US firearms manufacturers produced more than 139 million guns for the commercial market over the last two decades, including 11.3 million in 2020 alone, according to a government report. Another 71 million were imported in the same period, compared to just 7.5 million exported.
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This shows that America is literally swimming in personal weaponswhich have led to an increase in gun violence, murders and suicides, according to the Justice Department report.
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The document shows that while Americans have become a favorite of the semi-automatic assault rifles seen in many mass shootings, they have flocked to the increasingly cheap, easy-to-use and accurate 9mm semi-automatic pistols that are now used by most police forces.
In addition, authorities are facing a rise in “ghost weapons” – unregistered, home-made from parts that can be bought online and produced with a 3D printer – as well as short-barreled pistols and rifles that are so powerful and deadly like semi-automatic assault rifles.
“We can only address the current increase in violence if we have the best information available and use the most effective tools and research to advance our efforts,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco.
“This report is an important step in that direction. The Department will continue to gather the information necessary to fine-tune our focus on the most significant drivers of gun violence and get shooters off the streets.”
The report was published after a weekend where the impact of firearms on American society was made clear.
In Buffalo, New York, an 18-year-old white man, motivated by racist hatred, murdered 10 African Americans with an assault rifle.
In Laguna Woods, California, a man shot five people with a 9mm pistol at a church frequented by Taiwanese.
And in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, more than 20 people have been injured in shootings in the city’s downtown entertainment district.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that the number of deaths from firearms in the United States suffered a “historic” increase in 2020.
Indeed, there were 19,350 firearm homicides that year, a nearly 35% increase from 2019, and 24,245 gun suicides, an increase of 1.5%.
The firearm homicide rate stood at 6.1 per 100,000 population in 2020, the highest in 25 years.
Meanwhile, the arms industry has exploded in the last two decades. In 2000, there were 2,222 active registered manufacturers. In 2020, the number climbed to 16,936.
The annual production of commercial arms, likewise, took off: from 3.9 million in 2000 it went to 11.3 million twenty years later. However, it suffered a slight drop compared to 11.9 million in 2016.
Firearms from official manufacturers are required to have serial numbers that allow law enforcement to trace them, but authorities are showing growing concern about home-made “ghost guns” that lack serial numbers and are increasingly most used by criminals.
In 2021, according to the report, authorities recovered 19,344 “ghost weapons,” compared to 1,758 five years earlier.
In April, US President Joe Biden announced crackdowns on “ghost guns,” curbing pro-gun advocates who called his ideas “extreme.”
“Is it extreme to protect police officers, extreme to protect our children? (…) It is not extreme, it is basic, common sense,” Biden said.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP
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