The February 2022 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) slipped 2.5 percent to 1.35 million compared to the February 2021 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1.39 million.
For comparison, the unadjusted February 2022 FBI NICS figure 2,514,818 reflects a 25.9 percent decrease from the unadjusted FBI NICS figure of 3,394,895 in February 2021. The adjusted NICS data were compiled by subtracting NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks and checks on active CCW permit databases. NSSF started subtracting permit rechecks in February 2016.
NICS firearms background checks, as adjusted by the NSSF, turned negative in March 2021 against the year-ago comparisons as firearms checks in 2020 were boosted by the pandemic, social unrest and the election.
The January 2022 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) dropped 40.9 percent to 1.19 million from 2.05 million in January 2021.
Photo courtesy AP
