A record 185,345 US residents applied to buy guns on Black Friday

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Open-carry gun activists participate in a march on November 16, 2015 in Ferguson, Missouri, exercising their right to bear arms. Photo: AFP

Published: 7:36am, 3 Dec 2015Updated: 7:36am, 3 Dec 2015

More US residents applied to purchase handguns, rifles and other firearms from licensed dealers on Black Friday than any other day on record, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation data released this week.

Black Friday, the day after the US Thanksgiving Day holiday, is the traditional start of the US holiday shopping season, with sharp retail discounts on merchandise.

Pro-gun protesters brandish their weapons at an “open carry” protest in Ferguson, Missouri, on November 16. Photo: AFP

On November 27, a total of 185,345 applicants were processed through the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which determines whether a person is eligible to purchase guns from a licensed dealership, the FBI said in a statement.

The data was released before news broke of Wednesday’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, in which at least 14 people are feared to have been killed.

The FBI background check system, launched in 1998, allows gun retailers to clear prospective buyers via phone or computer. Firearm background checks are not required for sales or transfers online, between two individuals or at gun shows.

The number of background checks on Black Friday marked a 5.5 per cent increase from the 175,754 a year ago.

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