The percentage of gun owners who told Gallup that the reason they possessed a firearm was for hunting fell to 40% in 2019 from almost 60% in 2000. There’s strong survey evidence that gun owners have become less likely to cite hunting or sport as a reason for their ownership, instead pointing to personal security. By comparison, the number of firearms sold in 2004 rose 11% over the previous year. Gun-makers have become very effective at marketing their wares as necessary tools for self-defense – perhaps in large part to offset a decline in demand for recreational use.įor example, in 2005, Smith & Wesson announced a major new marketing campaign focused on “safety, security, protection and sport.” The number of guns the company sold soared after the switch, climbing 30% in 2005 and 50% in 2006, led by strong growth in pistol sales. So what can explain the jump in the sale of high-caliber handguns and semi-automatic rifles? This is driven primarily by a higher demand for semi-automatic weapons, including assault rifles. The production of rifles has also increased, doubling from 1.4 million in 2005 to 2.8 million in 2020, though down from a record 4.2 million in 2016. This indicates a growing demand for more lethal weapons, especially those focused specifically on self-defense and concealed carry. 38-caliber pistols – small handguns designed specifically for concealed carry – jumped to a record 1.1 million in 2016 and totaled 660,000 in 2020, compared with 107,000 in 2005. The number of manufactured large-caliber pistols able to fire rounds greater than or equal to 9 mm has soared over the past 15 years, rising from just over half a million in 2005 to more than 3.9 million by 2020. A look at the caliber of pistols manufactured over the past decade reveals a significant change in demand that has reshaped the industry. Similarly, the biggest rifle manufacturers – Sturm, Smith & Wesson, Springfield, Henry Rac Holding and Diamondback Firearms – controlled 61% of that market.īut all that only tells part of the story. The top five pistol manufacturers alone controlled over 70% of all production in 2020: Smith & Wesson Sig Sauer Sturm, Ruger & Co. In addition, only a small number of gun-makers dominate the market. Pistols and rifles made up about 75% of the total. gun manufacturers produced 11.1 million firearms, up from 5.4 million in 2010. is saturated with guns, and has become a lot more so over the past decade. To help support this much-needed discussion, I’d like to share some critical facts about the firearm industry that I’ve learned from my research on gun violence prevention. This may open the door for more lawsuits against firearm manufacturers.
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That’s beginning to change, particularly since the US$73 million settlement between the families of victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and the maker of the rifle used in the massacre. And firearm manufacturers have played a major role in influencing American gun culture. As a public health researcher, I find this odd, because evidence shows that the culture around guns contributes significantly to gun violence.
![firearms source 2 firearms source 2](https://media.moddb.com/images/mods/1/8/7463/ss_1.jpg)
Yet during much of America’s ongoing conversation about the root causes of gun violence, the makers of guns have typically escaped scrutiny. The latest, which occurred on May 24, 2022, at a Texas elementary school and left at least 19 children and two teachers dead, was the 213th mass shooting this year – and the 27th that took place in a school. Americans have blamed many culprits, from mental illness to inadequate security, for the tragic mass shootings that are occurring with increasing frequency in schools, offices and theaters across the U.S.