ATF Reform Bill Introduced

A U.S. House bill that would modernize and reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was introduced Wednesday by Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and Howard Coble (R-N.C.). The bill, H.R. 5092, is supported by NSSF. Visit the NRA-ILA online for a view of some of the changes included in the bill. The complete text of the bill will be added to the Library of Congress's THOMAS site in coming days. A link to the text will also be included on the NSSF Web site as soon as it is available.


NSSF's First Shots program, which partners with shooting ranges to introduce newcomers to handgun shooting, will be holding events in Massachusetts, Arizona and Idaho in April and May.

  • FIRST SHOTS . . . NSSF's First Shots program, which partners with shooting ranges to introduce newcomers to handgun shooting, is launching a series of events for first-time shooters at ranges in three states. Upcoming events are scheduled in Massachusetts, Arizona and Idaho. In October, First Shots held its inaugural event in partnership with Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center in Springfield, Mass. The event turned out to be a huge success, with a local advertising and public relations campaign attracting a capacity crowd of first-time shooters from the Springfield area. Seventy-five percent of attendees went on to pursue future shooting sports opportunities. The event was such a hit that the shooting sports center is holding another First Shots event later this month. "For many individuals, especially in states with more restrictive handgun laws, an aura of mystery surrounds handgun ownership," said Cyndi Dalena, NSSF director of shooting range promotions. "First Shots gives range owners and retailers an opportunity to educate the public on local requirements and offers newcomers a chance to try handgun shooting." For a list of upcoming events or to learn more about how your range can utilize the program, visit www.firstshots.org

  • 3,000 STRONG . . . NSSF recently reached a milestone of 3,000 members, ending its fiscal year with a total of 3,090 members. "So many businesses in our industry are committed to ensuring a positive future for hunting and the shooting sports, and I believe the growth in our membership reflects that," said Doug Painter, NSSF president. "NSSF remains more committed than ever in providing trusted leadership and quality programs and services that not only benefit our members' businesses and organizations, but the traditions we all enjoy."

  • PROJECT CHILDSAFE THANKS PARTNERS . . . Project ChildSafe is the largest and most successful firearm safety education program in America. Thanks to the efforts of law enforcement partners across the country, more than 30 million firearm safety kits including cable-style gun locking devices and safety messages have reached gun owners in over 26,000 communities. Last week, "certificates of appreciation" signed by Alberto Gonzales, U.S. attorney general, and Doug Painter, president of National Shooting Sports Foundation, administrator of Project ChildSafe, were sent to more than 16,000 law enforcement partners in honor of their dedicated leadership in promoting firearm safety.

  • NSSF HONORED FOR WINGSHOOTING USA CAMPAIGN . . . At its annual convention in Nashville last week, the North American Gamebird Association recognized NSSF for "outstanding efforts to preserve, promote, improve and protect our hunting and shooting heritage." The honor accompanied a plaque in commemoration of NSSF's Wingshooting USA campaign. The campaign, which wrapped up its inaugural year in February, is building hunting participation by raising public awareness of bird-hunting preserves. Learn more at www.wingshootingusa.org.

  • KRISS, KEMPFFER NAMED NASR PRESIDENT, VICE PRESIDENT . . . Holden Kriss and Bill Kempffer have been named president and vice president of the National Association of Shooting Ranges (NASR), a division of NSSF. Kriss, who has served as NASR's vice president for the last four years, has nearly 20 years of shooting range management experience. He is the manager of Florida’s Indian River County Public Shooting Range, an NASR Five Star-rated range. Kempffer, who has served on NASR's executive committee for five years, has 17 years of experience in the shooting range business. He is the founder, owner and manager of Deep River Sporting Clays and Shooting School in Sanford, N.C. "We are very enthusiastic about the leadership, knowledge and professionalism both Holden and Bill take to their positions. Their understanding of business and shooting range issues will serve NASR and the shooting range industry and community well,” said Rick Patterson, NSSF director of facility development.

  • HOW SHOT SHOW HAS CHANGED . . . Russ Thurman, editor of Shooting Industry magazine and a long-time observer of the SHOT Show, writes in the April issue about the accelerated growth of the show, spurred in part by enhanced product categories and changes within the industry itself. A “very tangible unity can be felt at the SHOT Show,” writes Thurman. “Call it ‘passion,’ ‘camaraderie,’ ‘brotherhood’ – regardless of the term, it has created a different ‘atmosphere’ at the show.” Thurman also references the 2006 show’s catchphrase, “It’s like sitting around the campfire with 37,730 of your closest friends,” noting that the number needs to be changed to 40,892 – the record number of industry professionals attending last February’s show in Las Vegas.

