Report Shows Nearly 90 Percent Increase In Gun Industry Jobs, Growing Economic Impact

There’s another side to the gun control debate that’s rarely talked about. While gun grabbers speak of a supposedly safer society and pro-Second Amendment activist talk about our rights, there is also an entire industry’s future being discussed. That means people’s jobs and livelihood are on the line.

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And according to a new report, there are a lot more people’s jobs at risk than there were a decade ago.

The firearms industry has boomed over the last decade with gun-related jobs nearly doubling and the economic impact of the industry growing more than 150 percent, a new report from an industry group said on Tuesday.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s newly released report showed the industry’s economic impact rose from $19.1 billion in 2008 to $51.4 billion in 2017. That represents a 169 percent increase. At the same time, gun-related jobs grew from an estimated 166,000 to nearly 310,000. An increase of 87 percent.

“Our industry is proud to be one of the truly bright spots in our economy as an unprecedented number of Americans have chosen to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms and to safely enjoy the shooting sports,” Stephen L. Sanetti, president and CEO of the trade group, said in a statement. “In response to that dynamic, we have increased our direct workforce by more than 7,000 in the past year alone, adding jobs that pay an average nearly $50,000 in wages and benefits. In addition, since 2008 we increased federal tax payments by 144 percent, Pittman-Robertson excise taxes that support wildlife conservation by 104 percent and state business taxes by 121 percent.”

The report said the firearms industry paid a total of $3.9 billion in taxes last year with the bulk coming from $2.9 billion in business taxes and $718 million in excise taxes.

Of the jobs counted in the report, 149,113 were for companies that directly manufacture, distribute, or sell firearms, ammunition, or hunting equipment. The other 161,795 jobs were in supply or ancillary industries.

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That’s a pretty sizeable footprint for an industry that supposedly only caters to a small segment of the population. It’s almost like there are a ton of gun owners out there or something.

Unfortunately, the report doesn’t break down jobs by weapon type, which means gun grabbers will blow off the economic impact of their efforts by claiming they only want to ban the AR-15. They can pretend that’s only a tiny segment of the industry.

It’s not, but when have these people and reality ever been formally introduced? My guess is “never.”

When they start talking bans of even a one type of firearm, they’re talking about a hit to the economy. They’re talking about people’s livelihoods. They’re not just talking about laws that will accomplish nothing regarding safety, they’re talking about making it harder for hardworking Americans to pay their bills because they’ve lost their jobs.

And since the AR-15 is the most popular rifle sold in this country, that means there will be a lot of Americans in that boat if the anti-gunners get their way.

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Sounds like yet another reason to keep up the good fight, doesn’t it?

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