Pennsylvania Instant Checks System, which checks for a person’s legal ability to acquire a license to carry concealed firearms, has had its record-breaking volume streak ended following the second quarter of this year.
After an unprecedented 427,450 background checks conducted by PICS in the first quarter of 2021, the number dropped to 334,108 for the second quarter, according to Pennsylvania state police. For the last three quarters in a row, the number had broken 400,000 transactions — a new record every quarter.
Established in 1998, PICS is used by county sheriffs, chiefs of police in cities of the first class and licensed firearms dealers in Pennsylvania to also determine a person’s right to obtain a firearm through a purchase or transfer.
License to carry statistics, specifically in Allegheny County, seem to contradict the drop in PICS transactions.
In the first quarter of this year, 9,227 people applied for a license to carry in the county, and 8,802 were issued. The high number of applicants continued into the second quarter despite the drop in PICS transactions as 9,267 people applied and 8,745 were issued.
“The [license to carry] applications have increased in 2021, and that could be for a variety of reasons,” Allegheny County chief deputy sheriff Kevin Kraus said. “At times of a pandemic we notice a spike in numbers — as we did with COVID. In relation to 2021, anytime that there’s a transition of power in the White House we tend to see a spike in applicants, and anytime there's a mass shooting or any type of disaster, it seems to spike the numbers. Almost all of the licenses to carry we issue are for self-defense issues. There’s a box on the application and almost all check off self-defense.”
Chief deputy sheriff Kraus did not have an explanation for the sudden drop in PICS transactions.
An owner at one of Allegheny County’s 139 licensed firearms dealers, Smoke N Guns in Oakmont, has noticed the difference and attributes the spike and sudden drop to “panic buying” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sales have “gone down to basically what it was prior to the pandemic. Typically these months are a little bit slower, but last year, it wasn’t. .. People were just buying and buying — new gun owners coming in saying ‘I need something for my house. I’m afraid of what’s going on.’ I’m not seeing as many new gun owners now,” Greg “Gooch” Ionadi, a co-owner of Smoke N Guns, said.
According to a report released in January by the National Shooting Sports Federation, 40% of national gun purchases in 2020 were made by 8.4 million first-time buyers.
The numbers appear to mirror the claim of panic buying as PICS transactions moved into the 400,000 range starting in the third quarter of 2020, which ran from July 1 to Sept. 30 when the pandemic was still in full swing.
Amid growing anti-police protests during the Black Lives Matter movement and the 2020 presidential election, the sudden increase — and now sudden drop — to mirror the societal changes.
“People were bad rapping the police and people didn’t call the police anymore cause they were the ‘bad guy’ right off the bat, but you need those police officers. ... But you’re not seeing the panic buying anymore. This was always a slower time because vacations take precedence, you know, families going out and having fun,” Mr. Ionadi said.
Zoe Stratos: zstratos@post-gazette.com
First Published: July 10, 2021, 11:00 a.m.
Updated: July 10, 2021, 8:18 p.m.