The Gun Industry

THE GUN INDUSTRY (NRA is a proxy/front for the gun industry)

Usually overlooked in the liberal vs conservative "gun control" debates

Based partly on Making a Killing by Tom Diaz, NY:The New Press, 1999

The Gun Industry

Note: smoking didn't decrease until the tobacco industry became a target!

(Lot of parallels to tobacco industry!)

(US companies dumping cigarettes in third world countries, Canadian companies dumping handguns in the US!!)

The Gun Industry

Multi-billion dollar industry - organized like any other industry - except mostly private/secret (most are not publicly held companies). Four sectors: Manufacture/import Wholesalers Retailers Consumers

The Gun Industry

Also advertising & promotion through:

– Gun press (magazines, newsletters, etc.) – Professional associations like the NRA

(National Rifle Association) – Movie/entertainment industry links– Video game and toy industry

The Gun Industry

About 16% of US adults own handguns -

owners decreasing -- dilemma for gun indus but the number of handguns is increasing

(fewer owners, more guns!)

The Gun Industry

Costs Benefits (paid by public!) (none for public!)

est. $112 bill a year “self defense” $60 bill assaults sporting/collecting $41 bill suicides $11 bill accidents

+ many thousands of deaths & injuries

The Gun Industry

History/background

(Note: US “history” of common handgun ownership is a myth!)

Agricultural/rural background -- mostly long guns for hunting and protection against predator animals.

(Recent research on probate records - most long guns broken!!)

The Gun Industry

With urbanization, continuing decreasing ownership of long guns

(not needed in urban areas!)

No demand for handguns either!

The Gun Industry

After WW2, gun industry seeking new markets - long guns & sport shooting not marketable in urban areas.

** Declining industry With rise of crime in 1960's, industry patched together new marketing strategy around fear of crime and handguns for “protection”.

The Gun Industry

Created the fundamental structure of a new "traditional" gun culture through marketing/advertising.

The Gun Industry

Components of new gun culture strategy – handguns as "tribal totems embodying a complex of values“ Tom Diaz

Fear of crime -- gun industry promotes fear of crime while denying responsibility for gun probs.

Individualizes problems - like tobacoo indus!

The Gun Industry

Identification of handguns with "masculinity" -- esp targets white males as "besieged."

Encourages impulsive buying

Political links with far right conservatives -- individual "liberty" -- self-reliance (gun as the "great equalizer") -- fantasy of "immediate justice" (shoot the bad guys) – “male duty” to protect family, etc.

The Gun Industry

In order to drive sales (sell more guns to current gun owners) continual development of "better products" --

lighter, more concealable handguns, more lethal ammo, "specialty items" like assault weapons.

The Gun Industry

Also cultivated links to law enforcement (e.g., "trade-in" programs) -- handguns already a historical totem of many American police. Police culture & problems with guns.

Some irony here -- more lethal guns and ammo also used to injure/kill police.

The Gun Industry

Strategy worked well -- currently about 200 million guns in US -- National survey estimated 80% acquired since 1970's -- biggest growth by far has been handguns.

Gun industry has made billions of dollars!

While the public pays for the problems!

The Gun Industry

Like cigarettes, gun culture has natural affinity with impulsive/irrational "start-up" (attract when young and/or impulsive).

Leads to targeting younger people

(e.g., NRA gun ownership and "gun safety" campaigns for kids, gun-related games like paintball and "cowboy shooting" contests, violent movies & games targeted at young).

The Gun Industry

More recently, industry targeting "under-represented" groups -- women & minorities.

Exploits fear

Male fantasy - protect the familyWomen - fear of rapeMinorities - fear of violent crime

The Gun Industry

National survey:

Want gun Have gun

White Males 29% 28%

White Females 19% 9%

The Gun Industry

Two counter strategies:

(1) govt regulation (“gun control”) - targets indivs - not very effective.

(2) Product liability lawsuits (esp. at state and local level to pay for the gun carnage).

These lawsuits are what brought down the tobacco industry - pay for the damage caused.

The Gun Industry

The gun indus is currently lobbying for new laws to exempt gun manufacturers from lawsuits.

“Tort Reform”

(Industry attacks trial lawyers to distract from the issue of who pays for damage)

Very close to total victory!

The Gun Industry

A more specific example of the relationship between

gun availability and violence

The Gun Industry

A 2001 US Dept. of Justice Report described the following trends:

Huge incr in Juv Homicides 1983-1993

Then a huge drop in the same homicide categories 1993-1999

The Gun Industry

Overall trend was all firearm related (little change in non-firearm homicides)

(Robbery and weapons offenses followed similar pattern - both usually involve guns)

(Property offenses and larceny/theft did not follow pattern - neither usually involve guns)

The Gun Industry

Male homicides drove the trends (little change in female offender homicides)

Similar trends for white and minority offenders

Most victims were young (esp. 15-25)

Increases all acquaintance and stranger homicides (little change in family homicides) why?

The Gun Industry

Summary: 1983-1993 huge incr in homs (and other gun-related offenses) by young males using guns to kill young acq/stranger victims.

1993-1999 huge decr in exactly the same types of offenses.

What caused these striking trends?

The Gun Industry

From mid-1980’s to 1993, huge flood of cheap import guns from China and later Eastern Europe/former Soviet Union countries

(at first cheap rifles and handguns, then cheap assault rifles).

Guns became much more available/affordable to juveniles - and juvenile homicides increased.

The Gun Industry

In 1993, Bill Clinton became President and immediately banned import of cheap firearms from China and Eastern European countries

(this was politically viable because it removed competition for the domestic gun industry).

Thus after 1993 guns became less available and affordable to juvs and juv hom rates dropped.

The Gun Industry

Bottom Line: 3 aspects of US gun prob

1. Gun industry and marketing2. Gun proliferation3. Gun culture

Gun crime is a smaller secondary problem drivenby proliferation of legal guns!

The Gun Industry

Reducing the American Gun Problem (3 steps):

Use product liability lawsuits to make the gun industry pay for the damage caused by guns – removes profit incentive for proliferation.

The Gun Industry

Add other efforts to decrease gun proliferation

(increase taxes to make guns, ammo, etc. more expensive, buy-back programs, etc.)

The Gun Industry

Add further efforts to dismantle the gun culture

(ban advertising, discourage media images)

NY Times article – culture changing, but very slowly