RI Ranks as the Least Dependent State on the Gun Industry in U.S.
Thursday, March 16, 2017
Rhode Island's relationship with the gun industry is very limited. Few jobs are tied to the industry and comparitively little gun related political donations in Rhode Island as compared to other states.
According to a recent study completed by WalletHub, Rhode Island is the least dependent state on the gun industry in the country.
“Gun sales are down since Donald Trump won the White House. And while that’s good news to some, it could be a bad sign for state economies relying heavily on the firearms industry. By one estimate, guns contributed more than $51 billion to the nation’s coffers and generated nearly $7.4 billion in federal and state taxes in 2016,” said WalletHub.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTRhode Island ranks 47th for firearms industry, 49th for gun prevalence, and 50th for gun politics.
According to the study, Rhode Island has the 5th fewest firearms-industry jobs in the country per capita and the second lowest gun ownership.
The Rankings
Rhode Island ranks directly behind New York and Delaware who rank 49th and 50th respectively.
Alaska is the state that most depends on the gun industry with Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and Idaho rounding out the top five.
See the full rankings in the map below
The Method
In order to identify the states that most and least depend on the gun industry for economic stability, WalletHub’s analysts compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across three key dimensions: 1) Firearms Industry, 2) Gun Prevalence and 3) Gun Politics.
They evaluated those dimensions using 13 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the “most gun-industry-dependent” state.
They then calculated the overall score for each state and the District based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to construct our final ranking.
Firearms Industry – Total Points: 35
- Firearms-Industry Jobs per Capita: Double Weight (~7.78 Points)
- Firearms Dealers & Importers per Capita: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
- Firearms Manufacturers per Capita: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
- Average Wages & Benefits in Firearms Industry: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
- Total Firearms-Industry Output per Capita: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
- Total Taxes Paid by Firearms Industry per Capita: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
- Presence of State Law Granting Immunity to Gun Industry: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
- Strictness of State Gun Laws: Full Weight (~3.89 Points)
Gun Prevalence – Total Points: 35
- Gun Ownership Rate: Full Weight (~11.67 Points)
- Gun Sales per Capita: Full Weight (~11.67 Points)
- Gun Ads for Private Buying & Selling: Full Weight (~11.66 Points)
Gun Politics – Total Points: 30
- Gun-Control Contributions to Congressional Members per Capita: Full Weight (~15 Points)
- Gun-Rights Contributions to Congressional Members per Capita: Full Weight (~15 Points)
Related Slideshow: The Influence of Gun Money in New England States
New Data from The Sunlight Foundation shows state-by-state breakdowns for donations to groups on both sides of the gun debate. The money went toward candidates, political parties, and political action committees (PACs), but doesn't include donations to independent or so-called “super PACs”.
See how much money went to candidates in each of the New England States in the slides below.
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