LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. — It could be a record-breaking year for gun-related background checks. Black Friday and other holiday shopping may provide the boost to push the number of checks over the top.
The current record was set in 2016, when the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) ran 27.5 million checks.
By the end of October, the 2019 total was already at 22.9 million, which doesn't include the holiday shopping boom.
Black Friday is the busiest day of the year for Frontier Justice, a gun store and range with locations in Lee's Summit and Kansas City, Kansas.
Shoppers eager to pull the trigger on a purchase lined up before the doors even opened.
"We had 175 people in line here in Missouri, about 150 people in line in Kansas," President Bren Brown said.
That meant a packed room of shoppers waiting to find out if they could pack heat.
"The background check to get your firearm purchased is a slow process today, because they don't expand their offices for Black Friday," Brown said of the federal system.
A different background check record has already been shattered this year. The NICS launched in 1998 and, for the first time, the number of checks has not dropped below 2 million in any month.
It's a strong rebound for the industry compared to 2018, when firearm sales took a dip nationwide.
"It's called the 'Trump Slump,'" Brown said. "When Trump got into office, people felt very safe in their firearms rights. Now that the election year is around the corner, people are starting to question what could happen next and what if someone else got into office who isn't as pro gun as he is?"
Brown pointed to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's entrance into the presidential race. He helped fund Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun-control advocacy group that recently outspent the NRA in Virginia races.
But for Chris and Brandi Mattox, who shopped at Frontier Justice on Friday, the outing was about personal safety, not politics. They were looking for a gun for Brandi, who plans to take a class and get a concealed carry permit.
"Guns are a great equalizer," Chris said.
They're also turning out to be a big business this year.
