“Gun manufacturing increased dramatically between 2007 and 2011, from 3.7 million weapons to 6.1 million being produced. You have to wonder if owning guns, for those who still do, is a bit like buying cell phones. Once you’re hooked, only the newest killer version will do, prompting more frequent purchases.” – Mary Sanchez in Gun lobby defends not the Constitution but a cynical business model [via chicagotribune.com]

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57 COMMENTS

    • Some folks are collectors, and from a financial point of view a good gun holds it’s value.
      Some cycle through firearms for one feels better than others.
      A gun is a tool, and we like the the tool for the task at hand. Summer, winter, concealed carry. Hunting, or home defense. Each has a good tool for the job, and they usually require different guns. Your home defense shotty is different then the one you use to duck hunt.
      Technology changes, for better or worse. As my children are introduced to shooting sports, my collection will increase.
      I don’t quite understand how her statement differs from any other company on the face of the planet! I don’t think it makes gun companies bad or any worse than lets say a car company, or a garden tool company.
      She is trying to lash out and demonize a corporation since attacking law abiding good citizens, who are gun owners, probably wouldn’t help her cause.

      • The one I use to duck hunt is about .75 caliber, orange and grey, and says Nintendo down the barrel.

  2. She is correct. How many of you own just one firearm of one caliber? Hell, I own multiple 9mms. A friend of mine has multiple ARs, multiple 9mms (and wants more and the “latest and greatest”) and many shotguns (which again is the latest and greatest). So, grow a spine and do not be insulted.

    • How many screwdrivers do you own? How many pairs of pliers? How many computers including desktops, laptops, and tablets for different uses and environments?

      It’s not even close to something unique to guns and anyone who takes a moment to consider it and *isn’t* trying to obfuscate propaganda can come to the same conclusion.

    • Actually, I think new stuff sucks, personally. If you want to be a sucker for the latest and greatest, by all means. I’ll stick to my pre-war and post war series Colts and other classics, thank you.

    • Shawn,

      Stop projecting yourself onto others. I own four guns. One is a 22 cal Buckmark Camper pistol and I am soon going to buy a 22 bolt-action rifle. My other three guns are a lever-action carbine 357/38 for outdoor defense and survival hunting, a 4″ barrel 357/38 DA/SA revolver for home defense and hiking in mountain lion country, and a 357/38 snubbie revolver for concealed carry.

      While the proven calibers I choose overlap because they are practical and have multiple uses there is little to no overlap in the types of guns I own in relation to the types of use they were made for. So grow a pair and stop being a white knight or whatever it is you are doing.

      BTW, during the current ammo drought I have always been able to easily find 38 and 357 while many other calibers were non-existent.

  3. From the Chicago Tribune? Quiet now, those of us who live in places with more days than murders in a year are allowed to talk about gun violence. You aren’t.

  4. “… only the newest killer version will do…”

    Yea which is exactly why I went from buying my semi-auto AR with several standard capacity magazines to a bolt action 1926 Mosin with a fixed 5 round magazine. What a dumb@&&. Frankly, I havnt shot the Mosin yet but I like it better.

  5. If the aforementioned Ms. Sanchez wishes to make this country a safer and better place, perhaps she should direct her energies toward banning the manufacture, distribution, sale and possession of Ugly Sticks.

    She would certainly benefit directly from such legislation, although it may simply be all that hate and ignorance inside seeping out is manifesting itself visually.

    • Ban ugly sticks? What do you have against fishing poles? Some of us enjoy more than one sport………..I know, I know you were referring to the womans looks. Still, ugly starts on the inside and then oozes out.

      This ditz is trying to re enforce that lie of the anti’s that all those millions of guns and tons of ammo are being bought by a few die hard gun junkies. You know, fewer people are buying guns and gun ownership is declining.

  6. No, it’s more like collecting cars, for those who can afford to do that. Or for that matter, model cars. Or dolls. Or anything else someone might assemble a collection of.

    When you buy the latest killer cell phone, you replace the one you have. Most people who buy multiple guns aren’t doing any replacing, they’re adding something different to their collection. Even if they’re all ARs in 5.56, you’ve got the SBR, the SPR, the M16 clone, the M4gery, the home defense setup, etc. That variety just increases when you add more calibers and platforms.

