Allowing organizations to influence politics with behind-closed-doors lobbying needs to stop

JUSTIN SCOTT // MANAGING EDITOR

With the debate around the issue of arming teachers still roaring in America, it’s time that those fighting the gun-touting right aim their efforts at a far more sinister and frightening occurrence than the idea of armed teachers. At its roots, the gun issue in America is about money. The American guns and ammunition industry brings in a yearly revenue of $17 billion. In 2015 the Washington Post estimated that there were around 357 million firearms in the nation, which at the time had a population of 317 million – yes, you read the right, they have more guns than people. Even more alarming is the fact that the percentage of gun-owning households in America has been dropping for decades, coming in at just 31 per cent in 2014.

So, with the number of households with a gun owner in them dropping and there already being a greater number of guns than people in the US, why do firearms even need to be on sale anymore? Really, they don’t. But with so much money to be made from the items, the gun and ammunition industry is doing all they can to promote a second amendment lifestyle. Their efforts include lobbying, which is essentially a competition between two opposing sides of an issue’s representatives as to who can prove a better case for their side to politicians, or make their lives easier. Often, campaign or party donations or other arrangements are made through lobbyists – third party representatives who represent different groups as organizations themselves are restricted in terms of donations. This means that the more resources a company or industry have, the more influence they are likely

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