Strong December gun sales ended what was another stellar year for firearm manufacturers. There were roughly 1.6 and 1.8 million NICS background checks in October and November, respectively, according to the FBI, followed by 2.3 million in December. Overall, just under 21 million Americans were screened for gun purchases in 2014, which remained fairly close to the record of precisely 21,093,273 set in 2013. Also noteworthy is this snippet from CNN: “Gun shop owners in the St. Louis area … reported a spike in sales in the days following protests and rallies after a white police officer killed an unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri in August. There was another wave of protests and riots in November after a grand jury declined to indict the officer, and gun shop owners again reported a spike in sales.” Who knew that race-baiters would make such great gun salesmen? More…