By Dean Rieck

Gun control advocates see gun registration as a benign and commonsense means to create a safer society. Pro-gun advocates see gun registration as a nefarious and senseless infringement on Second Amendment rights that invariably leads to confiscation.

Who is right? We are.

Gun registration has always been a back door to gun confiscation. Just look at what our neighbors to the north did recently.

Data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,093,230 checks in September 2009. This figure is a 12.4 percent increase from the 973,003 reported in September 2008 and demonstrates that sale of new and used firearms are remaining strong and continuing to grow.

FBI background checks are required under federal law for all individuals purchasing either newly manufactured or used firearms from federally licensed retailers. As such, the checks serve as a gauge of sales but do not reflect the actual number of firearms produced or sold.

The September data follows a series of monthly increases dating back to November of 2008.