  8. “Hello, my names is CJ and I am a gun addict” God, give me grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed…………………

    • Grant me the serenity to accept the ammo I cannot find,
      The cash to buy the ammo I can,
      And the wisdom to know when an order is coming in.

  9. There may be some collectors who keep buying the newest model of something nearly identical to what they have, but there’s a significant difference between cell phones and firearms. There are far more different types of firearms, as opposed to brands and models, and they’re suited to different purposes.

    A sport shooter might own:

    – A .22 pistol for target shooting
    – And over/under shotgun for skeet
    – A pump shotgun, AR, and semi-auto pistol for 3-gun competitions

    For defensive use one might have:

    – A compact pistol for concealed carry
    – A full-sized handgun for open carry
    – A holdout pistol
    – A pump and/or AR for home defense

    A hunter might have:

    -A shotgun of some kind
    -A high-powered rifle
    -A rimfire rifle
    – A large caliber handgun

    Now, granted there’s some overlap in there, but it’s still trivial to accumulate more than half a dozen firearms before you have any significant overlap in their purpose. I don’t think the same thing applies to cell phones.

  12. Interesting premise. Now if you’ll hold on, I got to go try out
    my new Magpul Angle foregrip App on my Colt M4 OS.

  14. Ahhh thoes evil black smart phones with their high capacity memory storage devices and high speed web browsing capabilities. Think of the children, especially the children who have this things. No child should have 24/7 access to porn and pedophiles.

    Wow, I think I should run for congress. That was fun and easy.

  15. I was trying to determine if she’s pro/anti until I got to “newest killer version”. I’m not sure exactly what that means, but it sounds like “anti” terminology.
    After reading bits of the article, I think it’s sort of anti-gun, but I’m not sure. The title is “Gun lobby defends not the Constitution but a cynical business model”. That may be partly true; it won’t stop me from buying more guns, but I guess every business wants to increase sales and be more profitable.
    However, I though everyone is skeptical of lobbyists. I’m not worried about anti-gun folk hating gun lobbyists as much as I’m worried about them not understanding the principles and facts of gun ownership/use.

  17. She seems to be shocked…shocked!…that companies who produce firearms are in it for the money.

    Let’s hope she doesn’t investigate book publishers. I can see her headline now:

    “You have to wonder if owning books, for those who still do, is a bit like buying cell phones. Once you’re hooked, only the newest popular novel will do, prompting more frequent purchases.” – Mary Sanchez in Book lobby defends not the Constitution but a cynical business model

  20. How many people have just one gun? This is a sport/hobby and if you enjoy various competition level aspects, you have different equipment for different types of events.

    I have friends with 6 ARs and can tell me the difference and reason for each one.

    I have yet anyone complain about how many shoes, handbags, clothing, make-up and accessories women have and my gf spends whole bunch each month on hair cuts and hair products.

    I do not understand the point of her post.

  21. “Liberal manufacturing increased dramatically between 2007 and 2011, from 3.7 million liberals to 6.1 million being produced. You have to wonder if having liberals, for those who still do, is a bit like buying zombies. Once you’re hooked, only the newest dead version will do, prompting more frequent purchases.”

    • Something needs to be done to make up for this production gap. All gun rights activists need to purchase something for their wives at Victoria’s Secret, stop watching television or blogging on the Internet, and get busy in the bedroom producing future conservatives. I know the results can be expensive (especially compared to firearm and ammunition purchases over the long-term). Hopefully, there may be enough government entitlement programs proposed by the current adminustration to offset the costs.

  22. Self defense guns are bad & killer criminals are good, just so I know. I couldn’t find the part where mary mary was sick & tired of nice people being murdered, I must have just missed it./// Thats ok mary, we will save you from you, like the sheriff in Blazing Saddles said, nobody move or the sheriff gets it, Randy

  23. Dear Ms. Ignorant, Uninformed, Liberal

    The Constitution guarantees the right to own and bear arms. Nowhere does it say the any liberal, progressive, communist asshole like you can tell me what or how many guns I can or should own.

    The largest buyer of weapons and ammunition right now is the US government. Why is that? To send to Mexico? To give to our enemies or to use against American Citizens like Hitler, Mao or Stalin did when they became dictators? You’re a fool if you believe that it can’t happen in the United States.

  24. The Chicago Tribune? Here’s an idea:can we enact a new law here on TTAG banning articles on assault newspapers?

    Because the Founders never intended the 1st Amendment to safeguard state-supported yellow journalism. Lets make some common-sense policy right here on TTAG: no more posts from newspapers which are an assault on common sense and reason.