  • NSSF FEATURED ON BUDWEISER.COM . . . Longtime NSSF partner Budweiser this month is featuring NSSF and a few of its efforts to keep hunters and shooters safe and active. To see the promotion, visit www.budweiser.com, go to the "Game Time" section, then "Outdoors," and click on the NSSF logo. The partnership between NSSF and Budweiser is again producing free hunter safety and ethics guides and, later this year, gun safety kits including a free gun lock. Over the last seven years, the "Help Budweiser Help the Outdoors" program has raised more than $6 million for outdoor-related initiatives.

  • NEBRASKA CONCEALED CARRY BECOMES LAW . . . Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman on Wednesday signed into law a bill that will enable law-abiding citizens to carry a firearm for personal protection. The governor voiced his support for the bill and also offered some reassuring comments for those who opposed the law. “To my friends and neighbors who disagree, the cold, hard truth is that people who are willing to complete this process are not the sort of people who will use a weapon illegally," Heineman said. Wisconsin and Illinois are the only remaining states that do not allow concealed carry for self-protection.

  • FOUR PRO-GUN BILLS BECOME LAW IN IDAHO . . . Four pieces of legislation have been enacted in Idaho, and to shooters and gun owners, they are no small potatoes. House Bill 686 protects non-profit shooting ranges and gun clubs from having taxes imposed on their range fees and membership dues. Senate Bill 1401 is “emergency powers” legislation that prevents government officials from imposing restrictions on the lawful possession, transfer, sale, transport, storage, display or use of firearms and ammunition during a disaster emergency. Senate Bill 1428 “right to carry” reform legislation extends the concealed weapon license from four to five years, requires renewal notices to be sent before expiration and provides an exemption to the concealed weapon license for people who possess a concealed weapon while on property he or she owns or leases. House Bill 608 creates an NRA motor vehicle license plate.

  • FBI STATEMENT ON NICS OUTAGE . . . On April 2, the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) experienced a loss of service as a result of problems encountered during scheduled maintenance on the Interstate Identification Index (III) Segment of the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). The maintenance consisted of significant changes to support a future migration to a storage area network. The III outage was planned for 10 hours beginning at 12:01 a.m. on April 2, with the planned startup at 10 a.m., a two-hour delay in service. However, even though the system-change procedures had been tested, the technical staff encountered several issues that prevented the restoration of III services within this planned window. As a result, NICS did not return to service until 11:45 p.m., nearly a 16-hour interruption in NICS services. The FBI apologizes for any inconvenience the outage may have created.

  • $523 MILLION TO FISH AND WILDLIFE AGENCIES . . . The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will distribute more than $523 million in excise taxes paid by America's recreational shooters, hunters, anglers and boaters, to state fish and wildlife agencies to support fish and wildlife conservation and education programs. With this distribution, the nation’s preeminent wildlife management funding mechanisms will mark a major milestone. “Both the Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish and Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration accounts have passed the $5 billion mark,” said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. “That means that since establishment of these crucial programs in 1950 and 1937 respectively, anglers and hunters have paid more than $10 billion for fish and wildlife management. By supporting these excise taxes, sportsmen and women are contributing critical funds for maintaining and restoring our fish and wildlife resources.” The Wildlife Restoration apportionment for 2006 totals more than $233 million, with nearly $42 million going for hunter education and shooting range programs.

  • COLLEGE GROUP MAKES POINT WITH GUN-GIVEAWAY . . . The College Libertarians at the University of Michigan focused on the importance of Second Amendment rights at a gathering at the university’s Michigan Union and put an exclamation point on the meeting by awarding a gun of the winner’s choice in a raffle. Following presentations by Michigan Gun Owners president Mike Thiede and Shooters’ Alliance for Firearm Rights secretary Neva Li, who is a U. of Michigan alumna, College Libertarians chair Jeremy Linden pulled out the winning raffle ticket. When asked what gun she would choose, the winner, Laura Dodd, another Michigan alumna, said that she already owns one gun for home safety and target shooting and would like “something concealable,” reports the Michigan Daily. Because it is illegal to carry a firearm on campus, the group said it would escort Dodd to a firearms dealer off-campus to make the purchase.

  • BOSTON OFFICIALS ADD TO 'ASSAULT WEAPONS' LIST . . . Boston city councilors passed a petition to add three guns to the city's ban on so-called "assault weapons," the Boston Herald reports. The guns include the FN Herstal Five-Seven, which is not even approved for sale in Massachusetts; Smith and Wesson's Model 500 Revolver; and the Barrett .50-caliber rifle. NSSF is working to oppose the ban. The petition must be approved by the mayor and state legislators before it becomes law.

