Back during the Obama administration, there was this constant threat to the Second Amendment, at least in the minds of many in the gun rights community. We all know Obama wanted to take our guns, he just didn’t have the votes in Congress to do it. That low-level threat, however, was enough to spur many to go and buy guns while they could.

I can’t say I blamed anyone for that, either.

When Trump was elected, that threat seemed to dissipate. We got the “Trump Slump.” There were still sales taking place, but gun companies had manufactured a lot of merchandise in expectations of another Democrat in the White House. There wasn’t as much of a push with Trump in the Oval Office, and gun companies suffered.

Yet it seems the recent push, coupled with the president’s willingness to at least consider new gun control measures, is changing the market yet again.

Background checks for gun sales, concealed-carry permits, and security spiked in August as congressional Democrats renewed their push for expanded gun control in the wake of several mass shootings.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System recorded a 15.5 percent uptick in background checks last month, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

The jump in gun sales appears to have been spurred by a desire to secure self-protection amid an epidemic of mass shootings in the U.S., before Congress potentially approves stricter gun-control measures such as an assault-weapons ban, universal background checks, or limits on ammunition.

The NSSF also pointed out that some states saw a particularly steep jump in background checks last month, with Alabama’s NSSF-adjusted number jumping over 100 percent from August of last year, and Minnesota’s number increasing 68.9 percent.

That’s a pretty significant jump, especially when you consider how many NICS checks it takes to create a 15 percent bump. Doubling the number of checks performed in Alabama is also rather impressive.

It’s also not difficult to understand why.

Democrats are pushing gun control hard and with the continued mass shootings, the resolve of Senate Republicans appears to be crumbling. Not all of them, but it doesn’t take that many Republicans caving on the issue to create a majority in that chamber, really. While there are only 45 Democrats there, the two independents both support their positions on guns. That’s 47 votes already, meaning just four Republicans have to jump ship. While we’d like to believe that won’t happen, I’m not so sure. Especially if Trump provides political cover.

So yeah, people are buying guns. Even those who are cash-strapped are likely buying receivers with the belief that the other parts they’d need to build complete rifles will be unaffected, at least in the short term. Since completed receivers require a background check too…

Anyway, this shouldn’t really be particularly unexpected. It’s just what happens when there’s a full-court press on guns like what we’re currently seeing. It’s the unintended consequence of any gun control effort, really. In their zealousness to curtail the number of guns in circulation, they drive more guns into circulation.

Every. Single. Time.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to place an order of my own. You know, just in case.