Headline: Gun background checks set new record in 2013

by Chad D. Baus

Gannett News Service is reporting that new FBI data shows more background checks were conducted last year for firearm purchases in Ohio than ever before.

From the article:

Licensed firearms dealers in the state ran a total of 680,930 names through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System in 2013, according to the data.

That's an increase over the previous record — set in 2012 — of 8.2 percent.

The NICS was queried nearly 21 million times across the nation in 2013, or 7.7 percent more than the previous year. That's also a record-high for the U.S. since background checks became mandatory at federally licensed gun shops in November 1998.

According to the article, January, which historically is one of the slowest months for gun sales, represented the peak for Ohio in 2013, with 83,996 background checks, or more than double the number of checks performed in January 2012.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, and BFA PAC Vice Chairman.