The American firearm industry sailed through March with positive retail sales again, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). And alarmed citizens of one state helped lead the charge.
The NSSF filters raw numbers from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to determine the market’s strength month-to-month. There were 1,412,917 likely firearm sales last month, representing a 1.9% increase over March 2025.
Then there’s Virginia.
Virginia lawmakers rammed through an alarming package of anti-gun proposals
There’s nothing like an artificial shortage looming on the horizon to get free people to rush to gun shops. Virginia residents know that their newly elected leaders are hostile to their Second Amendment rights, and they are preparing.
The Commonwealth is poised to enact roughly two dozen anti-Second Amendment proposals. One is a sweeping ban on the most popular sporting rifles and magazines that may hold more than 15 rounds.
And the public responded with their feet and purses.
Gun owners are flocking to Virginia retailers ahead of likely semiautomatic firearm ban
NSSF public affairs officer Mark Oliva told Guns.com that NICS checks soared in March.
“Virginians are quite literally voting with their wallets on how they view this pending ban, “Oliva explained. “Virginia’s background checks for all firearms sold increased by 70% over the same month last year, to 79.383 background checks, which was up from 46,659 this time last year.”
And the state’s leadership has no one to blame but themselves.In related news, applications for items covered by the National Firearms Act (NFA) in March exploded to 93,518, a 121% increase over last year. The demand for suppressors and short-barreled rifles continues to skyrocket after the hated $200 federal tax was eliminated.
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