Gun-Sales-USAIt seems more and more Americans are becoming owners of guns of varied calibers and every time a mass shooting or a homicide is reported, the rifle shop owners say they see a spike in the number of buyers.

Incidentally, in the last two weeks, four people were shot, one fatally, in upstate NY city, Kansas City, and Texas either by going to the wrong address or opening the wrong door.

Reports suggest that firearm deaths outnumbered those caused by motor vehicle traffic deaths with 48,830 to 45,404 vehicle deaths. The present US laws necessitate both state and national instant criminal background checks before purchasing a gun and this is a rough indicator of how many people are buying a gun or being issued a permit. According to the reports, the numbers surged during the pandemic from under 30 million to 40 million.

One in five US households is said to have bought a gun between March 2020 and March 2022. One in 20 Americans purchased a gun for the first time during the period.

Single women, Afro-Americans, and the elderly are among those who procure more which indicates changing demographics among gun owners. It is also found that nearly 3% of US adults or 7.5 million people bought guns for the first time between January 2019 and April 2021. This means half of the gun owners were female, 20% black and 20% were Hispanic. On the whole, the gun owners were 63% male and 73% white.

However, there are concerns that the risk of suicide, homicide, and unintentional injury can increase due to gun ownership.