By Larry Keane
NEWTOWN, Conn – -(Ammoland.com)- The long-term growth in firearms sales, more Americans choosing to exercise their right to keep and bear arms since the landmark Heller and McDonald Supreme Court decisions and increased participation in the shooting sports are demonstrable trends that drive the professional gun control community and their mainstream media allies to nearly apoplectic states.
These long-term trends are inconvenient facts that mess up the preferred anti-gun narrative.
Central to their communications strategy, as we have seen time and again, is the story line that fewer, aging, mostly white Americans have for many years been buying nearly all of the guns being produced and then, apparently, stuffing them into their overflowing gun safes.
We know that argument is ridiculous, as any visitor to a retailer or range could quickly confirm.
Gun control organizations are constantly trying to minimize the size of the gun-owning American public as a way of trying to make the adoption of more laws and regulations appear more likely or even inevitable. That they are insulting our intelligence or even that of the American people as a whole doesn’t seem to bother them.
And their strawman opponent in their selfless efforts to bring more “reasonable gun safety” measures into being is, all together now, THE GUN LOBBY, which is really all of us in this industry. Make no mistake. They want to put us out of business.
The news that stock prices fell for the publicly-traded companies in our industry for a few trading sessions immediately following the results of last week’s election is the latest grist for their propaganda mill. Now, you see, there will be no reason for this small number of gun-buying Americans to want to buy more firearms because they no longer fear control by anti-gun political leaders, as a Bloomberg.com columnist opined.
So, in this latest scenario, the anti-gun groups and media see another opportunity to begin writing the industry’s obituary. Talk about a leap in logic.
We are not stock prognosticators here. Nonetheless, we expect that the firearms industry will continue to grow as it has during the past 20 or so years under both Republican and Democrat administrations. It may do so in a more normalized market against a more stable political backdrop with fewer spikes in demand that occur when law-abiding consumers perceive that politicians will try to enact restrictions on their ability to purchase the products they want to buy.
When you acknowledge the factors discussed at the beginning of this post, you conclude that a few days of stock trading should not be used to predict the future growth path of the industry.
We are confident and you should be, too. And that’s what we are telling the media.
About NSSF The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 6,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.
Michael Bussacco and wife,
Another part of shooting you ought to try in the future is Black Powder. It’s quite fun and you can learn quite a bit of history by checking out Project Appleseed which teaches both American History and shooting. OBTW, they use both types of shootin’ irons”.
My wife and I just bought our first two guns last month because of the left leaning policies of President Obama. We bought our next two guns because we found that we .like to shoot our guns at the shooting for fun. Under Obama we were fearful of losing our second amendments rights and under President-Elect Trump ,we are exercising our second amendment rights. I just joined the NRA and worked to elect Donald Trump.GOD BLESS AMERICA.
Welcome to the site, Michael Bussacco! God bless you and your wife and your efforts.
Michael Bussacco and wife
Welcome to the world of sport shooting. There are untold millions of rounds fired each year. We are enjoying a great sport. I have been active for about 75 years. I have never fired a shot in anger or do not know anyone who has. Recreational shooting is as safe as any other sport, maybe safer. It’s the few criminals that the professional criminals (politicians) use to try to stop us from an innocent sport. Have fun and God bless.
Never argue with an idiot in public. The public can’t tell which one is the idiot.
Poor Gil, awash in misery because socialism took a beating.
Agreed!
But then, useful tools are always cast aside at the end of their usefulness. I have a garage full of tools I no longer use and their just collecting dust in the corner.
That’s supposed to be “they’re” not their. My bad!
@martin, Hey! That is what Gil is doing!
It sounds as though Gil is very sad that Hillary did not become President.
@martin, It is too bad that Gil does not realize that Hil no longer has a use for him. He was a “useful idiot” and now he is just an… well you know what I mean.
Wild Bill, whole heartedly agree
Gun sellers could not have been more happy to see Obama elected for a second term. Their retail boom has come to an end with President Trump.
Gil, The American People have three serious love affairs in their lives. 1) Husband or Wife 2) Cars including pickups and Jeeps 3) Firearms of all kinds These three items are pretty much part of the American psyche, it’s ingrained. No matter who the President is, we will always have all three loves. It’s just that some Presidents bring out the Second Amendment in People more than others. If you go back and look at the Reagan or Clinton years, you will find the gun sales were still pretty. When Obama threatened the Second Amendment, the People responded because the… Read more »
Gil is writing foolish and provocative things today. He must want an argument pretty bad. I believe that I will not give it to him.
Gun sellers are very sad that Hillary didn’t become President. They can’t peddle potential civil war with 2A-loving President Trump.
To the contrary, they are quite happy, knowing that the 2nd Amendment is in good hands. You have no regard for the truth and are making this !@#! up.