The size of the U.S. civilian firearms market and the permissive legal and regulatory regimen in which it operates notwithstanding, the gun industry has serious problems. The most significant is that it is a mature market, one that industry officials and observers regularly describe as “saturated” or “stagnant.” The entrepreneurial steps the gun industry has taken over the past four decades to overcome this market inertia – primarily firearm design innovations – have radically changed the nature and product mix of firearms sold in the United States. That change in the kinds of guns sold, often overlooked in a public debate focused on political rights, lies at the heart of the problem of firearms death and injury in the United States.
