For those who couldn't join the more than one million people protesting massive government spending in Washington D.C. on 9.12, smaller events like it were held in cities and towns across the country.

Buckeye Firearms Foundation Treasurer Gerard Valentino spoke to several hundred attendees at an event in Mansfield, and Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Chad D. Baus spoke at a rally in Wauseon, which was attended by a group that has been estimated at up to one thousand people.

Background checks on the sale of firearms were up 12.3 percent in August, according to data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

A total of 1,074,757 checks were reported for the month, up from 956,872 in August 2008. 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 increase coincides with a rise in excise taxes reported by firearms and ammunition manufacturers, another key economic indicator for the firearms industry.