Scorecard: 41,000% easier for teen to ‘get his hands on’ a book than a Glock

Sales figures of guns, computers and books flooded into communities appear to show that it far easier to get a computer or book.

First, the National Rifle Association notes that those under 18 are not allowed to legally buy Glocks, or any gun.

Next, it is unclear how many Glock pistols, which are favored by police, are on the market since the company is tight-lipped on sales figures. However, the Justice Department does track total sales and it reported that there were 3,633,454 pistols manufactured in 2014, the last reporting year.

Glocks sell for about $500 new, and as low as $250 used.

By comparison, millions of books and computers are available for a teen to “get his hands on” for free in schools and libraries, but here are the sales numbers.

According to several websites, there were 71 million computers sold in the United States last year. That is 1,800 percent higher than the total pistol production.

As for books, besides the billions in public schools, there were 1.5 billion children and young focused books sold in 2014. That is 41,000 percent higher than gun production.

The American Association of Publishers said it was the biggest area of growth in books. “The area of largest growth for the trade category was children & young adult, which had double-digit growth in both revenue (20.9 percent) and units (13.5 percent). Children & young adult fiction surpassed the adult fiction market with 843 million units and 746 million units sold respectively,” said the trade group.

Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected]