Guns and the Economy
Guns – They are an integral part of American society, culturally and economically. America is extremely wealthy because of its’ economic freedoms. The people have the ultimate control of the gun market and dictate the price of how those guns are sold. This is the beauty of a free market. The American gun business is so big that it manufactures more firearms than any other nation in the world. It puts more than $33 billion in the U.S. economy annually and the National Shooting Sports Foundation says the gun industry supports 220,000 jobs within the United States alone. That is more than double General Motors’ 101,000 employed in the U.S. and their 213,000 employed worldwide.
The reason for the gun industry’s success is the demand by the people for it. The citizens of the United States demand more firearms to buy in the market and in turn, many manufacturing facilities are created to satisfy the demand in the market, thus employing more workers. This creates jobs that did not exist before, and these jobs put the American citizen back to work again to feed his or her family and establish a life. This process also ensures the prevailing gun culture that so many of us Americans are so proud of.
The gun industry involves not just the sale and manufacturing of firearms, it expands into creating more jobs in sectors that relate to firearms either directly or indirectly. An obvious example and an extremely important one is ammunition. Think about the ammunition complementing the firearms. Ammo is to the firearms as syrup is to the pancakes. As more people who purchase guns, or shoot guns, they need to buy ammo to be able to shoot their guns again or to resupply their stock if you are a hoarder or a vendor. This results in ammunition manufacturers having to expand their company and production in new locations to meet the needs of the market. When an ammunition company expands facilities they employ more people which promotes a healthy thriving economy.
Economic Impact of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Industry in the U.S.
| Direct | Supplier | Induced | Total | |
| Jobs (FTE) | 132,584 | 65,180 | 90,222 | 287,986 |
| Wages | $5,513,898,500 | $4,355,521,100 | $4,581,758,300 | $14,451,177,900 |
| Economic Impact | $19,533,701,800 | $14,998,408,400 | $14,755,836,700 | $49,287,946,900 |
Chart from the National Shooting Sports Foundation
Ammo is not the only example pertaining to guns, other industries that are overlooked include, but not limited to, hunting equipment, holsters, apparel, shooting ranges and more. A quick view of the industries indirectly relating to the gun business is clothing manufacturers, that produce camouflaged fabrics for the hunting season, or apparel showing off a popular theme in the gun world. There are small mom and pop shops that produce a variety of holsters for handgun carriers. There are also manufacturing plants that produce hunting equipment of all sorts for all types of wild game and recreational game. All these jobs are very important to the wealth of the United States and its’ citizens.
The impact on the economy this industry gives is extremely crucial for the United States having good health, and with the economy being good in America, it impacts the world in a positive way as well. Guns keep America economically safe and that is the economic beauty of guns.
Also, here is the tax revenue obtained by Federal and State governments.
Taxes Generated in the United States
| Tax Impact | Business Taxes | Excise Taxes |
| Federal Taxes | $3,658,277,000 | $676,958,534 |
| State Taxes | $2,547,540,400 | |
| Total Taxes | $6,205,817,400 | $676,958,534 |
Chart from the National Shooting Sports Foundation
This article may not be copied or used without the permission of the Gears of Guns administrative team.
Copies of the statistical charts were retrieved from the Firearms and Ammunition Industry Impact Report 2016, a public source and for fair use.