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Investing in the Second Amendment: Gun Industry Shows Continued Strong Growth

Monday, May 1, 2023

Investing in the Second Amendment: Gun Industry Shows Continued Strong Growth

As Americans continue to come to terms with the pandemic’s ripple effect on business, unemployment, and snags in the supply chain, one of the bright spots in the economic landscape is the state of the firearm and ammunition industry.

Each year, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) publishes a detailed report on the impact of the firearm and ammunition industry on the U.S. economy and jobs. In addition to examining the effect that companies that manufacture, distribute, and sell firearms, ammunition, and hunting equipment have had in the last year, the report looks at trends more generally.

According to the latest report, Firearm and Ammunition Industry Economic Impact Report 2023, the industry’s economic growth “in recent years has been nothing short of remarkable and has been driven by an unprecedented number of Americans choosing to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms. This includes an estimated 4.2 million new gun owners in 2022.”

Since 2008, the overall economic impact of the industry has increased by more than 320% ‒ from $19.1 billion (2008) to $80.7 billion last year. 2022 alone represented an increase of over $10 billion over the year before.  

Other highlights:

  • in 2022, the firearm and ammunition industry was responsible for employing 172,697 people and generated an additional 220,999 jobs in supplier and ancillary industries;
  • Pittman-Robertson excise tax contributions to the Wildlife Restoration Trust Fund exceeded $1.15 billion in 2022;
  • in addition, the industry and industry employees paid over $7.48 billion in state and federal taxes in 2022, including property, income, and sales-based levies; and
  • “over 4.2 million Americans from all walks of life, for the first time, discovered and exercised their right to lawful firearm owners and safely participate in the recreational shooting sports last year.”

The report’s state-by-state breakdown shows that these economic gains are by no means restricted to “pro-gun” jurisdictions and extend to every state. The economic impact of the gun industry in New York State, for instance, exceeded $3 billion ($3,187,992,000) last year. Likewise, California benefitted by an annual total output of just under six billion dollars ($5,992,739,100). 

While anti-gun politicians and their gun-control allies attack the gun industry (here and here, for instance) as part of a campaign against firearm-related commerce in general, the indisputable fact remains that the industry’s continued strength relies on millions of law-abiding consumers – sport shooters, hunters, farmers and other everyday Americans –  exercising their fundamental constitutional rights and investing in the Second Amendment.

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North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Thursday, October 2, 2025

Federal Court Strikes Down Biden Administration’s “Engaged in the Business” Rule in NRA Case

Yesterday, in Butler v. Bondi, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama held that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its statutory authority by issuing its 2024 Final Rule expanding ...

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

President Trump’s GOP Leads Polling on Crime and Guns, To No Surprise

A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll revealed that Americans know the President Donald Trump-led Republican Party has a better plan than their Democratic Party opponents on crime and gun control.

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Friday, October 3, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Case Challenging the Federal Switchblade Act

Yesterday, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief in Knife Rights, Inc. v. Bondi, urging the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas’s decision upholding the Federal ...

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trump Administration Repeals Biden Era Firearms Export Crackdown

Last Monday, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) at the U.S. Department of Commerce published a final rule that reversed a crackdown on the commercial export of firearms from the U.S. to other countries.

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

Trust in Mass Media Craters to New Lows, in Single Digits With Republicans

There’s an old saying that rings especially true to Second Amendment supporters: If you don’t read the news, you’re uninformed.

Alphabet Eases the Reins on Censorship; Will Gun Content Eventually Benefit?

News  

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

Alphabet Eases the Reins on Censorship; Will Gun Content Eventually Benefit?

With the free speech debate recently co-opted by one TV host’s use of false and incendiary remarks about his political opponents, it might have been easy to miss another important First Amendment story last week. 

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

News  

Monday, September 29, 2025

Canada’s Public Safety Minister on Gun Ban & Confiscation: “Don’t Ask Me to Explain the Logic”

There have been multiple developments on the Canadian gun grab and ban in the last few days, but the most astounding has got to be a leaked bombshell recording of the Liberal Public Safety Minister, ...

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Friday, October 3, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Hawaii’s Private Property Default Carry Ban

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the petition for certiorari in Wolford v. Lopez, a challenge to Hawaii’s law forbidding carry on private property open to the public (such as restaurants, gas stations, and grocery stores) ...

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NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.