NSSF: Firearm Industry Economic Impact Rises 213% Since 2008
The total economic impact of the firearm and ammunition industry in the United States increased from $19.1 billion in 2008 to $60 billion in 2019, a 213-percent increase, while the total number of full-time-equivalent jobs rose from approximately 166,000 to over 332,000, a 100-percent increase in that period, according to a report released by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the firearm industry trade association.
On a year-over-year basis, the industry’s economic impact rose from $52 in 2018 to $60 billion. Total jobs increased by 20,000 in the same period, from nearly 312,000 to over 332,000. The broader impact of the industry flows throughout the economy and supports and generates business for firms seemingly unrelated to firearms at a time when every job in America counts. These are real people, with real jobs, working in industries as varied as banking, retail, accounting, metalworking and printing, among others.
The firearm and ammunition industry paid over $6.74 billion in business taxes, including property, income and sales-based levies.
“Our industry continues to show the steady and reliable growth that is a hallmark of a healthy industry,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF President and CEO. “The workers who comprise our ranks are the fabric of our communities. They produce the highest quality firearms and ammunition that millions of law-abiding Americans rely upon to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms and safely enjoy the recreational shooting sports. This growth translates to more jobs that add to our local economies, averaging $55,200 in wages and benefits. In addition, since 2008 we increased federal tax payments by 162 percent, Pittman-Robertson excise taxes that support wildlife conservation by 79 percent and state business taxes by 116 percent.”
The Firearm and Ammunition Industry Economic Impact Report provides a state-by-state breakdown of job numbers, wages and output covering direct, supplier and induced employment, as well as federal excise taxes paid. Access the full report here.
Mossberg MC1sc Pistol Wins 2020 NRA Golden Bullseye Award
Mossberg is pleased to announce that their MC1sc (subcompact) 9mm pistol was recognized with the NRA Publications Golden Bullseye Award for the 2020 Shooting Illustrated Handgun of the Year. All 2020 award winners will be recognized in the May 2020 issue of American Rifleman, American Hunter and Shooting Illustrated magazines.
Golden Bullseye Award winners are selected by a committee of editors, graphic designers and veteran members of the NRA publications staff. To qualify for consideration, a product must have been recently introduced and available to consumers; used or tested by a staff member or regular contributor to the magazine; reliable, innovative and meeting or exceeding the evaluator’s expectation. Completing the criteria for award selection are the perceived value of the product to the purchaser and that the product is styled in a manner befitting the shooting and hunting industry, and its enthusiasts.
Mossberg stunned the industry with the introduction of the MC1sc pistol, the company’s first handgun in nearly a century. This full-featured 9mm concealed carry handgun was the result of three years of research and development, combining the highly-desired features of a subcompact with Mossberg’s innovative approach to design. Key features include size, weight, caliber and carryability. And the MC1sc delivers on all; with its overall length of 6.25 inches, weight of 19 ounces (with an empty magazine) and a barrel length of 3.4 inches in the widely-popular 9mm chambering. Mossberg delivered innovation with the patented STS (Safe Takedown System); Clear-Count magazines; and patent-pending, aggressive-signature grip texturing. Not-to-be overlooked, standard features of the MC1sc include a durable frame constructed of glass-reinforced polymer; stainless steel slide with DLC-coating; white 3-dot sights; and flat-profile trigger.
“Mossberg opened its doors in 1919 with the introduction of its first firearm, the Brownie, a 22-caliber pocket pistol,” commented John MacLellan, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Now 101 years later, it’s a tremendous honor for our MC1sc pistol to be recognized with a 2020 Golden Bullseye Award in celebration of our commitment to engineering expertise and manufacturing excellence. On behalf of Mossberg, I would like to thank the NRA’s Shooting Illustrated publication staff for this highly-coveted award.”
NRA Urges Governors to Keep Public Lands Open
The National Rifle Association, along with other pro-hunting organizations, sent a letter to governors of all 50 states on Friday urging them to keep public lands open for hunting and fishing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now, perhaps more than ever, families need access to hunting and fishing grounds so they can put food on the table for their families,” said Jason Oumet, executive director, National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action. “There is no reason why people should be prohibited from spending time alone in America’s wide-open spaces. At its core, hunting is the original social distancing.”
The NRA teamed with the Dallas Safari Club, Hunter Nation and Safari Club International in the effort. The letter outlines the reasons why keeping public lands is crucial during this period while strongly supporting efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, such as social distancing.
