NICS stats vs. real life

[Tom Servo]

I was going over the NICS statistics for background checks today, and the numbers are interesting.

Between November 2008 and April 2009, there were 8,097,103 checks run. From November 2008 to the present, 19,449,325 checks have been performed, an increase of 53% over 1998, which is the first full year for which we have statistics.

Now comes the fun part. Private sales are not factored in, nor are sales in which the buyer was exempted by a state gun license. Since multiple gun sales are called in on the same check, that also skews the data a bit.

Anyone care to venture what the actual numbers might be?

 

[Caboclo]

Are all of those background checks related to gun purchases? There are plenty of other reasons to get one.

 

[dogtown tom]

Tom Servo:...Anyone care to venture what the actual numbers might be?

Nothing skews the NICS data. It is what it is....background checks on purchasers of firearms.

Using NICS to guesstimate how many firearms are sold by FFL's and private nonlicensee's is like trying to guess how many hamburgers are eaten everyday based on the number of ketchup packets handed out at a McDonalds. If you aren't eating at McDonalds the guess is just that.....a guess.

One doesn't equate to another.

Caboclo: Are all of those background checks related to gun purchases? There are plenty of other reasons to get one.

NICS is the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System. It is used solely for conducting background checks for prospective firearms purchasers.