“This new data yet again underscores the need for the Senate to strengthen federal background check laws or else people who shouldn’t have guns will continue to exploit deadly loopholes,” said Sarah Burd-Sharps, Everytown’s Director of Research. “There’s no question that background checks work, but the system is working overtime to prevent a record number of people with dangerous prohibitors from being able to buy firearms. The loopholes in the law allow people to avoid the system, even if they just meet online or at a gun show for the first time. Bipartisan action in Congress to strengthen background checks would keep even more guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.”

While federal law requires background checks for all gun sales by licensed gun dealers, it does not require background checks for the people who buy guns from unlicensed dealers, even in instances when they are strangers who meet online or at gun shows. Further, the surge in gun sales is overwhelming the background check system, making it easier for prohibited purchasers to obtain a firearm through the deadly Charleston loophole, a gap in federal law that allows gun sales to proceed if a background check hasn’t been completed in three days, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.