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On the heels of another school shooting, gun control is again a hot topic of discussion. Although incidents, such as the one in Parkland, Florida, clearly act as catalysts for arguments around gun violence and potential remedies, little ever seems to happen.
The majority of Americans are on board with some type of reform. That doesn’t mean Americans support an Australia-like purge of firearms, in which the government literally disarmed the public. But rather, most people support universal background checks or limits on magazine sizes. But there’s no guarantee that stricter gun laws would translate to a safer America. Those who have looked into it have come away unconvinced that clamping down on gun sales or implementing other measures would have a noticeable effect.
The following numbers go a long way toward explaining why our national gun control laws remain so lax. Our first number: $13.5 billion, a figure that’s hard to ignore.
$13.5 billion
This figure represents the annual revenue for gun and ammo manufacturers.
According to IBIS World, the gun industry is quite big. Annually, it drives in more than $13 billion in revenues, with approximately $1.5 billion of that as pure profits. Likewise, stores that sell guns and ammo at the retail level also make a killing. Another IBIS World report puts annual revenues in the billions, too. The point is there is a lot of money to be made from the manufacturing and sales of guns and ammunition, which tells us there is a market and powerful market players.
Next: The astounding number of firearms produced on an annual basis in the U.S.
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