Gunmaker Remington is filing for bankruptcy. Analysts say Trump is to blame.

Trump loves guns, hurt Remington
(Image credit: Richard Ellis/Getty Images)

Remington Outdoor Co. is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the company announced Monday, offering a restructuring plan that will allow the gunmaker to shed $700 million worth of debt. The company traces its roots back to 1816, when Eliphalet Remington II created his first flintlock rifle, and it sold its first rifles to the U.S. military in 1845. But a year under President Trump was apparently too much. Gun sales have slumped with Trump in the White House, not because Trump opposes gun rights, but because he champions them.

Remington's fortunes took a hit when "Hillary Clinton's defeat erased fears among gun enthusiasts about losing access to weapons," Bloomberg reports, and while sales plummeted and retailers stopped restocking firearms, gunmakers kept on churning out guns. More than 11 million firearms were manufactured in the U.S. in 2016, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, up from fewer than 4 million guns made 10 years ago, Bloomberg notes. Fewer households own firearms now, though the people who do own guns tend to own a lot of them — an estimated 3 percent of American adults own half of all U.S. civilian firearms.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.