Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Florida Alert! Florida Sets All-Time Record for Gun Purchase Background Checks

Monday, April 13, 2020

DATE:   April 13, 2020 
TO:       USF & NRA Members and Friends
FROM:   Marion P. Hammer
  USF Executive Director
 

NRA Past President

 

Safety.  Personal safety and safety of family are the reasons for gun purchases of many first-time gun buyers. And, as we are beginning to see, many first-time gun buyers are angry with the gun restrictions they once supported.  Laws that prevent law-abiding people from being able to make purchases without restriction are being called "harassment," "unreasonable," "excessive," and "damned ridiculous." 

The State of Florida logged an all-time high number of gun purchase background checks during March, 2020. One must hope these first-time gun buyers are wise enough to see the error of their previous support for gun control laws they didn't understand.    

Background checks for gun sales reach all-time high in Florida during coronavirus pandemic 

By Merris Badcock, Erik Altmann
WPTV 5 NBC
April 10, 2020 | 5:52 pm 

https://www.wptv.com/news/region-c-palm-beach-county/west-palm-beach/background-checks-for-gun-sales-reach-all-time-high-in-florida-during-coronavirus-pandemic

 
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As news of a worldwide coronavirus pandemic broke, many rushed to buy toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and guns.

"We had two to three weeks of an Armageddon-type of set up," said Alex Shkop, owner of Guns & Range Training Center in West Palm Beach.

For weeks, long lines could be seen outside gun stores in West Palm Beach with armed guards or law enforcement standing by to help with crowd control.

Numerous gun shop owners told WPTV Contact 5 on background that many purchasers were first-time gun owners.

"We had people that were basically openly admitting that they have never owned a gun, they have never used a gun," said Shkop. "They were purchasing firearms and they were asking questions like how to use them and how to take care of them. A lot of first-time buyer questions."

Contact 5 asked for records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and found March 2020 was the highest month on record when it comes to background checks for gun purchases. FDLE keeps data as far back as January 2004…

 

TRENDING NOW
San Francisco Law Professor Purports to Channel Scalia on AR-15s; Ignores Scalia

News  

Monday, October 26, 2026

San Francisco Law Professor Purports to Channel Scalia on AR-15s; Ignores Scalia

Some arguments succeed by being true. Some attempt to succeed by confusing the debate and substituting misdirection for clarity. And some attempt to succeed merely by dogged persistence, refusing to die or go away, no ...

New York:  Gov. Hochul Signs More Gun Control This Week

Thursday, October 22, 2026

New York: Gov. Hochul Signs More Gun Control This Week

Gov. Kathy Hochul remains the scariest thing in Albany for law-abiding gun owners.  On Wednesday, October 21 the anti-gun governor of the Empire State signed a pair of gun bills into law.  We've knocked on ...

Different Election, Same Billionaire, Same Gun Control Agenda

News  

Monday, October 26, 2026

Different Election, Same Billionaire, Same Gun Control Agenda

Another election, same former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg working to shape the nation’s gun laws. For years, NRA has exposed Bloomberg’s relentless efforts to export New York style gun restrictions to the rest ...

Location, Location, Location: Study Finds Crime Concentration Correlates with Politics

News  

Monday, October 26, 2026

Location, Location, Location: Study Finds Crime Concentration Correlates with Politics

It’s well established that certain offenders remain disproportionately responsible for violent crime. A 2001 report on such “chronic offenders” in Minnesota concluded that over a four-year period, just five percent of offenders were responsible for ...

Fifth Circuit Rules Federal Switchblade Knife Restrictions Violate the Second Amendment

Friday, October 23, 2026

Fifth Circuit Rules Federal Switchblade Knife Restrictions Violate the Second Amendment

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has ruled that the federal Switchblade Act’s restrictions on the interstate commerce of switchblade knives violate the Second Amendment.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging Ninth Circuit to Rehear Challenge to California’s Gun Store Surveillance Law En Banc

Friday, October 23, 2026

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging Ninth Circuit to Rehear Challenge to California’s Gun Store Surveillance Law En Banc

The National Rifle Association of America, along with the America First Policy Institute and Knox Williams, founder of the American Suppressor Association, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging Fifth Circuit to Adopt a Test in Disarmament Cases that Ensures Peaceable Citizens Cannot Be Disarmed

Wednesday, October 21, 2026

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging Fifth Circuit to Adopt a Test in Disarmament Cases that Ensures Peaceable Citizens Cannot Be Disarmed

The National Rifle Association and Second Amendment Foundation filed an amicus brief in United States v. Cordova, a case before the en banc Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals involving a challenge to the federal lifetime ...

The NFA’s New Era: What Has Changed, What Remains the Same, Items of Note

News  

Monday, October 12, 2026

The NFA’s New Era: What Has Changed, What Remains the Same, Items of Note

As we announced separately this week, ATF has determined that it will use its executive discretion to uniformly suspend enforcement of large portions of the National Firearms Act (NFA).

Grassroots Spotlight: NRA Leadership and Grassroots Advocates Unite at the “ASRPA Education & Training Dinner”

Take Action  

Monday, October 26, 2026

Grassroots Spotlight: NRA Leadership and Grassroots Advocates Unite at the “ASRPA Education & Training Dinner”

NRA-ILA Grassroots Field Coordinator Darius Diggs recently attended the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association's (ASRPA) Annual “Education & Training Dinner”, alongside FrontLines Activist Leader (FAL) Doug Stead and NRA Board Members Jacqueline Janes, Jeff ...

“I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that” – ChatGPT is Now “Completely Anti-gun”

News  

Monday, October 19, 2026

“I’m sorry, Dave, I’m afraid I can’t do that” – ChatGPT is Now “Completely Anti-gun”

More than half a century ago, Stanley Kubrick’s film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, introduced the world to HAL-9000, a sentient “supercomputer” with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) processing. When HAL, responsible for running the spacecraft, decides ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.