Gun background checks soar to record in March following mass shootings and gun-control bills

The FBI conducted more background checks for firearms purchases in March -- a month in which several prominent mass shootings reignited America's conversation about gun control -- than they have in any month so far this year.

About 4.7 million Americans initiated gun background checks last month -- a 36% increase from February, according to the FBI. More than 2 million of those checks were for new gun purchases, according to the National Shooting Sports Federation, the firearms industry trade group that compares FBI background check numbers with actual sales data to determine its sales figures.

The new guns purchased in March make it the second highest month on record for firearms sales, according to NSSF spokesman Mark Oliva, who said the threat of looming gun control legislation was the catalyst for last months sales surge.