US gun sales spiked during pandemic and continue to rise

First-time buyers make up more than one-fifth of Americans who purchased guns amid huge number of firearms already circulating

Gun sales, which spiked sharply during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, have continued to increase in the United States, with first-time buyers making up more than one-fifth of Americans who purchased guns.

The development will frustrate and disappoint gun control advocates who point out the huge number of firearms already circulating in American society as well as a seemingly never-ending cycle of mass shootings.