sales due to the threat of anti-gun legislation at both the state and federal level," general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation Lawrence Keane told the Times.
Unsurprisingly, the data show that Texas holds the 2013 record for NICS checks, with 1.6 million processed through the system. That's followed closely by Kentucky and California, with 1.5 million and 1.3 million checks respectively.
The District of Columbia and Hawaii had the fewest NICS checks, with the Nation's Capitol calling in 497 checks and the Aloha State clocking in at just over 17,000 checks.
