America’s priority: guns or education?

In the United States of America, it is easier to purchase a gun than it is to get a student loan.

            In 2009, Americans purchased approximately 14 million firearms.  This is according to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which processed 14,033,824 background checks by the federal government and states equipped to conduct checks.  Not everyone passed the background check: the NICS denied 1.4 percent of people the right to purchase firearms (some were successfully appealed).  Still, that represents 13.8 million firearms.

          For student loan data, the numbers get murky.  In fall 2007, 18.2 million students were enrolled in institutions of higher learning, which includes full-time, part-time, graduate, and undergraduate students.  According to a survey by the U.S. Education Department, 69.6 percent of college students obtained student loans from federal, state, institutional, or private sources (the average amount borrowed was $47,500, which includes the possibility of multiple sources).  So, that translates to 12.7 million students receiving college loans.

            While these numbers are similar, they also overlook some unknowns.  A huge factor is the number of firearms sold at gun shows.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives estimates that 2,000 to 5,200 gun shows occur annually in the U.S.  It is possible to exceed 1,000 gun sales at some shows in a single weekend.  Only 16 states have laws requiring some basic background check for prospective purchasers.  But there is no way to track how many guns these people buy, if the purchase involves a handgun or some other firearm, or what happens at all in the other 34 states.

            Second, guns are stolen, lost, or inherited with greater ease than a student loan.  There is no black market for student loans like there is for guns.  And student loans cannot be trafficked over our borders.

            Finally, the gun statistic is a flow rate—number of purchases in a given year.  The loans figure accounts for the number of current students with loans in any given year, rather than the number of new loans per year.  The calculations would be quite complex and would stray from accuracy if we tried to compute the number of new loans per year.

            In conclusion, the assertion still holds: it is easier to obtain a dangerous weapon in than it is to receive tuition assistance for higher education in this country.

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