Background checks for gun purchases surged in Illinois to an all-time high in August, far exceeding the national average.
The increase came amid a rising death toll from shootings in Chicago, a more restrictive gun control law approved for the state late last month, and anticipation that Hillary Clinton — who favors stronger gun control measures — could win the presidential election.
Background checks in Illinois nearly doubled in August, compared to the year before, according to data from the FBI.
This is far greater than the nationwide rate, which shows that background checks increased 6% in August, compared to a year ago. That single-digit increase made August a record month for background checks nationally.
Background checks through the National Instant Criminal Background System serve as an important indicator for gun sales, since there are no industry sales figures.
The Illinois tally for last month was 185,912 background checks, compared to 94,314 in August 2015. Not only was this a record for the state, it’s the first time the monthly tally for background checks exceeded 100,000.
“There’s definitely been an increase [in sales] from last year,” said Mike Harrah, manager of Marengo Guns in Illinois, about 50 miles from Chicago. “It’s definitely a lot busier than usual.”
This happened as Chicago’s murder toll was heading for a grim milestone: 500 homicides by Labor Day weekend. That’s already exceeded the 480 murders recorded in Chicago for all of 2015.
But Harrah said that his customers seem to be more focused on politics, than crime.
“They’re all talking about Hillary,” he said, referring to Clinton’s gun control policy. He said that AR-15s continue to sell briskly because customers fear she’ll make good on her promise “to keep military-style weapons off our streets.”
Illinois is the most recent state to pass new gun control laws. Chicago’s bloody summer prompted Governor Bruce Rauner to approve a new law on Aug. 23 aimed at cutting off the Iron Pipeline. That’s the name given to the illegal flow of guns from neighboring Indiana, which has looser gun laws than Illinois.
The law requires anyone bringing a gun into Illinois to have a state-issued gun ID card. Many gun advocates oppose any form of gun control. They often react by buying more guns, fearing that each gun control law is an incremental step towards even more restrictions.