City Beat: Big wins for gun control, but business as usual for unhoused policy

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June 9, 2022

Volume XXIX, Number 39

Cover, Sephora Puma’ Cobra

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Fear, despair and gun profiteering

by Dave Anderson

The week before the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school massacre, Daniel Defense posted a photograph on Facebook and Twitter, showing a little boy sitting cross-legged, an assault ri e balanced across his lap. “Train up a child in the way he should go,” the caption reads, echoing a biblical proverb. “When he is old, he will not depart from it.” e 18-year-old Uvalde killer bought his AR-15 from Daniel Defense. at rapid- ring semi-automatic is a civilian version of a military weapon. About 500 companies build them. All are basically the same gun. e competition is erce. e temptation is to be the most edgy and macho outrageous. ere’s an AR15 called the “Urban Super Sniper” and a QAR-15, alluding to the conspiracy theory Q-Anon.

Ryan Bosse is a former senior executive in the rearms industry who has become a whistleblower. He recently told Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent that gun violence will continue to be a serious social problem. He said that 20 years ago the gun market was oversaturated and mostly con ned to older white guys. ere were market-planning discussions about getting your gun featured in video games and action movies.

Unlike many consumer items which fall apart quickly or are consumed in one use, guns are durable goods. You can buy a gun that will last a lifetime. We are the only country in the world which has more civilian guns than people. ere are far more gun-