There are 50,000 more gun shops than McDonald's in the USPosted by Peter Smith on December 20th, 2019 Nearly a week after shooter Stephen Paddock killed at least 59 people and injured 489 others on the Las Vegas Strip, details have emerged about his gun-buying history. In the past year, Paddock purchased 33 hand guns, most of them rifles. He owned more than 40 firearms. It's legal to own that many guns in Nevada, which has resisted efforts to tighten firearm laws in recent years. It's not only relatively easy to get a gun in Nevada, it's also easy to find a firearm dealer. Statewide, there are approximately 505 federally licensed gun dealers as of September 2017. That number may sound high, but gun stores permeate every US state. They are integrated into suburbs, towns, and cities across the United States — even moreso than McDonald's, coffee shops, grocery stores, 7-11s, and pharmacies. To put things in perspective: In the US, there are approximately 50,271 more gun stores than McDonald's. Specifically, there are 14,146 McDonald's (as of December 2016) and 64,417 firearm dealers nationwide (as of September 2017). Like it? Share it!More by this author |