  • SOUTH AFRICA LOOKS CLOSELY AT HUNTING ON GAME PRESERVES . . . According to a New York Times story, South Africa is reviewing its national hunting standards and is drafting new regulations that, if enacted, could affect hunting in private game parks, a lucrative component of the country’s tourism industry.

  • WOMEN TAKE UP SHOOTING FOR SELF-DEFENSE . . . The Charlotte Observer on Sunday featured a story about an increase in gun ownership among Charlotte-area women. Local retailers and range owners say women are one of their fastest growing markets, the Observer reports.

  • USA SHOOTING OFFERS CORPORATE SPONSORSHIP ALTERNATIVE . . . USA Shooting, the national governing body for Olympic shooting sports, has launched a Supporting Partner Program, which establishes a tiered benefits package for corresponding levels of funding. The new Gold, Silver and Bronze level packages offer benefits ranging from discounts on magazine advertising and USA Shooting merchandise to the opportunity to spend a weekend at the Olympic Team’s training center, to shoot alongside team members and gain instruction from National Team coaches. “This program was designed to provide every company inside the shooting industry an opportunity to become a partner and play a role in the success of our athletes,” said Buddy DuVall, USA Shooting’s director of marketing.

  • NEW CRITERIA TO MAKE USPSA WORLD TEAM . . . In 2005, the United States Practical Shooting Association (USPSA) funded four teams for competition in the World Shoot in Ecuador and came home with the Open team title, Open junior team title and Standard team title, along with several individual medals. To maintain those high standards at the World Shoot XV in Bali, Indonesia, in 2008, the USPA, the U.S. governing body for the International Practical Shooting Confederation, has adopted new team selection criteria. Ultimate representatives must participate in a series of “qualifier matches” to be held under stringent international rules.

  • NEW YORK CONSIDERS RANGE PROTECTION BILL . . . The New York Assembly’s Health Committee was set today to consider A 6608A, which would protect existing shooting ranges from new noise ordinances and nuisance lawsuits aimed at shutting them down. The bill would mandate that ranges comply with noise ordinances in place at the time of construction of the range. The state Senate’s companion bill, S 3353A, may be voted on at any time. New Yorkers are encouraged to contact their legislators – (518) 455-2800 for the Senate; (518) 455-2800 for the Assembly – and urge their support of these bills.

  • ARIZONA SCHEDULES MEETINGS ON NEW RANGE . . . The Arizona Department of Game and Fish has scheduled three meetings to receive public input for a proposed Northern Arizona Regional Shooting Facility at Willard Springs, near Flagstaff. Flagstaff is the largest city in Arizona without a public range. Meetings have been scheduled for Saturday in Flagstaff, Tues., April 25, in Munds Park and Thurs., April 27, in Sedona.

  • INDUSTRY, PUBLIC INPUT HELPS EXCLUDE AMMO FROM BILL . . . Illinois’ Lead Poisoning Prevention Bill, which as originally passed by the state’s House of Representatives, could have been used to target ammunition manufacturers, distributors, users and owners of property where firearms are lawfully discharged, has been amended. Awareness efforts helped create an amendment from Sen. Carol Ronen, in which “lead bearing substance” did not include “firearm ammunition or components as defined by the Firearm Owners Identification Card Act.” The state House supported the Senate amendment with a vote of 115 to 1.

  • ALT TO ADDRESS QDMA . . . Dr. Gary Alt, former Pennsylvania Game Commission Deer Project Leader, will deliver the keynote address at the Quality Deer Management Association’s annual National Convention and Whitetail Expo, to be held at the Valley Forge Convention Center in King of Prussia, Pa., from June 22-25. Alt, the noted deer and bear biologist, was at the center of controversy in Pennsylvania when he helped initiate sweeping changes in the Game Commission’s deer management program. In addition to his Friday evening, June 22, speech, Alt will conduct an educational seminar the next day at the deer conservation and management association’s sixth annual gathering.

NSSF's Mission Statement

"Our purpose is to provide trusted leadership in addressing industry challenges and in delivering programs and services to meet the identified needs of our members."

Click here to visit the NSSF Web site and see how we accomplish this mission.

COPYRIGHT © 2006 by National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted for broadcast, publication, retransmission to e-mail lists, Web sites or any other copying or storage, in any medium, online or not, if 1) the text is forwarded in its entirety, including this paragraph, and 2) no fee is charged.