By Chuck McCurry
chuck.lexchron@gmail.com
A record number of people submitted background checks to buy a gun last month.
The FBI ran 3.9 million background checks in June.
That surpassed the record of 3.7 set in million March.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported that there have been over 19 million background checks conducted in 2020.
That's more than all of the first 14 years put together since the system started in 1998, according to the NICS.
Mark Oliver of the National Shooting Sports Foundation said civil unrest, riots, looting and calls to defund police are unquestionably motivating factors.

While gun sales do not exactly correspond to the number of NICS checks, the Small Arms Analytics organization estimates 2.3-2.4 million gun sales in June.
That's up 145% over June 2019.

Local gun shop owners say they are barely able to keep up with demand for guns and ammunition.
Not only are people buying guns, they are learning how to shoot them and getting certified to carry them.
A check of local gun shops and shooting ranges that conduct concealed weapons permit classes are seeing record numbers of trainees in their CWP, Basic Handgun, Learn to shoot, Personal Coaching and Home Defense training classes.

One Lexington area shooting range told the Chronicle they average 200 people per weekend trying for their CWP.
Defender Firearms Training in Redbank has trained 1,150 people already this year.
In June alone, they had close to 576 trainees. 374 were for CWPs.
If you want a new gun or a CWP, you may have a bit of a wait.

Chuck McCurry is an NRA-certified handgun instructor and a Chronicle advertising account executive.