How gun commerce has changed in Rhode Island since 2010

Gun sales and ownership have been hotly debated topics in the U.S. for decades, with many interested parties vying to be heard. The 1994 federal assault weapons ban was vigorously lobbied against by the National Rifle Association and other gun rights groups, which argued that the legislation violated the Second Amendment. When the ban expired in 2004, it was not renewed by Congress.

Since its expiry, many studies have been conducted about the impact the assault weapons ban had on both gun commerce and incidents of gun-related deaths. One of the most cited was a study conducted by researchers at New York University, showing that mass shooting related homicides went down while the ban was in effect. Many have called for a new ban to be enacted, but no legislation has currently been proposed.

In a post-1994 ban world, gun commerce has increased in the U.S. during the last decade by all metrics. There are more active federal firearm licenses, National Firearms Act taxpayers, and a marked increase in the number of National Firearms Act manufacturers and dealers.

Stacker analyzed data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearmsand Explosives to determine how gun commerce has changed in Rhode Island since 2010.

Keep reading to see how gun commerce has changed in your state in the last decade.

Rhode Island gun commerce by the numbers

- 30.8% increase in federal firearms licenses from 2010-2020
--- From 432 licenses in 2010 to 565 in 2020
- 60.0% decrease in total National Firearm Act taxpayers from 2010-2020
--- From 5 taxpayers in 2010 to 2 in 2020
- 66.7% decrease in National Firearm Act dealer taxpayers from 2010-2020
--- From 3 dealer taxpayers in 2010 to 1 in 2020