U.S. Gun Production Triples Since 2000, Fueled by Handgun Purchases

[Dial H For Hero]

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/us/politics/gun-manufacturing-atf.html

WASHINGTON — The United States is in the middle of a great gun-buying boom that shows no sign of letting up as the annual number of firearms manufactured has nearly tripled since 2000 and spiked sharply in the past three years, according to the first comprehensive federal tally of gun commerce in two decades.

The report, released by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Tuesday — three days after a mass shooting in Buffalo left 10 dead — painted a vivid statistical portrait of a nation arming itself to the teeth. Buyers capitalized on the loosening of gun restrictions by the Supreme Court, Congress and Republican-controlled state legislatures.

The data documented a drastic shift in consumer demand among gun owners that has had profound commercial, cultural and political implications: Starting in 2009, Glock-type semiautomatic handguns, purchased for personal protection, began to outsell rifles, which have been typically used in hunting.

Embedded in the 306-page document was another statistic that law enforcement officials find especially troubling. The police recovered 19,344 privately manufactured firearms, untraceable homemade weapons known as “ghost guns,” in 2021, a tenfold increase since 2016. Law enforcement officials say that has contributed to the surge in gun-related killings, especially in California, where ghost guns make up as many as half of weapons recovered at crime scenes.

(Excerpt)

[Hoyt]

1. Let's all cheer gun-humpers and those into body armor

who make our country safe. Do I need sarcasm thingy?

[MarineCombatEngineer]

2. Well, I was into body armor, until I retired,

now, not so much, I don't see any need for me to have or wear body armor, especially while driving a truck.

I did keep my flak vest from my days in Vietnam as a memento, but it's put away in storage.

[jimfields33]

4. I find it interesting that California has half of all ghost guns.

Why is that occurring in the most liberal state in the country. That to me is too many not following the laws.

[gldstwmn]

3. That's the aim. So congrats gun makers.

[Diamond_Dog]

5. We can triple the number of guns manufactured since 2000

Spiking in the last 3 years

Yet baby formula is scarce on store shelves.

We have such screwed up priorities in this country.

[Frasier Balzov]

6. Is this what was intended by the 2A?

Guns are used to settle grievances, express displeasure and compensate for personal inadequacies.

Cops, courts, cages and corpses are the result.

[maxsolomon]

7. an Armed Madhouse, caught in a self-reinforcing loop.

your self-defense gun purchase justifies my self-defense gun purchase justifies your 2nd self-defense gun purchase, ad infinitum.

meanwhile, not one gun is getting grabbed, anywhere. that concern is an absurd hobgoblin used to spur sales.

American Carnage, indeed.