File Photo / Courtesy, Northeastern Firearms
A group known as "CEOs for Gun Safety" includes the leaders of four Maine companies.
March 5, 2021
Maine gun sales were a dud in February, and it's not clear why
Federal background checks, widely used as a proxy for estimating gun sales, fell sharply in Maine last month to levels not seen since the start of the pandemic.
By William Hall
Gun sales in Maine appear to have shot off the charts during 2020, but in February plummeted earthward.
Background checks of Maine gun buyers totaled 137,149 last year — the most ever since the FBI began documenting them in 1998. The sales streak continued into January, when background checks for the month were 13,693.
But in February, the number dropped 34% to fewer than 9,000, the lowest monthly total since the start of the pandemic.
FBI background checks are widely used to estimate sales, though don’t account for all purchases. State and federal laws require only licensed gun dealers to submit buyer information for review.
Last July, after a spike in gun sales, Mainebiz reported that they were on track to reach a record-setting 129,000 in Maine. But the 2020 total surpassed even that, and exceeded 2019 volume by over 50%. The 2020 transactions also far surpassed the next-busiest year for Maine gun sellers, 2016, when there were 111,582 background checks.
So why the fall-off? There’s no clear answer.
The new trend wasn’t confined to Maine. Background checks fell in every state except Hawaii during February. In New Hampshire, the decline was 34%; in Vermont, 36%. The fall wasn’t as sharp in southern New England states, but still in double digits.
Nationwide, 1.5 million guns were sold in February, 32% less than in January, according to an industry consultant.
In 2020, advocacy group Gun Owners of Maine told Mainebiz the surge in firearm demand was being driven by first-time buyers, and other experts speculated that the pandemic and civil unrest spurred many of the purchases.
On Friday, a Gun Owners of Maine representative said the reason for the decline now is murky.
Many gun shops are struggling to maintain a strong inventory because of the increased demand in 2020, Brett Bulmer told Mainebiz.
The political climate also could be a factor, he said, creating a sense of urgency that is now abating.
“President Biden has made it abundantly clear that he intends to pursue an extreme gun control agenda. Between November and January, there were probably a lot of people buying guns because they perceived a Biden presidency to be a potential threat to their 2nd Amendment rights in the future,” Bulmer said.
But, he said, "These are just guesses on my part."
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments