Welcome to

Florida’s love affair with guns remains strong, with Black Friday sales setting a record for the weekend. Black Friday is seen as the kickoff for what has become a gun buying season and as Mike Vasilinda tells us, 2015 is no exception.

The number of people seeking background checks for gun purchases this past weekend hit an all time high for Black Friday Weekend. Friday through Sunday saw almost 15 thousand people buying guns pending that background check. This weekends number is nearly two thousand more than 2013, which set a yearly record for gun purchases.

Miles Glass, the manager of Kevin’s Guns, a Tallahassee Sporting Goods store sees no sign of a gun love affair abating.

“Business has stayed strong. I would say our gun sales are probably up a little bit above last year” says Glass.

We watched as Todd purchased a handgun and ammo for several other guns. He declined to give his last name but told us he is retired law enforcement.

“I’ve owned guns for years.  But if  you are asking if there is an alternative reason, of course there is. Just like everybody else is scared” he told us.

Now, the numbers we’re talking about reflect background checks only…not the number of guns sold. Put another way, someone could pass a background check and take home two or three guns.”

The weekend saw a mix of gun buyers. Many already have concealed carry permits and could take their guns with them. Others are waiting three days.

“We get a lot of first time buyers” says manager Glass.  “Absolutely. Especially in this day and age there is a lot of new buyers and new people getting into guns, certainly. A lot of that is going to be for home defense and personal defense.”

While Black Friday weekend is typically the busiest gun buying weekend of the year,  December’s typically outpaces every other month in gun sales.

Based on background check information provided by the state, December gun sales typically run twenty to fifty percent higher than other months.