Number of Gun Dealers in U.S. Drops 77 Percent Since 1994 From 245,628 to 56,577VPC

[billh58]

For Release: Thursday, December 15, 2016

Massachusetts Leads Nation in Decrease (-90%), Followed by California (-89%), Connecticut and Hawaii (tied at -87%), and Rhode Island (-86%)

America Once Had More Gun Dealers Than Gas Stations, Now Only Five States Do: Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Wyoming

WASHINGTON, DC—The number of gun dealers in America has dropped by 189,051 since 1994 according to a new analysis released today by the Violence Policy Center (VPC). The analysis (see http://www.vpc.org/studies/dealers16.pdf) found that the number of Type 1 Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs) plummeted 77 percent: from 245,628 in 1994 to 56,577 in 2016. (The Type 1 FFL is the basic federal license required to sell guns in America.)

- Snip -

Senior Policy Analyst and report author Marty Langley states, “The sharp drop in gun dealers is one of the most important—and little noticed—victories in the effort to reduce firearms violence in America. Fewer gun dealers reduces the potential number of sources for high-volume illegal gun trafficking while aiding the inspection and enforcement activities of federal, state, and local authorities.”

http://www.vpc.org/press/number-of-gun-dealers-in-u-s-drops-77-percent-since-1994-from-245628-to-56577-new-violence-policy-center-vpc-analysis-reveals/

To those who, like Trump, deny the obvious -- yes, the tide is turning against "guns for anyone, anytime, anywhere." Rather than being a "polite society," an armed society is a dangerous society, and most Americans are tired of the death and violence on our streets in the name of the Holy Second Amendment.

The purchase, the "right to keep and bear," and where guns can be carried can, and will be, tightly regulated. It will take a few years, just like all other good causes, but it WILL happen, and there is very little the extremist gun fetishists can do about it.

[MrPurple]

1. Deceptive because gun sales have increased

The remaining stores most be a lot more profitable. I wish your conclusion was true, but I don't think it is.

[billh58]

2. Thank you for your concern,

but I will believe the conclusions of the VPC over an anonymous Internet poster. And for what it's worth, these are not my conclusions, but those of people who do these studies professionally.

The study didn't conclude that fewer GUNS are being sold, but that fewer unscrupulous dealers are selling guns to criminals.

[ret5hd]

3. I believe they also made it harder to get/keep a FFL...

The way I remember it is that a whole hella lot of people had ffl's that were just individuals working out of their house...no real store or anything, mostly just acting as a licensed dealer to receive firearms ordered by others from catalogues, etc.

I might have that all wrong though.

[Berlin Vet]

9. I think you may be right

I seem to remember reading something like that a few years ago. If you had an FFL/01 (dealer) license you had to demonstrate that you were running a business rather than getting guns at dealer pricing for yourself and friends. There is one type of FFL that is very easy to obtain (if you don't have a criminal record) and that is an FFL/03 Collector of Curios and Relics (C&R). It costs $30 and is good for three years and you can send and receive firearms with it. The gun must be at least 50 years old or be on the BATFE's list of approved C & R firearms. You can even buy a machine gun with a C & R license (if your state allows that)

[MrPurple]

5. I didn't dispute the VPC's conclusions, it was yours

It's good that gun sales are done by fewer, more legitimate dealers than in the past. But, you said that the American people are reaching a conclusion that is less in favor of an armed society. Gun sales in the US have skyrocketed since 1994 - the number of armed Americans have greatly increased.

It would be like saying that the Chinese have become more conscious about elephant extinction because the number of ivory sellers decreased, while at the same time the amount of ivory being sold tripled.

[billh58]

8. The facts are, the SAME people

are buying more guns. You are obviously not interested in the facts, only in your NRA dogma. Please take your pro-gun stance to the other Group where you will feel more at home.

ETA:

US gun ownership is declining

The number of Americans who live in a household with at least one gun is declining.

Only 32% of Americans said they either own a gun or live with a person who does, tying with the record low set in 2010, according to the latest General Social Survey (GSS). During the late 1970s and early 1980s, about half of Americans said they lived in a household with a firearm.

Twenty-two percent of Americans said they own a firearm, down from a high of 31% who answered similarly in 1985.

The GSS noted key factors for the decline in household and personal gun ownership, including the decreasing popularity in hunting, end of the military draft, increase in single-parent homes headed by women and aging of the current gun-owning population — primarily white males. Fewer women than men own guns, the survey found.

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/us-gun-ownership-declining

[Aristus]

4. Has anyone mentioned the increase in online gun-trafficking since 1994?

n/t

[brewens]

6. The gun "enthusiasts" can only buy so many guns. Those who felt they needed one or a couple

for self/home defense bought what they needed. After the big booms, it's now eased up. It may not even have much to do with attitudes changing. I'm one that just has a few guns. I bought exactly what I wanted. They aren't going to wear out at the pace I use them. I could see trading one or two and spending a little more upgrading, but no one is likely to ever make much more from my gun purchases.

I work a couple gun shows in my area. Those and several more I know of have been down by about a third for some time. That has weeded out a lot of the sellers.

I was laughing at a lot of the people at the shows supporting Trump and with the "Hillary For Prison" shirts and all that. Hillary winning and a new wave of "she's gonna git yer gunz" hysteria would have been the best thing for them. But they can't pass up an opportunity to vote against their own interests.

[Runningdawg]

7. The gun trade went partially underground

to avoid Obama taking their guns. More guns are sold in parking lots than stores.