The FBI has released the tally of NICS background checks, broken down by state [pdf]. Georgia had 527,885, which puts us about the middle of the pack. It’s the highest number since the system went on line in 1998. States with over one million checks were Florida, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Texas had the most checks at 1,633,278 and Hawaii came in last at 17,416.

These numbers only tell part of the story, however. Many states, including Georgia, exempt buyers with state-issued carry permits from the NICS check, and a one-time sale of multiple guns only counts as one transaction. On top of that, NICS checks are often run for the issuance of carry permits, among other things that aren’t directly related to the sale of a firearm.

For example, Kentucky appears to be second in the nation, with 1,578,331 checks run, but the state runs a NICS check every month [pdf, p. 46] on people to whom they’ve issued carry permits. That inflates the numbers significantly.

Still, the upward trend is hard to miss.