Gun sales in the United States continued to rise in September with more than one million background checks performed, according to data compiled by federal law enforcement.
The FBI’s National Instant Background Check System (NICS) recorded 1.8 million background checks in September. Background checks are required by law prior to purchasing a firearm in the country.
The number represents the fifth-straight month in which sales of firearms rose in the United States. Over the summer, more than 8.3 million background checks were conducted.
The data does not show how many of these background checks were performed on new gun owners or existing gun owners.
Gun sales have steadily increased since 2008 when President Barack Obama took office on fears the president would move to restrict the availability of firearms.
Although there have been numerous debates on the topic of gun control — particularly after the 2011 shooting of a congresswoman in Arizona, the 2012 mass shooting at a movie theater in Colorado and at an elementary school in Connecticut, the 2013 mass shooting at a Navy yard in Virginia, the 2014 Santa Barbara college town shooting and the recent mass shooting at a college in Oregon — very few restrictions have been enacted on gun acquisition and ownership in the United States.