How the Gun Industry Has Changed since PLCAA

For decades, businesses understood the risk and acted accordingly. But once greedy gun industry CEOs thought they had the government’s green light to act with impunity, all bets were off. Industry advertising and marketing grew more and more extreme—especially once companies realized the easiest way to increase revenue was to focus on repeat customers. Gone were the days of primarily selling rifles and shotguns to hunters, or pistols to home owners for self-defense. To keep sales climbing, companies shifted from selling a single gun to encouraging customers to build entire arsenals.

As the New York Times has described it, “Gun companies have spent the last two decades scrutinizing their market and refocusing their message away from hunting toward selling handguns for personal safety, as well as military-style weapons attractive to mostly young men. The sales pitch — rooted in self-defense, machismo and an overarching sense of fear — has been remarkably successful.”

It gets darker. Some companies didn’t just appeal to consumers’ fear, but also their hatred and extremism. President Trump’s favorite gun store, Palmetto State Armory, was caught selling a rifle for the Boogaloo Boys, a group of anti-government extremists advocating for a second civil war. A Boogaloo member pleaded guilty to murdering a federal agent in 2020. That same firearm company was sued for racial discrimination by a Black employee over frequent use of a racial slur and a threatening noose installed in his workspace.

Fenix Ammunition, a company that boasts about aligning with anti-government extremist militias, joined in promoting Boogaloo—and cashed in. “I’ll be honest, it drives sales,” the CEO told local media after seeing daily sales increase tenfold. 

Fenix Ammunition is practically begging for assassinations of law enforcement and elected officials. Either that, or it’s just fanning the flames among a gullible customer base because—as even it admits—“it drives sales.” Here are some examples of what it posts online:

Other companies, such as Black Rain Ordnance, also flirt with violent extremist groups, including the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Christian nationalists, and even Three Percenters. Three Percenters, for whom Black Rain Ordnance sells branded magazines and shirts, have planned or carried out several violent domestic terrorist attacks, including in Oklahoma, Illinois, and Ohio.

The line between anti-government extremism and racist extremism is a thin one. As explained by veteran firearm executive-turned-critic, and now GIFFORDS Senior Advisor, Ryan Busse in The Atlantic:

As you can see, the industry that stands to profit from increased violence and extremism went into overdrive once it believed it had no reason to conduct itself responsibly. And the consequences have been deadly.