OK, the CNN/Obama gun propaganda session is over. Now it’s time for actual facts. Planned Parenthood, the abortion mill and baby parts lobby is far bigger than that of the NRA or the so called ‘big gun’ lobby. Basically, if you bothered wasting an hour watching Guns in America on CNN, all you heard was NRA is the devil, gun owners are bad and dangerous, and if you are protecting yourself from rapist, then fuck off, you can’t have guns.
| Planned Parenthood lobbying far bigger than NRA |
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First, there’s the simple fact that the gun industry isn’t all that big. According to IBISWorld, the guns and ammunition manufacturing industry had revenue of $13.5 billion in 2015. Wal-Mart makes that much every 10 days or so. And the industry’s $1.5 billion in total profit is lower than 223 individual companies in the U.S.
The industry directly employs more than 130,000, but this too is relatively small potatoes. The furniture manufacturing industry employs almost 400,000 in the U.S.
Nor is the gun and ammo industry a massive donor to political campaigns. According to OpenSecrets.org, gun rights groups gave $4 million in congressional campaign contributions in the 2012 election cycle. Public unions, in contrast, coughed up almost $17 million.
In 2015, gun rights groups spent just over $8 million lobbying Congress. Labor unions spent almost four times as much — $33 million.
And the NRA’s revenue — $256 million in 2012 — is less than that at the Nature Conservancy, Planned Parenthood, UNICEF, PBS and over 50 other nonprofits.
Meanwhile, the public’s support of gun control has steadily eroded over the past several decades. A Roper survey recently found more support for expanding gun rights than enacting more gun control. Gallup finds that 58% of the public has a favorable view of the NRA.
The explosion in gun sales after mass shootings is a clear sign that Americans are more interested in protecting themselves than in making it harder to buy a gun.
Does any of this look like a country “held hostage”?
Of course, none of this info was brought up at the propaganda session tonight. Big surprise.