AR-15 style guns have brought in over $1 billion

Gun manufacturers have made more than $1 billion from selling AR-15-style guns over the past decade, and for two companies those revenues have tripled over the past three years, according to a House investigation unveiled Wednesday. Those profits have come as the weapons have been used in mass shootings that have horrified the nation, including one that left 10 people dead at a grocery store in Buffalo and another where 19 children were shot to death in Uvalde, Texas. "I hope the American people are paying attention today. It is clear the gun makers are not going to change unless Congress forces them to finally put people over profits," said House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chairman Rep. Carolyn Maloney of New York. Those guns are often marketed to young men as a way to prove their masculinity, the Committee on Oversight and Reform said. Some ads mimic popular first-person shooter video games. "The gun manufacturers used dangerous marketing tactics to sell assault weapons to the public. That includes marketing to children, preying on young men's insecurities, and even appealing to violent white supremacists," Maloney said. The committee focused its investigation on five major gunmakers and found they took in a combined total of more than $1 billion in revenue over the past 10 years from the sale of AR-15-style firearms, which mimic the look of military-style weapons.