Number Seeking to Buy Guns Rose 3% in 2001

The number of Americans seeking to buy handguns and rifles last year rose 3% to nearly 8 million, of which 1.9% were rejected, the Justice Department said.

Last year’s rate of rejected gun applications, for reasons ranging from felony convictions to outstanding warrants, was little changed from 2% of 7.7 million applications in 2000. Since the 1994 enactment of the Brady Act that required criminal background checks on prospective buyers of firearms from federally licensed dealers, nearly 38 million applications have been received, of which 840,000 have been rejected.