It is deer season in Wisconsin. With the economic downturn it would stand to reason that more actual hunters and would-be hunters would try their hand and bagging a deer and bringing in meat for the year. It is cheaper and fresher than most market fare. And with deer season hunters buy new firearms.
Which is probably why gun sales seem to be up. And with the increase of gun sales, there is this year an increase in background checks on prospective gun buyers. Doug Schieder, writer for the Greenbay Press Gazette reports a fair number of interesting statistics. But one of the main correlations is that with the increase background checks, crime is declining. Even with the debate on gun rights and gun ownership, the sign that increased background checks are concomitant with a decline in violent crime is a notable sign. I write this knowing a great many factors should be considered before we draw any conclusions.
Here are some interesting facts from the Greenbay Press Gazette–
“Nationally, Kentucky generates more background checks than any other U.S. state or territory. The Bluegrass State prompted 2.1 million background checks in 2009 and is on pace to exceed that this year. Texas exceeded the 1 million mark this past year but is on pace for about 900,000 in 2010.
At the other end of the scale, Hawaii has the fewest such checks — 8,799 so far this year.”
