Gun sales in Virginia have declined for the first time since 2010.
Last year, Virginia State Police recorded background checks for 405,838 gun transactions, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. That's down 15 percent from 479,253 transactions in 2013.
The decline followed three years' of growth. Gun sales logged by state police increased by 16 percent in 2011, 35 percent in 2012 and 11 percent in 2013.
Virginia Commonwealth University assistant professor and criminologist Thomas R. Baker said the decline isn't surprising. He told the Times-Dispatch that the previous sales jumps were fueled by fears of increased gun control.
State police began doing criminal background checks in late 1989.
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