Gun Sales in America Have Stopped Spiking After Mass Shootings
Over the past two decades, a predictable cycle emerged in the wake of U.S. mass shootings: gun-control advocates would demand stricter laws, gun-rights supporters warned of an imminent crackdown and gun buyers rushed to lock in purchases before it was too late.
Under President Donald Trump and the Republican-led Congress, however, such urgency seems to have dissipated. Would-be gun buyers hardly budged after last month's Las Vegas shooting that left 58 people dead and hundreds more injured at an outdoor concert venue. There was virtually no uptick in federal background checks for gun sales as one had come to expect.
Decrease in
◀ background checks
Increase in
background checks ▶
Total injuries
+ fatalities
600
Las Vegas
500
400
There were more than 540 victims in the Las Vegas shooting, but almost no increase in federal background checks that month
300
Many of the more deadly mass shootings cause an uptick in gun sales
200
Orlando
Aurora
Virginia Tech
San Bernardino
100
Sandy Hook
Fort Hood
Tucson
Columbine
0
0
+10
+20
+30%
-30%
-20
-10
Month-over-month change in federal firearm background checks (seasonally adjusted)
Decrease in
◀ background checks
Increase in
background checks ▶
Total injuries
+ fatalities
600
Las Vegas
500
400
There were more than 540 victims in the Las Vegas shooting, but almost no increase in federal background checks that month
300
Many of the more deadly mass shootings cause an uptick in gun sales
200
Orlando
Aurora
Virginia Tech
San Bernardino
100
Sandy Hook
Fort Hood
Tucson
Columbine
0
0
+10
+20
+30%
-30%
-20
-10
Month-over-month change in federal firearm background checks (seasonally adjusted)
Decrease in
background
◀ checks
Increase in
background
checks ▶
Total injuries
+ fatalities
600
Las Vegas
500
There were more than 540 victims in the Las Vegas shooting, but almost no increase in federal background checks that month
400
Many of the more deadly mass shootings cause an uptick in gun sales
300
Orlando
200
Aurora
San Bernardino
Virginia Tech
Sandy Hook
Fort Hood
100
Tucson
Columbine
0
0
+10
+20
+30%
-30%
-20
-10
Month-over-month change in federal firearm background checks (seasonally adjusted)
Decrease in
◀ background checks
Increase in
background checks ▶
Total injuries
+ fatalities
600
Las Vegas
500
There were more than 540 victims in the Las Vegas shooting, but almost no increase in federal background checks that month
400
300
Many of the more deadly mass shootings cause an uptick in gun sales
200
Orlando
Aurora
Virginia Tech
San Bernardino
100
Sandy Hook
Fort Hood
Tucson
Columbine
0
0
+10
+20
+30%
-30%
-20
-10
Month-over-month change in federal firearm background checks (seasonally adjusted)
Decrease in
◀ background checks
Increase in
background checks ▶
Total injuries
+ fatalities
600
Las Vegas
500
There were more than 540 victims in the Las Vegas shooting, but almost no increase in federal background checks that month
400
300
Many of the more deadly mass shootings cause an uptick in gun sales
200
Orlando
Aurora
Virginia Tech
San Bernardino
100
Sandy Hook
Fort Hood
Tucson
Columbine
0
0
+10
+20
+30%
-30%
-20
-10
Month-over-month change in federal firearm background checks (seasonally adjusted)
While there’s no comprehensive tally of firearm sales in the U.S., the best available proxy is the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Licensed gun shops are supposed to submit any buyer to a background check through this system. By that measure, the number of checks in October, after the shooting, was virtually unchanged from the month before.
That's in contrast to many mass shootings that happened under former President Barack Obama, when the number of background checks typically spiked.
