Gun sales in the United States continue to outpace pre-pandemic levels, with a trade group estimating that just over 1.3 million firearms were purchased in August 2021, the second strongest number for that month on record, surpassed only by August 2020, when pandemic fears inflated demand. “Retail firearm sales remain steady and are still above historic norms. August 2021’s figures rose slightly over July 2021’s figures and this indicates that there is a continued strong and steady demand from Americans choosing to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Mark Oliva, public affairs director at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement. NSSF, the industry group that provided the gun sales estimates, derived the data from the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which showed 2.7 million checks in August 2021. NSSF arrived at its estimate by subtracting out NICS checks and rechecks …