According to FBI data, firearms background checks conducted on Black Friday this year totaled more than 165,000, the lowest since 2013, marking a notable slowdown in what is traditionally one of the busiest days of the year for gun purchases.
“This critical work protects Americans’ Second Amendment rights and keeps our country safe by preventing prohibited persons from obtaining firearms,” the FBI stated.
The NCIS “background check verifies the buyer does not have a criminal record or isn’t otherwise ineligible to purchase or own a firearm,” states the website.
The NSSF notes that firearm sales typically rise during the final months of the year, coinciding with hunting seasons and holiday sales. According to FBI data, Black Friday historically has the highest number of background checks of any day of the year.
Although 2025 shows the lowest number since 2013, Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President and CEO, said, “While the overall trends are still coming off the peaks experienced in recent years, firearm sales remain consistently strong,” and added that: “These figures tell us that there is a continued strong appetite for lawful firearm ownership by law-abiding Americans and that firearm manufacturers across the country continue to deliver the quality firearms our customers have come to expect.”
The law also bans firearm possession by non-citizens unlawfully in the United States, individuals on non-immigrant visas, those dishonorably discharged from the military, and citizens who have renounced their U.S. citizenship.
Restrictions also extend to those under court orders for harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child, and to individuals convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses.
