An academic study published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine examined trends in the firearms industry over a 25-year period. The journal consistently features biased research by anti-gun public health scholars like David Hemenway, and this article was no departure. There was a call for more “smart guns” and plenty of hand-wringing about the alleged rise in production of firearms “that are of a higher caliber and therefore greater lethality.” But separated from the hysterical anti-gun spin, the results may be of interest to Second Amendment supporters for their confirmation of trends for which we’ve seen anecdotal evidence.
The paper identifies “a dramatic increase in domestic firearm production starting in 2005 and peaking in 2013, driven by the increased production of pistols and rifles.” The researchers see trends indicating a growing market preference for higher-caliber and more concealable guns. This leads us to conclude that manufacturers are responding to an expanding public interest in self-defense, and concealed carry, in particular.
And that’s not such a bad thing at all, is it?
