Gun sales in Connecticut were at a five-year high last year, according to data tied to background checks.
The state did more than 277,000 background checks in 2021. That’s the most since 2016. Given Connecticut’s size, it’s more per person than neighboring New York and the most of any state in New England.
The director of the Newtown-based National Shooting Sports Foundation told Hearst Connecticut Media that the figures would have been "unthinkable" five years ago.
Gun sales nationwide exploded when the pandemic began, but dipped slightly last year, according to FBI background check numbers. The agency did more than 38 million background checks in 2021, the second-most of all time.
