May 11, 2009

Vol. 10 No. 19

Polls Show Fading Support for Gun Control

MORE AMERICANS NOT SUPPORTIVE OF NEW LAWS . . . A number of recent polls show Americans are growing increasingly less supportive of new restrictions to regulate firearms. The Houston Chronicle reported last week that the shift in public opinion is so strong that a potential ban on so-called "assault weapons" -- once backed by 3 in 4 Americans -- "now rates barely 1 in 2." Said Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, "Every bit of data is showing us that Americans are getting more conservative about gun control." See results from five recent polls in NSSF's blog, Aiming for Accuracy.

Inside the Industry

• MOSSBERG, COR-BON JOIN NSSF AS VOTING MEMBERS . . . NSSF is pleased to announce O.F. Mossberg & Sons and Cor-Bon as its newest Voting Members. "Mossberg and Cor-Bon both command a leading presence in our industry and the shooting sports," said Chris Dolnack, NSSF senior vice president. "Their participation and presence in NSSF will contribute greatly as we work together to solidify a stronger future for our sports and our industry."

• SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NSSF VOTING MEMBERS . . . NSSF is offering students attending college or vocational school during the 2009-10 school year the chance to win one of twenty-five $1,000 scholarships. Scholarships are limited to candidates seeking an undergraduate or vocational degree, and only current employees of NSSF voting member companies and certain family members of such employees are eligible to apply. A completed application with an accompanying essay of 350 words or less written on one of four identified topics concerning hunting and the shooting sports must be received by NSSF no later than June 30. Judging of essays and announcement of scholarship recipients will be made by Aug. 15. Download a scholarship application and full rules in the Members Only section of nssf.org or contact bswann@nssf.org for more information.

• LIVE STREAMING VIDEO FROM NSSF SUMMIT . . . Several key segments of NSSF's 2009 Shooting Sports Summit will be Webcast live on nssf.org and espnoutdoors.com during the summit June 1-3 in Weston, Fla. Segments available for viewing will be announced soon. Webcasting from the summit is being made possible through a partnership involving ESPN Outdoors, Davidson's and NSSF.

• ATK ARMAMENT SALES UP 7 PERCENT IN FOURTH QUARTER . . . Fourth-quarter sales in the Alliant Techsystems' (NYSE:ATK) Armament Systems group rose 7 percent to $435 million, compared to $405 million in the prior-year quarter. The division of ATK produces commercial and military ammunition and gun systems, propellants and advanced energetics. ATK said the increase in sales was "driven by continued strength in commercial ammunition and initial deliveries of non-standard ammunition for the Afghan Security Forces." For the full-year, sales in the Armament Systems group increased 18 percent to $1.7 billion, compared to $1.5 billion in the prior year.

• SMITH & WESSON ISSUES 5.5 MILLION NEW SHARES . . . Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:SWHC) said Thursday it has priced a public offering of 5.5 million shares at $6.25 per share. The company said the approximately $32 million of net proceeds, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses, will be used for corporate purposes, which may include the purchase of additional equipment to expand manufacturing capacity to satisfy product demand, the purchase of outstanding debt and strategic relationships and acquisitions. The offering is expected to close Tuesday.

• U.S. SPORTSMEN'S ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES THREE EMPLOYEE MOVES . . . Rick Story, senior vice president of the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA), has announced his retirement after 28 years of service to the organization. He was the longest-serving executive of USSA, and as senior vice president, he played a key role on fundraising and communications projects. Evan Heusinkveld, who has been with USSA since 2007, has been promoted to director of state services, the organization's government affairs department that oversees state legislative issues. Jeremy Rice has been hired as associate director of state services.

Legislative

• ATF REFORM BILL INTRODUCED IN HOUSE . . . Following last week's introduction of a Senate bill designed to strike a fair balance between providing ATF with additional regulatory powers and affording licensees more rights and due process in the regulatory process, Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio) introduced similar legislation in the House of Representatives. The legislation would allow ATF new powers to issue fines and suspend licenses of federal firearms licensees (as opposed to current regulations which only allow for license revocation) and would also define what a "willful" violation is. The bill also calls for revocation hearings to be heard before an administrative law judge, rather than an ATF official.

• CALIFORNIA AMMUNITION REGISTRATION BILL SUSPENDED . . . Thanks in large part to the efforts of the California Association of Firearms Retailers (CAFR), NSSF and others, anti-gun/anti-business bill AB 962 has been suspended. Among other things, the bill would have required that handgun ammunition buyers make their purchases in person (not by mail order or the Internet), that handgun ammunition not be displayed by retailers in a location where customers can have access to it, that retailers record and maintain consumers’ personal information (including fingerprint) when purchasing ammunition and finally retailers/or individuals who sell more than one box (50 rounds) of handgun ammunition per month must obtain an ammunition sellers permit. Though the bill has been suspended, that does not mean the battle is won. NSSF urges all retailers and gun owners to continue to voice their opposition to this bill to ensure it will not be taken out off the suspension calendar. Please visit your local retailer to sign a petition.

Hunting and Conservation

• HUNTING AS A CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT . . . After the 2008 passage of a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to "hunt, trap, fish and take game" in Oklahoma, similar bills could be on the way in more states, ESPNOutdoors.com reports. Ten states have made hunting a constitutional right. Vermont was the first to do it back to 1777, while most of the other nine have adopted similar amendments in the past decade.

