By Greg Bishop/Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – The number of background checks for firearm purchases in Illinois topped all other U.S. states and territories last month, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics.
National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) statistics from the FBI showed firearm background checks in August totaled 185,912 in Illinois – almost twice that of August 2015. August was the second-highest month of the year for firearm background checks in the state, trailing only January when the FBI recorded 189,400 checks.
The total number of firearm checks in Illinois through August (1.327 million) surpassed the number of checks (1.247 million) in all of 2015, according to FBI statistics.
Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, said those statistics confirm a growing trend he has seen over the past several years.
“In the last five years, we have seen the number of [firearm ID] cards go from 1 million to 2 million,” Pearson said. “The population in the state has actually dwindled in that time, but the number of card holders has doubled — more than doubled, actually.”
Pearson said it appears that residents are, more than ever before, concerned about their personal safety and are taking responsibility for that safety.
“I talk to people, and they are very concerned about their personal security … when we see the number of people who call for classes, it’s almost all handguns,” Pearson said. “As a general rule, people are interested in firearms for self-defense. That would be a handgun, particularly an AR-15-type rifle, because they are a very good self-defense tool.”
Pearson said gun background checks seem to increase during election years, but this cycle has seen a particularly substantial jump in transactions.
The candidacy of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — this year’s Democratic presidential nominee, who has taken some anti-gun positions — is no doubt raising concern among supporters of gun rights, Pearson said.
“There’s no question that almost before every election, you see a spike in gun sales…it’s much more now, much more,” Pearson said.
NICS statistics from the FBI showed that across the country, background checks increased nationally to 1.853 million from 1.745 million, year over year.
• This story has been updated to correct that August 2016 was the second-highest month for firearm background checks in Illinois.
