Why the body count hasn't slowed down America's gun industry

[dajoki]

Why the body count hasn't slowed down America's gun industry
https://popular.info/p/why-the-body-count-hasnt-slowed-down


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The number of guns sold has increased dramatically in recent years. A record 39,695,315 guns were sold to civilians in 2020. By comparison, there were 15 million guns sold in 2011 and 9 million in 1999.

Remarkably, this spike has occurred as the number of people interested in owning guns has declined. In 1977, more than 50% of all households in the United States owned a gun. By 2018, just 34% of American households reported having a gun in the home. Gun manufacturers have made up for this decline by selling a larger number of more deadly firearms to a smaller number of people.

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Teddy Bears versus AK-47s

Nearly every product — from toasters to lawnmowers to teddy bears — must comply with standards set by the government to ensure the item is safe for public use. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regulates household goods and recreational products. The Food and Drug Administration regulates food and prescription drugs. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration regulates motor vehicles. But there is one category of products that is not regulated for consumer safety by any government agency: guns and ammunition.

The Second Amendment has been in place since 1788, but the consumer protection exemption for guns came much later, in 1972. A law passed that year explicitly forbids the CPSC from evaluating the safety of guns. As a result, there "is not a single federally mandated safety standard or child-proofing requirement for firearms made in the United States."

The exemption was spearheaded by the late Congressman John Dingell (D-MI). At the time, Dingell was both the ranking member of the Commerce Committee, which was considering the legislation, and a board member of the NRA. The exemption means that the CPSC can regulate toy guns but not actual guns. The agency can mandate a recall of a doll, due to safety concerns, but not a semi-automatic rifle.

Currently, firearm safety is regulated by the firearm industry, through a group called the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute (SAAMI). The industry has established some useful regulations, including maximum pressure standards so that guns do not explode during use. But SAAMI operates much differently than a government agency. Specifically, "it does not solicit feedback from the public."

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The regulation of guns as a consumer product could save lives without imperiling Second Amendment rights. Similarly, the application of consumer safety standards to cars, another dangerous product, has not restricted the ability of people to drive. But it has saved countless drives by ensuring that cars are designed to be as safe as possible for drivers, passengers, and the public.

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[Kaleva]

1. Fear of commies, , liberals, BLM, Antifa, minorities, undocumented aliens, has driven gun sales

The fear is irrational as the facts don't support it but humans can convince themselves of anything. Particularly if they hang out at sites and with people who reinforce their warped world view.

[Claire Oh Nette]

4. Fear of ...minorities.

BLM = Black people.
undocumented aliens = "messicans" and other Central Americans
minorities = Asians, muslims, women, LGBTQ
Commies, liberals, AntiFa = college educated, Jews, Catholics, and anyone else I don't know anything about.

[EX500rider]

2. "just 34% of American households reported having a gun in the home"

Which means little, it's the kind of thing many won't accurately report.

[Kaleva]

3. And I imagine the percentage varies greatly by location.

[AndyS]

6. This is the way a gunner mind works.

If the stats are pro gun I'll believe them even if the data are imaginary (Lott) but if the data doesn't benefit me I'll attack them as false and if possible attack the messenger too.

[EX500rider]

8. Nothing to due with how a "gunner"'s mind works..

....many people aren't going to tell random pollster's over the phone they own firearms. Most consider that "none of your business"

[AndyS]

10. It is exactly how gunners and others seeking confirmation of already held beliefs

use data.

On the one hand I'm told that soooooo many people won't tell a pollster the truth BUT when John Lott published More Guns Less Crime which was based on a phone poll asking people if they had used a gun for self defense they accept without question that 2 million people used guns to defend themselves. A poll that had no control for false positives and used that data to extrapolate to the entire population of the U.S.

A poll so poorly done that Lott was laughed off the stage of public opinion by other researchers.

Yet gunners believe that Lott's phone poll was accurate while any that show lower gun ownership are bogus.

Makes ya' go, Hmmm?

[Chautauquas]

9. Exactly

and thank you for saying that. Gun-nuts just don't give a fuck how many people get shot as long they can cling to their guns.

[KG]

5. I was assured right here on DU that we've never been safer.

[keithbvadu2]

7. Your Dead Kids Don't Trump My Constitutional Rights To Have Guns

Joe The Plumber: Your Dead Kids Don’t Trump My Constitutional Rights’ To Have Guns

Ironic how he chose that verb back in 2014

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/27/joe-the-plumber-guns_n_5397981.html