Gun Industry, Ownership & Advertising.

• Author: Falk, Louis K.

INTRODUCTION

A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. This is, of course, the Second Amendment (Constitution of United States of America 1789). Current opinions vary from desiring to abolish it to declaring that it is the most important amendment in that it guarantees each of the other Amendments, especially the First.

Gun ownership itself varies greatly. One owner may own a single gun kept by the bedside for personal protection. Another owner may own multiple guns to compete in 3-gun competitions which require a modern sporting rifle, a pistol, and a shotgun. Another owner may own multiple guns for hunting. Still another owner may collect military weapons with the intent to never fire a gun. As any other product category, gun manufacturers study their customers and attempt to speak the language of their target audiences.

INDUSTRY SIZE

The firearm and ammunition industry are extensive, to say the least. Companies in the United States manufacturing, distributing, and selling firearms and ammunition in 2021 account for as many as 153,414 employees and pay an average yearly wage of $56,000. In addition to direct industry employees, another 188,916 jobs are generated in the gun industries supplier and ancillary fields (NSSF, 2021).

Firearm sales have increased yearly since 1999 (the first full year of FBI data). In 2006, there were approximately ten million firearm sales. By 2016, there were twenty million sales and in 2020 there were almost 40-million-gun sales (McIntyre, 2021). If that is not enough, the firearm industry seems to have expanded their markets to embrace additional First Time Buyers, Black Americans, and Women.

The Small Arms Survey (smallarmssurvey.org) conducted in 2017 is frequently cited. The report noted that there were more than 393 million firearms in civilian possession, which amounted to 120.5 firearms for every one hundred people in the U.S. population. Millions more firearms have been sold since then, with significant upswings in sales following mass shootings as concerns rise over potential new ownership restrictions and during periods of social unrest. According to FBI statistics, more than 120 million background checks have been conducted as people purchase firearms (FBI, 2021). The firearms industry has responded to this increased demand by increasing production, but only to a certain extent. Manufacturing equipment is expensive, and it is cost prohibitive to add equipment and labor. In a 2020 Forbes article, Aaron Smith notes how gun and ammunition makers responded cautiously to the increased demand to not get burned by excess inventory and manufacturing capacity as they did in 2013. This meant bare shelves in gun shops for the first months of 2021, even as prices increased dramatically. As of this writing at the end of September 2021, guns and ammo have begun to return to the shelves. There may not be a full selection, but there is some selection. Inflated prices have also come down a bit since the beginning of 2021 but remain higher than pre-spike prices.

There is no national gun registry and not all states have registries, so it is difficult to determine gun ownership patterns. The Pew Research Center (Van Green, 2021) conducted a large-scale survey in June of 2021 and determined that approximately 40% of Americans live in a household in which a gun is present and 30% personally own a gun.

POPULARITY

In the United States (U.S.) it cannot be stated strongly enough that gun ownership is a deeply personal issue. Half of all gun owners say that owning a gun is important to their overall identity (Parker et al., 2017). In 2020, Statista reported that about 42% of all U.S. household had at least one gun on the premises. While the Statista and Pew Research Center figures are similar, it must be noted that relying on survey research, which is the best method available, has limitations due to the personal nature of gun ownership. Gun owners are becoming even more secretive about their gun ownership. This author typed, "lost my gun" and Google completed the sentence with, "in a boating accident." The phrase is common on social media and one can even purchase a t-shirt declaring their loss.

The popularity of gun ownership is rooted in the United States Constitution. Firearms in the U.S. hold a cultural significance and a "symbolic power beyond their already obvious material power" (Statista). Guns are integrated in the fabric of American society. For many, guns remain a point of pride and whether it is for "hunting, sport shooting or personal protection, most gun owners count the right to bear arms as central to their freedom" (Parker et al., 2017).

The popularity of firearms also has to do with their type. For some, guns are a tool and for others they are toys (Schuppe, 2017). There are two major categories of guns - handguns and...