Americans purchased roughly 5.5 million guns in the first four months of 2024, according to the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

The data shows that roughly 1.3 million guns were purchased each of the months of January through April of this year.

The data is consistent with decreasing gun sales over the past several years, according to The Hill. This year's number for those four months is slightly lower than sales in 2023 for the same date range. 

Firearm sales reached a peak in 2020, attributed to the Covid pandemic and an increase in political unrest. The annual number of firearm sales has been decreasing ever since. 

In 2022, there were a total of 16.7 millions guns sold, and 2023 saw a 4% decline from that. 2024 appears to continue that trend. 

The states of Florida, California and Texas account for 22% of the guns purchased this year. 

Alaska, Wyoming and Montana were the leading states for gun purchases in 2023. 

A review from SafeHome, a home security advocacy organization, states that the upcoming presidential election could be a factor leading to increased firearm purchases, similar to what happened in 2020 

The U.S. surgeon general recently declared gun violence to be a public health crisis.