Oct. 2017
Las Vegas
▼
June 2016
Orlando
▼
Dec. 2012
Sandy Hook
▼
Dec. 2015
San Bernardino
▼
July 2012
Aurora
▼
2.5M
June 2015
Charleston
▼
2.0
Jan. 2011
Tucson
▼
Nov. 2009
Fort Hood
▼
April 1999
Columbine
▼
1.5
April 2007
Virginia Tech
▼
Total Federal Background Checks
(Seasonally adjusted)
1.0
0.5
Bush
Obama
Trump
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
▲
Sep. 2001
9/11
▲
Nov. 2008
Obama elected
▲
Nov. 2016
Trump elected
Oct. 2017
Las Vegas
▼
June 2016
Orlando
▼
Dec. 2012
Sandy Hook
▼
Dec. 2015
San Bernardino
▼
July 2012
Aurora
▼
2.5M
June 2015
Charleston
▼
Jan. 2011
Tucson
▼
2.0
April 1999
Columbine
▼
Nov. 2009
Fort Hood
▼
1.5
April 2007
Virginia Tech
▼
Total Federal Background Checks
(Seasonally adjusted)
1.0
0.5
Bush
Obama
Trump
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
▲
Sep. 2001
9/11
▲
Nov. 2008
Obama elected
▲
Nov. 2016
Trump elected
Oct. 2017
Las Vegas
▼
June 2016
Orlando
▼
Dec. 2012
Sandy Hook
▼
Dec. 2015
San Bernardino
▼
July 2012
Aurora
▼
2.5M
Jan. 2011
Tucson
▼
June 2015
Charleston
▼
2.0
Nov. 2009
Fort Hood
▼
April 1999
Columbine
▼
1.5
April 2007
Virginia Tech
▼
Total Federal Background Checks
(Seasonally adjusted)
1.0
0.5
Bush
Obama
Trump
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
▲
Sep. 2001
9/11
▲
Nov. 2008
Obama elected
▲
Nov. 2016
Trump elected
Oct. 2017
Las Vegas
▼
Dec. 2012
Sandy Hook
▼
June 2016
Orlando
▼
July 2012
Aurora
▼
Dec. 2015
San Bernardino
▼
Jan. 2011
Tucson
▼
2.5M
June 2015
Charleston
▼
Total Federal Background Checks
(Seasonally adjusted)
2.0
Nov. 2009
Fort Hood
▼
1.5
April 2007
Virginia Tech
▼
April 1999
Columbine
▼
1.0
0.5
Bush
Obama
Trump
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
▲
Sep. 2001
9/11
▲
Nov. 2008
Obama elected
▲
Nov. 2016
Trump elected
Oct. 2017
Las Vegas
▼
Dec. 2012
Sandy Hook
▼
June 2016
Orlando
▼
Total Federal Background Checks
(Seasonally adjusted)
July 2012
Aurora
▼
Dec. 2015
San Bernardino
▼
Jan. 2011
Tucson
▼
June 2015
Charleston
▼
2.5M
Nov. 2009
Fort Hood
▼
2.0
1.5
April 2007
Virginia Tech
▼
April 1999
Columbine
▼
1.0
0.5
Obama
Trump
Bush
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
▲
Sep. 2001
9/11
▲
Nov. 2008
Obama elected
▲
Nov. 2016
Trump elected
And even as some congressional Republicans have responded to renewed calls for gun control with the suggestion of more guns, the reaction among publicly traded weapons manufacturers has been notably muted, too.
Daily close
American Outdoor Brands
(formerly Smith & Wesson)
$20
10
0
Bush
Obama
Trump
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6
Daily close
Sturm Ruger & Co.
$60
40
20
Bush
Obama
Trump
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6
Daily close
American Outdoor Brands
(formerly Smith & Wesson)
$20
10
0
Bush
Obama
Trump
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6
Daily close
Sturm Ruger & Co.
$60
40
20
Bush
Obama
Trump
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6
Daily close
American Outdoor Brands
(formerly Smith & Wesson)
$20
10
0
Bush
Obama
Trump
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6
Daily close
Sturm Ruger & Co.
$60
40
20
Bush
Obama
Trump
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6
Daily
close
American Outdoor Brands
(formerly Smith & Wesson)
$20
10
Trump
0
Bush
Obama
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6
Daily
close
Sturm Ruger & Co.
$60
40
20
Trump
Bush
Obama
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6
American Outdoor Brands
(formerly Smith & Wesson)
Daily
close
$20
10
Trump
0
Bush
Obama
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6
Daily
close
Sturm Ruger & Co.
$60
40
20
Trump
Bush
Obama
0
2000
2005
2010
2015
2017
Nov. 6