a majority of guns are IMPORTED

[farminator3000]

18. what he said in #3

i thought i saw 2.8 million on pg. 19

this is interesting too-

That means American consumers are now buying about the same number of Kalashnikov-style weapons from Izhmash as the Russian army and police.

This shift has been encouraged by the Kremlin, which wants to revive a range of military industries by improving their economies of scale and helping them blend military and civilian manufacturing.

Russian Technologies, a state holding company of which Izhmash is a part, is pursuing this policy across a range of industries, from aviation to truck manufacturing. The goal is to improve efficiency as Russia begins a $613 billion rearmament program, financed by oil money.

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The sales of civilian rifles in the United States are helping to pay for the factory’s retooling for the AK-12, ultimately making it cheaper for the Kremlin.

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Izhmash benefits from American gun laws that are looser than in its home market. In Russia, consumers can buy a long-barreled firearm only with a police permit, which requires a clean criminal sheet, a diploma from a gun safety course and a medical certificate of sanity. In the United States, laws vary by state, but buyers often need to clear only an F.B.I. criminal background check.

However, gun control in Russia is less strict than in some other former Soviet countries. Estonia, for example, proscribes carrying a weapon while drunk. “If they did that here, well, nobody would hunt,” said Igor V. Anisimov, the Izhmash director of foreign sales.


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/15/business/a-kalashnikov-factory-in-russia-survives-on-sales-to-us-gun-owners.html?pagewanted=all