According to a report published by Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), concealed carriers grew by nearly 20 million since President Donald Trump took office. The number represents a 34-percent increase over 2016.
Concealed Carriers Growing by Nearly Every Metric Under Trump
Concealed carry permit data represents one of the few metrics showing real hard data, according to CPRC. The report also showed And these numbers swelled even as some states shut down issuing permits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Since 1999, the number of concealed handgun permit holders has grown by at least seven-fold,” wrote Larry Keane, National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). “The trend is continuing. That follows news that background checks for firearm sales topped 15.4 million so far this year, surpassing 2019’s totals and poised to eclipse the 2016 record of 15.7 million background checks in a single year. Forty percent of those buyers, almost 6.2 million, are first time buyers.”
Of course, we’ve reported extensively on the record-setting gun sales of 2020. Even now, as the presidential election nears its crescendo, a potential Biden White House keep guns flying off the shelf. And the movement is drawing in folks from all walks of life.
“I’ve seen a lot more single moms that are scared and need something to protect them,” Dave Amon of Gunstop of Minnetonka, Minn. told the Star Tribune. “They’re scared when people talk about defunding the police.”
Concealed Carry Numbers Grow
So with all these new gun owners comes even more interest in concealed carry. With the 2020 surge, now five states boast more 1 million concealed carriers each: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Texas. And sixteen states adopted constitutional carry, meaning no permit required, reported CPRC.
Finally, women carriers comprise a massive jump in 2020. According to the CPRC report, women total 26.4-percent of permit holders in the 14 states providing data by gender. Seven states shows women carriers growing 101.2-percent faster than men.
A Second Amendment wave continues to wash over America. The data proves it by every measurable metric. One one question remains: will it matter at the polls in November?
