Weekly Wrap: 5 Gun Makers Responsible for Half of Seized Guns

Welcome to a weekly series here on Pew Pew Tactical dedicated to the gun news you need to know.

So, keep reading for this week’s notable news headlines…

Gun Violence Summit: 5 Gun Makers Responsible for Over Half of Seized Guns

Mayors at the Gun Violence Summit held in New York City this week say that over half of seized guns from crime scenes in nine cities are from just five gunmakers.

ABC News reports that data released at the summit show Glock (16.6%), Taurus (12.4%), Smith & Wesson (11.8%), Ruger (6.5%), and Polymer80 (3.8%) accounted for nearly 10,000 recovered guns in 9 out of 12 cities that participated in the data collection.

"We're dealing with the same problem: a $9 billion industry turning their profits into our pain," New York Mayor Eric Adams explained to ABC News in an appearance on Good Morning America.

City officials from several cities in the U.S – including St. Louis and Little Rock -- met to work out strategies for gun violence. Adams said the ultimate goal is "to get that gun before it hits our streets.”

With the Supreme Court siding with gun owners in Bruen v. NYSRPA and Congress hesitant to institute sweeping bans, the mayors say it’s their responsibility to solve a situation they call problematic.

"Any of us at any point in time will receive a phone call about a homicide, and 99.9% of the time, it relates to a gun," Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott told GMA. "We have to address the guns."

Historically, gun manufacturers have been shielded from lawsuits under the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. Under PLCAA, gun makers are protected from lawsuits stemming from criminal or unlawful misuse of the product – in this case, guns.

Lawmakers have made unsuccessful attempts in the past to abolish the PLCAA or at least remove gun makers from its purview.

"If this were any other industry that was as deadly, then the government would have already acted to make sure that we got rid of whatever was killing our citizens," St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said.

"We haven't seen that action from the federal government so we have to look at the root causes and try to cure gun violence in our cities."

Report: Over 80% of Firearms Offenders in 2021 Were Prohibited Persons

A 46-page report released last week by the U.S. Sentencing Commission suggests that over 88% of firearms offenders were already considered “prohibited persons” – meaning they couldn’t legally possess a firearm.

The report classified prohibited persons as:

In their findings, investigators noted that most offenders had a prior felony conviction.

Further, a third of the offenses involved stolen guns or altering/removing serial numbers from firearms. This figure aligns with a 2019 Department of Justice survey which found that only 7% of prison inmates obtained a firearm through traditional retail sales.

The report offers a unique perspective on crime -- especially at a time when legislators have looked to strengthen gun laws to include more stringent background checks and even all-out bans on certain weapons.  

“As the number of firearms offenses has risen in recent years, this report provides insight and detail that may prove useful to both policymakers and those who study federal criminal justice statistics,” the study concluded.

AP Stylebook Advises Media to Ditch “Assault Weapon” Branding

The Associated Press’ Stylebook recently updated its guidelines, suggesting that media outlets no longer use the terms “assault weapon” or “assault rifle” when reporting on firearms news.

AP Stylebook -- a standardizing guide for news reporting -- cut the terms from its firearms section and suggested reporters and journalists avoid them altogether.  

“Avoid assault rifle and assault weapon, which are highly politicized terms that generally refer to AR or AK-style rifles designed for the civilian market,” the Stylebook advised.

It went on to say that the terms assault rifle and assault weapon “convey very little meaning about the actual functions of the weapon.”

The guide also went a step further, defining the difference between semi-auto firearms and automatic, to clear up any confusion between the two.

Gun groups have long pushed back against the terms coined in the 1980s as a misrepresentation of the AK and AR – which stands for Armalite Rifle, not assault rifle.

Pro-gun groups like the Second Amendment Foundation said the decision to ditch the terms should help build trust in the media.

“It’s about time the media realized the terms ‘assault rifle’ and ‘assault weapon’ are inflammatory and meaningless,” SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said in a press release.

“I’m glad to see the AP Stylebook now recognizes that these firearms only fire one round each time a trigger is pulled and really function no differently than any other semi-auto rifle, pistol, or shotgun, all of which have been in common use in this country for more than a century.”

More MSRs in U.S. Than Ford F-Series Trucks, Says NSSF

The National Shooting Sports Foundation recently released a report indicating that modern sporting rifles are more abundant than even Ford F-Series trucks.

In the report, the NSSF estimates that over 24 million MSRs are currently in circulation in the U.S. That represents an increase of over 4.5 million since the last estimate in 2020.

MSR is a term coined to describe semi-automatic rifle designs such as the AR-15 and its siblings.

The NSSF says this figure shows just how popular this style of firearm is among Americans.

“This is a truly significant figure that demonstrates – again – the popularity of this commonly-owned style of rifle,” NSSF President and CEO Joe Bartozzi said in a news release.

“The firearm industry responds to market demand and this shows that during the elevated period of firearm sales that began in 2020, this particular style of rifle is the top choice for law-abiding citizens for hunting, recreational shooting, and self-defense.”

The NSSF also notes that the MSR remains America's most popular selling centerfire semi-automatic rifle.

What do you think of the headlines above? Let us know in the comments. Also, catch up on other Weekly Wraps or news in our News Category.