40 Percent of Gun Sales Completed Without a Background Check a Decades Old, Inaccurate Statistic

President has cited it

As President Obama prepares to head to Colorado on Wednesday to push gun control legislation, some are calling into question the validity of a key statistic he's using to tout his message on near-universal background checks.

During several speeches, Obama has said 40 percent of all gun purchases were made without a background check.

But that number is nearly two decades old and comes from a poll with a relatively tiny sample size. Gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association, as well as The Washington Post's "Fact Checker," are calling out the president's stat, saying his numbers on background checks need a background check of their own.