The NRA is among the top rightwing purveyors of the lie that guns are going to be ‘banned’ and ‘confiscated.’
So they can get morons to buy something they are convinced will be banned.
More $$$ for the gun and ammunition manufacturers.
Over the past 15 years, gun sales have followed the nation’s election cycle, spiking when Democratic elections aggravate fears of gun control, and dipping when Republicans come into power. Gun sales ballooned in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, when President Barack Obama pledged to enact stricter gun reforms.
Though few of his promises were realized, the industry enjoyed unprecedented prosperity for the remainder of his presidency. In 2016, in anticipation of a Hillary Clinton victory, sales lurched again, setting new all-time records for background checks in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s system.
The pandemic sales surge has dwarfed these previous spikes. At Sturm, Ruger, & Co., gross profits nearly doubled between 2019 and 2021 to almost $280 million — its highest total ever.
The chemical and ammunition manufacturing company Olin Corp likewise experienced unprecedented highs, recording more than two billion dollars in ammunition profits over the same period. Smith & Wesson, the most prolific American gun manufacturer, raked in more than half a billion dollars since the pandemic began.
In the fall of 2020, after notching $100 million in sales in October, the company gave employees commemorative silver and blue coins etched with the reminder, “FIRST 100 MILLION DOLLAR MONTH.”
www.factcheck.org
