The latest figures from the FBI show that July 2016 was the 15th consecutive month of record background checks for gun sales.

The previous July record was set in 2015, when there were 1,600,832 background checks. But the FBI reports that July 2016 there were 2,197,169–an increase of nearly 600,000 checks.

The record breaking trend began in May 2015, when 1,580,980 checks set the record for the highest number of background checks performed in any May on record. Breitbart News reported that the record breaking pace then continued month after month, with June 2015 setting the record for the highest June on record, July 2015 for the highest July, August for the highest August, and so forth.

Then when May 2016 rolled around, the number of background checks performed beat the record from the year before. Checks did the same thing in June 2016 and now the FBI makes clear a new record was set in July 2016 as well.

On December 1, 2015, Breitbart News reported that the FBI performed an unprecedented 185,345 background checks on Black Friday alone. This was both a Black Friday background check record and a single-day background check record.

There have been a total of 16,026,660 background checks performed January 1 through July 31, 2016. But it is important to remember that these checks are performed on would-be gun purchasers, not on the guns. Each person may buy multiple firearms once passing a background check, so the number of guns sold at retail may be much higher than then number of background checks performed.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.