• DU: CONSERVATION LEADERS MEET WITH OBAMA ADMINISTRATION . . . The Obama Administration's budget, while calling for increased funding for wetlands and waterfowl habitat (via support for the North American Wetlands Conservation Act), is seeking to limit funding for the Conservation Reserve Program -- which provides incentives to allow public hunting and fishing on private lands. The administration did meet with various conversation groups to discuss such issues as how wetland loss and climate change affect hunters and anglers. Read more from Ducks Unlimited.

• TRCP ELECTS NEW CHAIR . . . The board of directors of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) has elected Jim Martin, longtime board member and biologist, who is conservation director of the Berkley Conservation Institute, to the chairmanship of the TRCP board. Martin fills the position left vacant by the death of Jim Range, TRCP's co-founder. In an additional action at its spring meeting, the board elected Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever President and CEO Howard Vincent to its secretary position.

Shooting/Ranges

• WASHINGTON STATE REMINDS RANGES OF JUNE 30 DEADLINE FOR FEDERAL GRANTS . . . Shooting clubs and range operators have until June 30 to apply for federally funded grants that can be used to construct, maintain or expand public shooting facilities in Washington State. A new requirement for this ongoing program is that prospective grant applicants must attend a workshop on May 30 to help them prepare effective grant proposals.

• CONNIE SMOTEK WINS BRONZE MEDAL IN CAIRO . . . Two-time Olympian Connie Smotek, of Bryan, Texas, won the bronze medal in Women's Skeet with her third-place finish in World Cup competition in Cairo, Egypt. Entering the final in fifth place with 70 targets in the qualification, Smotek shot a perfect round of 25 for a total score of 95. Smotek's was the third medal won by Americans in the competition; only Italian shooters won as many. View complete results of the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Cairo.

• BOY SCOUTS TO SEEK ADVENTURE AT BOONE AND CROCKETT RANCH . . . Boy Scouts across the U.S. have a new destination for trekking, mountain climbing, shooting, wildlife watching and other adventures -- the Boone and Crockett Club’s Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Ranch near Choteau, Mont. Adventures will be based at the 6,040-acre ranch's Rasmuson Wildlife Conservation Center, which contains an engaging classroom, great room/dining hall and sleeping quarters. Rifle and shotgun shooting facilities also are on the ranch. Learn more at montanahighadventurebase.com or montanabsa.org.

In the Courts

• COURT RULES LAWSUIT AGAINST GUN MAKERS REQUIRES DISMISSAL . . . The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled today that the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) requires the dismissal of the Ileto v. Glock, RSR, case originally filed in August 2000. "This is exactly the kind of case that Congress had in mind when it passed the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act," said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. "We applaud the court of appeals decision. The PLCAA was passed and signed into law in 2005 with strong bi-partisan support. The purpose of the act is to prevent firearms manufacturers and retailers from being held liable for the criminal actions of others with their products.

• UPDATE ON NYC SUIT AGAINST OUT-OF-STATE FIREARMS RETAILERS . . . In the City of New York v. A-1 Jewelry & Pawn Inc. case, Judge Weinstein granted default judgment on March 24 against the last defendant resisting the City's efforts to regulate out-of-state retail firearm dealers, Adventure Outdoors Inc. The basis for the entry of default judgment against Adventure Outdoors was its decision not to present a defense at trial after Judge Weinstein decided, six days before jury selection was scheduled to begin, that Adventure Outdoors did not have a right to a trial by jury and that he would serve as the finder of fact. Adventure Outdoors believed that it was a foregone conclusion that the result of a trial in which Judge Weinstein served as the finder of fact would be a judgment in favor of the City based on Judge Weinstein's earlier written decisions in the case and the fact that he had concluded that each and every firearm manufacturer and distributor defendant in the NAACP v. A.A. Arms Inc. case was responsible for creating a public nuisance in the City of New York, even though an advisory jury had found that the majority of them had not and had been unable to reach a verdict as to the remaining defendants. Although Judge Weinstein entered an injunction against Adventure Outdoors, appointing a special master to monitor its sales, he stayed the entry of the injunction pending the completion of Adventure Outdoors' appeal to the Second Circuit, which was filed on March 30.

ATF

• NOTICE TO ALL FFLs REGARDING ATF FORM 3310.4 MULTIPLE SALE FORMS AVAILABILITY . . . Most of ATF's forms are available in a PDF fillable format on the ATF Website. The Multiple Sale form is one of those. Licensees may download this form via http://www.atf.gov/forms/pdfs/f33104.pdf. Other forms are available via download from http://www.atf.gov/forms/3000.htm. Licensees are encouraged to use these electronic forms whenever possible; however, please ensure that when a new edition of the form is issued to download the newest version. If you need to contact the ATF Distribution Center, note that the phone number and mailing address has changed since this form was updated. The new phone number is 301-583-4696.

• IT UPGRADES . . . ATF has made IT improvements to allow certain forms to be filled out and printed online. NSSF has been and continues to encourage ATF to implement IT assets to simplify recordkeeping and reporting requirements. NSSF is encouraging ATF to permit information to be transmitted online, rather than via mail or fax, as currently this is not allowed.

Jobs

• INDUSTRY CAREER CONNECTION . . . Visit www.nssf.org/jobs for current employment opportunities in the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry. Employers: Log in to post a job opening.

NSSF's Mission "To promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports." Click here to visit the NSSF Web site and see how we accomplish this mission.

COPYRIGHT © 2009 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. "Bullet Points®," "National Shooting Sports Foundation®," "NSSF®," and all other trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos and images of the National Shooting Sports Foundation appearing in this publication are the sole property of the Foundation and may not be used without the Foundation's prior express written permission. All other trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos and images appearing in this publication are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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