Federal law prohibits certain categories of people from having guns, including felons, domestic abusers, and people with certain mental health histories. Background checks enforce these prohibitions by screening potential gun buyers to ensure they don’t fall into one of these categories. When a person buys a gun from a federally licensed dealer, the dealer runs a background check by submitting information to either the FBI or a state agency. Since federal law began requiring background checks in 1994, millions of sales to prohibited purchasers have been blocked.
>5M
Since 1994, over 5 million sales have been blocked to people with felony convictions or other prohibiting histories.
Everytown Research analysis of Connor Brooks, “Background Checks for Firearm Transfers, 2019–2020,” US Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 2023, https://bjs.ojp.gov/document/bcft1920.pdf, and data obtained by FBI FOIA requests, 2021–2023. Though the majority of the transactions and denials reported by the FBI and BJS are associated with a firearm sale or transfer, a small number may be for concealed-carry permits and other reasons not related to a sale or transfer.
Last updated: 4.23.2025