In part, the letter reads:
“Closing these areas significantly limits the ability of our nation’s millions of sportsmen and women who take to our woods, waters, and wild lands every year to pursue their passion for the outdoors — an activity that is, at its core, America’s most traditional form of “social distancing.” Further, given the economic effects of COVID-19, it is more important than ever to allow hunters and anglers access to healthy and inexpensive sources of food to support their families.”
The letter was sent to governors of all 50 states Friday morning.
FN Remains Fully Operational During COVID-19
FN America, LLC would like to inform its customers that the company has been designated as an essential business to the Defense Industrial Base by the Department of Defense and the state of South Carolina. The company’s production facility, based in Columbia, South Carolina, remains open and is operating at full capacity to deliver against FN’s multiple military contracts and customer orders. FN’s two other locations in Virginia also remain open and at full operation, as well.
“As COVID-19 continues to impact our nation, our employees, their families and our customers are at the forefront of our thoughts and actions during this unprecedented time,” said Mark Cherpes, President and CEO for FN America. “Because we are designated as an essential business by our state and by the Federal government, we remain open and continue to produce but have taken measures to ensure the safety and security of our team while we operate under these circumstances. Our customers depend on us each day to supply them with dependable, reliable firearms and we will continue to support them.”
“In response to this outbreak, FN has established a COVID-19 response task force to implement measures above and beyond recommended guidelines, ensure employee safety while on the job and keep our teams informed as we work to minimize disruption to our daily operations. Additionally, FN has implemented telework for those who are able to work remotely and introduced a new program called Patriot Pay.”
“The Patriot Pay program provides a temporary wage increase to FN employees who are working onsite at the company’s production facility directly engaged in manufacturing operations. In addition to this wage lift, employees have flexible leave schedules to care for themselves or their families should they need to, as well as other benefits.”
“During these uncertain times, as our nation responds and adjusts to this unprecedented pandemic situation, please rest assured that FN stands ready to support its customers with the dependable, reliable firearms they expect.”
SAF Rips “Everytown” Anti-Gun Rights Memo Backing Gun Shop Closures
photo: G. Skidmore
The Second Amendment Foundation today responded to a memorandum issued by ‘Everytown Law,’ an arm of Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety gun prohibition lobbying group, calling the document “totally biased” and written solely to support the emergency closure of American gun stores, using the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse.
According to the memo, Everytown objects to lawsuits—filed by SAF and other groups—to protect retail firearms stores as “essential businesses” on the grounds that gun rights groups are “seeking…for Second Amendment rights to become super-rights, receiving a level of protection no other constitutional right enjoys.”
“Well I have news for them,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The Second Amendment is a super right. That’s why it’s in our Bill of Rights. It protects all of our other rights.”
The Everytown memo also argues against gun stores being singled out “for special treatment, and be allowed to remain open even in the face of the most severe public-health crisis this country has faced in over 100 years is legally flawed and should be rejected by the courts.”
“The only thing flawed here is Everytown’s memo,” Gottlieb observed. “Constitutional rights are not subject to a public health crisis. Our rights are enshrined in the Constitution to protect them from just this sort of political treachery disguised as legal research. This memo is totally biased and one-sided, and is further proof that they know we are winning this battle.”
For the past two weeks, SAF and other groups have been waging successful legal battles in several states to prevent or reverse gun shop closures, and defend those important local businesses as “essential” during national emergencies, including a pandemic such as the Coronavirus outbreak.
“We’ve been winning,” Gottlieb said, “which means they’re losing. People rushed to gun stores, many for the first time. Everytown wants to stop that by shutting those shops down. Closing gun stores won’t cure the Coronavirus, and they know it. But if Everytown can convince people it’s okay to suspend the Second Amendment during one emergency, they’ll try to erase it entirely the next time we face a crisis. We will not allow that to happen.”
California Gun Rights Lawsuit: Part II
The National Rifle Association (NRA) joined other individuals, retailers, and gun rights groups in filing a federal lawsuit on Tuesday challenging local policies and enforcement practices that violate Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights.
“Local governments aren’t promoting safety or “common sense” by targeting gun stores for closure; the closures only serve to disarm law-abiding families while criminals roam free,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Jason Ouimet. “Because these closures violate our Second Amendment rights when we need them most, the National Rifle Association continues to fight such infringements in court alongside fellow Second Amendment groups.”
This is the second lawsuit the gun rights coalition has filed in California after a number of counties deemed firearm and ammuntion stores, as well as indoor and outdoor ranges, “nonessential.” The gun rights groups includes the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), the California Gun Rights Foundation (CGF), and the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC). A copy of the lawsuit can be found here.
