US election FBI numbers till September 2020 show that background

checks,whichare required to buy guns, peaked in March (3.7 million)

andtheninJune (3.9million total). Background checks till September
(28.8million)havealready surpassedlast year's figures (28.4 million). A survey
of customers byafirearm trade association, the National Sports Shooting
Foundation, found that 40% were first-time gun owners. The states with the
largest numbers lean both Republican and Democrat. The last peak in similar
background checks was in 2016, the previous US election, of 27.5 million. “I’m
not a big fan of carrying a gun.ButI want to have the ability toexpress this
right,”Bensonsaid. “This year has been incredible as far as social unrest and as
far as questioning our values and what wearewillingtodotoprotect ourselves is
concerned.” The probability of drawn-out election results is adding to the
anxiety. Bensonsays several of his acquaintancesare ponderinggun
ownership,worried theremaybe a "civil war". “When you watch the other side
not care about the rule of law, you think about how much these people are
willing to take. It’s reallyaculture war.” Four days ago, the International Crisis
Group of policymakers and researchers warned, “As the U.S. presidential
election approaches,the ingredients for unrest are present. The electorate is
polarised, both sides frame thestakesasexistential,violent actors could disrupt
the process and protracted contestation is possible." Earlier this month, the
DepartmentofHomelandSecurity named domestic violent extremism as a
threatto the country. Now, some segments on the Left,includingnew groupslike
the Socialist RifleAssociation andthe African American Gun Association,are
alsobuyingguns. Whilehehadnodifficultypurchasing his shotgun and pistol,
Benson says ammunition is in short supply.Previously $15for 50 rounds, it is
now running at $40. On Friday, Walmart pulled guns andammofromits shelves,
citing the possibility of “civil unrest”. Atthe first presidentialdebate, President
Donald Trump had refused to explicitlydenouncewhite
nationalists.Askedifhewillagree to a peaceful transfer of power, Trump usually
responds with claims of “voter fraud”. The Second Amendment of the US
Constitution provides for the right to carry arms and has been a political hot
potato for much of the country’s history, withguncontroladvocatespitted against
gunrights groups.Thelatter have touted in press releases thisyear thatnew
gunownersare increasingly Black or female. Democraticnominee JoeBiden has
been promising to bring back a ban on assault weapons, in one ofthemost
aggressive gunreform plans of anycandidate.Biden had said atthe time of a 1994
Billthat included themeasure, "Ihopethat my Republican friends will not spend
too much time with what has been the issue on this legislation since the
beginning... Six years ago, it was guns. Five years ago,it was guns. Four years
ago,it was guns. Last night it was guns. This morning it was guns. And
rightnow,it’s guns.It’sguns,guns, guns, guns, guns.” Like many of Biden’s
agendas, his opinions follow centrist Democratic evolutions over the decades.
However, in a repeated pattern, calls for increased gun control, like under
President Barack Obama, have often led to increased gun sales. What has raised
the oppositiontogunsare incidentsof school shooting.Whilethesedate back to
before the Trump presidency, including the 1990s Columbine shooting, in the
last four years, student survivors have taken on gun control as their primary
advocacy, leading school walkouts and major protests. John, who requested that
his last name be removed, grew up aroundoldrifles ina huntingfamily. But, his
father refused to buy handguns saying “theywere only goodfor killing humans”.
The45- year-old quit hunting in his 20s, preferring to “shoot animalswith my
camera". He says his country hasa “sick relationshipwithguns” and thatthey are
“too easy to obtain”. But, this year, he bought a 9mmMagnum anda smallcaliber
automatic rifle. “I’m buying new guns,for the first timeinmylife,becauseIdon’t
trust the GOP,” he said, referring to the Republican Party. “I don’t know what
will happen to my country, butIwilldefendmyfamily and our democracy without
hesitation. I would have recognised evil (Hitler) in 1933, and I can see