These stories are almost getting old, but then again, so is the ink being spilled by our opponents in regards to the gun sales data not meaning what it means.
The gun lobby doesn’t actually provide any gun sales data to the media. The NSSF (the trade association for the gun industry) and the NRA have this data–because gun manufacturers have to understand what their dealers are selling in order to produce the proper amount of product and maximize profits. But the gun lobby has blocked public access to this information for decades. Instead, they offer reporters data on background checks run through the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
This kind of rhetoric goes to show that Horwitz is either an ignoramus or is deliberately deceptive. No one is blocking manufacturing data. It is there plain for everyone to see (scroll down to Annual Firearms Manufacturers And Export Report), which the ATF compiles every year, with a one year delay, in order to comply with the Trade Secrets Act, which is not a “gun lobby” piece of legislation.
Also, the only body that offers reports on NICS checks are the FBI. Anyone else is just relaying the FBI statistics. This is what the gun control groups wanted. I’m sure in a million years they never believed it would be used to chart their painful slide into irrelevance.
But manufacturing isn’t ‘sales’. Checks aren’t ‘sales’. The litany of excuses gets sadder and sadder. Seriously, he claimed NICS checks aren’t valid because sometimes people don’t pick up the purchase.
Yeah I’m going to forget to pick up my gun that I paid for already, right. If anything, NICS checks can account for multiple firearms.
Horwitz is alleging that manufacturers are sharing production data to maximize profits? Isn’t that a violation of anti-trust law?
NSSF does provide manufacturing trend and production data. CSGV must be too broke to pay for the report.
NICS checks would understate sales. I live in a state where with my CHL I don’t have to under go a NICS check to purchase a firearm. As do many other people. Only 2 of my firearms have ever been run through NICS the rest just are reported with my CHL number.
Its often hard to separate when the gun control advocates are just utterly incompetent in the subject they claim to be experts in, versus outright lying.
I usually bet on outright lying, but every so often I’m wrong and its just complete incompetence.
Sooo…did anybody bring the gun-banner tears flavored popcorn?