(CNN)The FBI conducted more firearm background checks in 2020 than in any year since the agency began keeping statistics in 1998, according to new data released by the agency on Monday.
The milestone is raising concerns among some gun control advocates, who warn that election-related tension and possible civil unrest could be made more dangerous as Americans appear to be arming themselves in record numbers.
With two months remaining in the year, the approximately 16.5 million background checks conducted between January and October 2020 for the sale or transfer of firearms and accessories eclipsed every other year on record.
The previous record was set in 2016, when the FBI conducted 14.9 million checks, and had mostly declined until 2020. In 2019, the agency conducted approximately 12.3 million firearm background checks. FULL ARTICLE