The gun industry is gathering in Las Vegas for its annual trade show amid slumping sales and an uncertain political landscape.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018, file photo, people walk through the hall outside of the SHOT Show gun show in Las Vegas. The gun industry is gathering for its annual conference, in January 2020, amid a host of uncertainty: slumping gun sales, a public increasingly agitating for restrictions on access to firearms and a presidential campaign that threatens gun rights like perhaps no other time in modern American history.
Gun sales normally taper off during Republican administrations because gun owners are not as compelled to stockpile weapons out of fear that lawmakers will impose restrictions on firearms. But the past three years under President Donald Trump have been particularly volatile, fueled in part by the Las Vegas shooting and other high-profile mass killings that have driven efforts to either restrict access to guns or to ban certain firearms and products.
Sagging gun sales have afflicted almost every corner of the industry, most notably iconic gun manufacturers such as Ruger, Remington and Colt. The pushback from the public, lawmakers and the retail sector has been most intense against AR-style guns that have been used in several recent mass killings, including Las Vegas, the Orlando nightclub massacre and the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. That has placed gun manufacturers in a difficult position because the popularity of those weapons has fueled their profits in recent years.
Gary Ramey, the owner of a small handgun company based in Gainesville, Georgia, said his company has seen drops in sales in the past year, and the Las Vegas gathering will be especially critical to see new products and meet suppliers.
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