Gun Buyers Brace for New Restrictions After Democrats' Election Gains

NICS checks jumped 7.9 percent in October compared to a year earlier, and Bearing Arms says that's just the warm-up. With Democrats picking up ground on Election Day, the site reports that gun-rights advocates expect buyers to keep stocking up ahead of possible new restrictions.

Key points

• October numbers: NSSF's adjusted NICS data showed 1,402,422 checks in October, a 7.9 percent increase over October 2025, which NSSF's Mark Oliva framed as gun owners "voting with their wallets" ahead of Election Day.
• States to watch: Bearing Arms points to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Minnesota as states likely to see bigger sales bumps, citing Virginia's sales climb after Democrats won full control there and ahead of its July 2026 "assault firearms" ban.
• The 2020 comparison: Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms chairman Alan Gottlieb predicts a buying surge "not seen since 2020," driven by expectations of new gun-control legislation from Democrat-controlled statehouses and Congress.
• Supreme Court angle: Gottlieb also suggests gun-control advocates may push legislation targeting modern semi-automatic rifles and pistols ahead of an expected Supreme Court ruling on their Second Amendment status.

Quick take

Buying ahead of a ban is understandable, but it's not a strategy — it's a hedge. Worth watching November's NICS numbers when NSSF releases them in December to see if this prediction holds up.

Read the full story: bearingarms.com