An industry trade group has found that at least 5.4 million Americans purchased a firearm for the first time in 2021 (pdf), based on retailer surveys and background checks, with one in three buyers being women. Out of all firearm buyers, nearly 30 percent were first-timers. This is a decrease of 10 percent from 2020 when nearly 8.4 million people bought a gun for the first time out of 21 million background checks. Correspondingly, over 40 percent of new buyers were women in 2020, according to data (pdf) collected by The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). “We welcome these new gun owners to the greater community of law-abiding Americans who choose to own a firearm for lawful purposes, including self-defense, recreational target shooting, and hunting,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF president and CEO in a Jan. 25 news release. “The surveys revealed that new gun owners are continuing to embrace their …