  25. 65% women here in U.S are liberal anti gun and agree with everything that King Obama says according to my politics 101 text book

  26. Apparently my gun obsession has spread like cancer. Now, I own more than one DVD, book, pair of shoes, jacket, pocketknife, etc, etc.. I saw my doctor about it–but he just sent me to another doctor. Then I had to get another credit card to pay the new doctor. Oh Ms. Sanchez, you are so very, very right about us.

  27. Anything that comes out of Chicago is stupid. That part of the world should be banned from making any statements. I lived in that state for 24 years before I got smart and left. 2% of the population of Il makes ( and wrecks ) all the laws for the whole state. Print this in your newspaper if you want the truth “Our low income residents are mostly lazy and will never achieve anything in life. They think they are owed a living and were wronged by society” end quote. If you think I am wrong? Go see it for yourself!

  28. Bio

    “Born and raised in Kansas City, Mo., with family roots in Mexico, Mary Sanchez brings an uncommon perspective to the issues that tend to divide Americans into “us” and “them.” A reporter foremost, Sanchez has spent years covering immigration, schools and other volatile beats for The Kansas City Star.”

    — I just can’t wait for illegals to become citizens so the roughly 30 million of them can vote for increased gun controls, open borders, and more entitlements. I feel safer and more affluent already. (sarcasm off)

  29. So, just as a matter of curiosity, how many different pairs of shoes, purses, and sets of earrings does Ms. Sanchez own? And how can she justify owning more than one of each when people in Chicago are starving and being shot for their new iPads?

    And why is that any of my business? Because she feels that the number and kinds of guns I own is somehow her business.

  30. Mary may want to consider reporting on things she actually understands, like fashion and feminine hygiene products, because she knows sh!t about guns and less about people.

  31. No, no it doesn’t. I own one gun, and AR15. I may buy a pistol. Unlike the average teenager or shoe shopper, we have enough common sense to only buy what is practical and wont kill our budgets. Sure we’ll buy a new attachment, but we wont spend $1000 on a new scope when we just bought one for $995 a month before just because it has slightly more magnification.

    • I figured, based on my ongoing financial crisis, which is a grain of sand compared to that of the U.S., it goes: one handgun, one shotgun, one rifle. I may drool at an AUG or a Tavor, but I met my goal years ago, and it gives me a good degree of peace of mind.

  32. I suppose she only owns one pair of shoes. I hope they are are comfortable, practical, and work for all occasions.

    • And fashionable, too.

      And while we’re at this, why would any family need more than one car?

      Funny how “need” can be applied against people whose pastimes one looks down upon, but in favor one’s own.

      In any event, the woman’s eyes are way too close together, poor thing.

  33. Her comments strike me as just so much throwing the dart at the wall, then drawing a bulls eye around it. If you have some preconceived notion about a group of people, then it’s simple to arrange your interpretations in further support of that position. It’s a natural, and perhaps not always an altogether unuseful, human conceit in that the mind tends to work to reinforce decisions already made and conclusions already drawn.

    Nevertheless, intelligent assessments ultimately require objectivity, or at least as much of it as we humans can humanly muster. It’s why we excuse jurors and judges recuse themselves when they have personal relationships or experiences directly related to a court case. It’s why researchers employ double blind experiment design and placebos. It’s why parents (the wiser ones, anyway) send their kids to camp to learn to swim, to NRA Instructors to learn to shoot, and to drivers education to learn to drive. Sometimes such 3rd party instruction is legally mandated.

    If this woman would set aside her prejudices, she could then begin to absorb the richness and rigor that are the defining dimensions of the vast and varied gun culture. Maybe then she could follow the facts where they lead and arrive at more sound assessments of gun matters and their owners’ motives.

  35. I like guns like I like women. I like large women, small women, women in all colors. I like large rifles, small pistols, and everything in between.

    My choice for monogamy has limited my options in further women, but no such restriction exists for my guns!

    • I left age out of my analogy, because I like some guns that are older than my grandmother, and I’ve never wanted to date anyone near her age range.

  36. It is ‘Kid Kenyan’ aka Barry Obummer, the greatest firearm salesman of all time who is responsible for the increase in firearms manufacturing, these last four plus years.

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