For a European, the figures in this report are staggering. In 20 years, the arms industry has produced 139 million firearms in the United States. And production continues to increase: more than 11 million for 2020 alone. To this total must be added an additional 71 million imported weapons (conversely, there is very little export, 7 million). In total, we arrive at more than 200 million weapons purchased commercially in 20 years in the United States, in a country of 330 million inhabitants.
This business makes people happy: the manufacturers. In 20 years, their number has increased eightfold. The United States today has 16,960 arms manufacturing companies. But more weapons in circulation also means more homicides, more mass killings, like the one in Buffalo and before, those in El Paso or Pittsburgh. The number of firearm deaths has never increased in the United States as much as during the year 2020: nearly 20,000 homicides in 12 months, in other words, a homicide rate of 6.1 per 100,000 inhabitants . To give a point of comparison, in Western Europe, in France, in the United Kingdom, in Germany, this rate is between 1 and 1.5, that is to say between five and six times less.
Equally worrying, the nature of the weapons sold in the United States: it is not the old popper of the grandfather hunter in his spare time. The increase in sales concerns first of all modern semi-automatic weapons, many rifles used precisely in mass killings and also 9 mm pistols, always semi-automatic.
Another development, even more recent: the development of “ghost guns”. What we call this are weapons made in kit form. You receive the different parts at home and assemble them. Often all you need is a 3D printer. Police in the United States seized nearly 20,000 last year. Ten times more than five years ago. Last April, Joe Biden tightened the regulations on this type of weapon. But they are difficult to spot: they have no serial numbers, are not sold as weapons, of course, so no license to carry weapons either. The phenomenon goes under the radar.
And it is not tomorrow the day before that the Americans intend to give up carrying arms. This is guaranteed by the famous Second Amendment to the US Constitution. The NRA, the National Rifle Association, is one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington. Four out of 10 Americans admit to having a gun in their household.
And in recent years, opposition to weapons has been on the decline. Only 52% of Americans now want tougher gun laws. They were 67% five years ago. It is also a major point of disagreement between Democrats (Joe Biden) and Republicans (Donald Trump). Only 20% of Republican voters support gun restrictions. They are 80% Democrats.