US gun manufacturing triples in past 2 decades: Report

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The number of guns manufactured in the US has nearly tripled since 2000, according to a recently published government report.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) National Firearms and Trafficking Assessment said Tuesday that licensed gun manufacturers produced 11,302,827 million guns in 2020 -- nearly triple the 3,932,734 firearms made in 2000.

The US population increased just 18% in the 20-year interim, meaning far more guns were made than humans during that period. In 2000, there were 1,397 guns per every 100,000 people. That ratio ballooned to 3,410 per 100,000 by 2020, according to the report.

Rifles were the most common type of firearm manufactured between 2000 and 2009, but that has since changed when for every year except 2015 pistols became the much heavily manufactured firearm.

The totals only account for firearms produced by licensed manufacturers. However, home manufactured "ghost guns," which are difficult to trace, have become increasingly prevalent in police seizures.

In 2021, officers collected 19,344 "ghost guns," according to the ATF. That is nearly double the 10,109 collected the year prior as 3D printer technology used to make them has proliferated.