The Right to Bear Arms: Over 10,800,000 Guns Sold
in the USA in 2011
by
Mac
Slavo
SHTF
Plan
Recently
by Mac Slavo: Sheep
to the Slaughter: Americans Raid Savings Accounts To Stay Afloat
and Maintain the Dream
The United
Nations may think they’re weapons of mass destruction,
but Americans seem to disagree.
2011 was yet
another record breaking year for gun sales, with Americans purchasing
some 10.8 million firearms, a 14% increase over the previous year
and up over 50% from ten years ago as reported by the National
Shooting Sports Foundation:
Many indicators,
including a record-setting 2011, show the firearms industry continues
to thrive in a down economy and that the potential exists for
another strong sales year in 2012, reports the National Shooting
Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition,
hunting and shooting sports industry.
…
Indicators
such as background-check statistics, firearms production and importation,
firearm-retailer surveys and on-the-ground reports from retailers
nationwide reveal that interest in firearm ownership is high.
“More and more Americans are choosing to exercise their Second
Amendment rights, and they are doing so in a safe and responsible
manner,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti.
…
One of the
best indicators of firearms sales is the FBI’s National Instant
Background Check System, which federally licensed firearm retailers
use to conduct the mandatory background check on purchasers of
new and used firearms. NSSF downwardly adjusts the NICS data by
subtracting checks related to non-purchasing activity, such as
checks for concealed carry permits, in order to gain a more accurate
picture of market activity.
December
marked an unprecedented 19th straight month of background check
increases when compared to the same period in the previous year.
…
Why are
more Americans choosing to own firearms? Reasons range from citizens’
increased awareness of the Second Amendment protecting the individual
right to own firearms that was reaffirmed in two recent Supreme
Court decisions, to increased interest in personal and home protection
that may be due to economic uncertainty, to increased interest
in the shooting sports and hunting.
Politics
has played a role, too, with a surge in firearms sale beginning
in October 2008, in part because supporters of the Second Amendment
feared the election of less gun-friendly candidates, including
Barack Obama, and new, restrictive gun laws they might advocate.
Though such legislation has not happened, industry professionals
at the SHOT Show believe a similar reaction this election year
is possible that could ignite another surge in firearm sales.
Related to
the topic of gun sales is the public’s changing attitude
toward ownership. A recent Gallop poll showed a record lack of
support for gun control, with only 26 percent of Americans favoring
a ban on the possession of handguns. When Gallup first asked Americans
this question some 50 years ago, 60 percent favored banning handguns.
As sales
climb, recent FBI data shows violent
crime continuing to fall in the United States, with homicides
dropping out of the top 15 causes of death in the country. The
statistics undermine a favorite argument of anti-gun groups that
“more guns equal more crime.”
“These
statistics vividly demonstrate that the lawful possession and
use of firearms by law-abiding Americans does not cause crime,”
said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general
counsel. “There have never been more firearms in civilian
possession in the history of the United States, and crime, including
homicide, continues to decline throughout the country.”
According to
Ammoland,
more guns were purchased last year in the United States than than
there are active duty military members in the world’s fourteen
largest armies combined:
- Russian
Federation 1,027,000
- North Korea
1,106,000
- South Korea
687,000
- Vietnam
455,000
- India 1,325,000
- China 2,285,000
- Iran 523,000
- United States
1,468,364
- Republic
of China 290,000
- Brazil 327,710
- Pakistan
617,000
- Egypt 468,500
- Cuba 49,000
- Ukraine
129,925
Above Total = 10,758,499
If you assume
an average length of each gun as two feet that would be 4090 miles
of guns. That is fourteen times the length of the Grand Canyon
and all most twice as long as the Mississippi River and 17,280
times higher than the Empire State Building.
Japanese Fleet
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto was once quoted during World War II as
saying, ”you cannot invade the mainland United States. There
would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.“
Enemies of
the people of the United States and our Constitution should take
heed. We’ve got guns. Lots of them, so just back off.
Reprinted
from SHTF Plan.
January
23, 2012
Mac
Slavo [send him mail] is a
small business owner and independent investor.
Copyright
© 2012 Mac Slavo
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