Gun background checks soared in every state last month as people loaded up with firearms at an unprecedented rate, according to FBI statistics. Virtually every expert who commented on the trend said people were seeking personal protection because of the spread of COVID-19. So far, the virus has infected 561,103 people in America and caused 22,106 deaths, according to the Bing COVID-19 Tracker. No populous state posted a bigger increase in background checks in March than Texas. Background checks rose 93% from February to 274,211. Those checks are considered a proxy for gun sales.

Background checks in Texas so far this year, through the first quarter, totaled 546,315. Texas is the second-largest state in America, with a population of 28,995,881. California, the largest state, has a population of 39,512,223. Background checks for the first three months in California were 365,494.

Gun ownership in Texas is already high at 0.02 firearms per capita, the 11th highest per state. Wyoming tops the list at 0.23 guns per capita.

Guns per capita in the United States are well ahead of any country in the world. The American figure is 120.5 firearms per 100 civilians. This means there are 393,347,000 guns owned by Americans, against a total population of 326,474,000. The second country on the list is Yemen at 52.8 guns per hundred people. Among large nations, Canada is the leader at 34.7 per hundred.

There is no entirely convincing explanation of why gun ownership in the United States is so high, or why the ownership in Texas rose so quickly.

Recent Pew Research data pinpointed protection as the primary reason Americans own guns. Pew’s “7 Facts About Guns in the U.S.” shows that “Two-thirds of gun owners (67%) say this is a major reason why they own a firearm. Considerably smaller shares say hunting (38%), sport shooting (30%), gun collecting (13%) or their job (8%) are major reasons.”

Why Texas in particular? Several new laws make it easier to carry guns than in most states. Texans can carry guns in houses of worship, such as churches, unless strictly prohibited by the institutions. Landlords cannot prevent renters from carrying firearms. During a state emergency, Texans can carry guns without a license. Finally, licenses to carry guns are issued at the state level, which according to experts makes it easier to obtain these licenses.

Reasons why Texas has such a large number of guns, and why background checks rose so sharply last month, are not entirely clear. Suffice it to say, the figure is staggering.

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