Why Americans are buying more guns than ever

Americans have been on a record gun-buying spree in recent months.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and protests for racial justice, the gun industry’s trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, estimates that gun sales from March through July were 8.5 million. This is 94% higher the same period in 2019.

Firearms industry consultants estimate July sales alone were 2.0 million units, an increase of 136% over July 2019.

These estimates are based on the number of background checks conducted by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. The FBI reported...