A report from the National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF) shows the number of firearms in civilian possession topped 490 million in 2022.
According to the NSSF, “The estimated total number of firearms in civilian possession from 1990-2022 is 491.3 million.”
Moreover, the NSSF pointed out more than ten million firearms were domestically produced in 2022 alone. The domestically-produced firearms, combined with those which were imported, resulted in “16,045,911 total firearms were made available for the U.S. market” in 2022.
Handguns dominate the firearms available in the U.S. market.
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For example, of the 16,045,911 firearms that were available in 2022, “9,873,136 were handguns, 4,195,192 were rifles and 1,977,583 were shotguns.”
Handgun availability/production correlates with the concealed carry/self-defense market in the U.S.
All 50 states have permitted concealed carry and 29 of those states have constitutional carry, which allows law-abiding citizens to forgo a permit and still carry a handgun daily for self-defense.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly:
