March 8, 2010

Vol. 11 No. 10

This Week:

News of Note

Legal and Legislative

Industry Briefs

Jobs

Supreme Court Roundup

ORAL ARGUMENTS HEARD IN 'MCDONALD V. CHICAGO' . . . The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments last Tuesday for McDonald v. City of Chicago, a major Second Amendment case that will determine whether cities and states must honor the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. The SCOTUS Blog provides a lengthy roundup of links to coverage of the oral arguments, including newspaper articles and blog posts from many sources. Also, read an analysis provided by NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane, who was at the Supreme Court during the oral arguments. A decision in the case is expected some time this summer.

  • POLL: 69% SAY CITIES DON'T HAVE RIGHT TO BAN HANDGUNS . . . As the Supreme Court considers the McDonald v. Chicago case, a new poll from Rasmussen Reports shows that 69 percent of Americans say city governments do not have the right to prevent citizens from owning handguns. These findings are unchanged from June 2008 just before the Supreme Court overturned Washington, D.C.'s law banning handguns in that city. Read the full story from Rasmussen Reports.

News of Note

  • FEBRUARY BACKGROUND CHECKS ON FIREARM SALES . . . Data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,243,211 checks in February 2010, ranking the month the second highest February (eighth highest month overall) for most NICS checks. This figure, while being a 1.3 percent decrease from the 1,259,078 checks conducted in February 2009 -- the early stage of an ongoing surge in firearms and ammunition sales -- is an increase of 21.7 percent over checks in February 2008. The total number of background checks reported since the beginning of NICS is 112,380,272.

  • CT GOVERNOR CONGRATULATES NSSF ON PROJECT CHILDSAFE AWARD . . . NSSF recently received an Award of Excellence for its Project ChildSafe program, the firearms safety education effort that has distributed 35 million gun lock safety kits nationwide. Last week, a thoughtful letter of congratulations from Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell arrived at NSSF's Newtown, Conn., headquarters. Read the letter.

  • FIREARMS RETAILER DESERVES TEAM SPONSORSHIP . . . "It's entirely appropriate for a federally licensed firearms retailer, who sells legal products used by participants of all ages for sporting purposes, to have the good name of his business proudly worn by youth baseball players." That's part of NSSF's response to a New Jersey Star-Ledger story about a youth baseball league rejecting a team sponsorship offer from a firearms retailer in the town of Maplewood. Constitution Arms owner Matt Carmel called the league's decision, "arbitrary, capricious and unfair." Read the rest of NSSF's letter-to-the-editor in the NSSF Blog.

  • STARBUCKS ISSUES STATEMENT ON OPEN CARRY POLICY . . . Starbucks continues to make headlines nationally for its policy to allow open carry in its stores, much to the dismay of anti-gun groups. On Wednesday, the company issued a statement, saying, ". . . 43 of the 50 U.S. states have open carry weapon laws. Where these laws don't exist, we comply with laws that prohibit the open carrying of weapons. The political, policy and legal debates around these issues belong in the legislatures and courts, not in our stores." Read the complete statement.

  • AIMING FOR ACCURACY AT THE HUFFINGTON POST . . . Huffington Post readers in search of a better understanding of gun ownership trends in America and the firearms industry can do better than to rely on a blog written by Josh Sugarmann of the extremist anti-gun Violence Policy Center. They may want to consider subscribing instead to the NSSF Blog, which accurately chronicles the firearms industry and firearms trends. A recent post by Sugarmann contains (what else?) more bashing of AR-style modern sporting rifles. NSSF believes HuffPost readers deserve better. Read more in the NSSF Blog.

Legal and Legislative

  • VIDEO: SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON TRADITIONAL AMMO . . . A video on NSSF's Keane Insights blog sets the record straight on traditional ammunition. Says NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane, "Some groups are claiming that consuming game harvested with traditional ammunition containing lead components poses an unreasonable risk to human health. The truth is that eating wild game poses no such risk. And that's not me saying it, that's the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." Play Video

  • UPDATE ON VIRGINIA ONE-GUN-A-MONTH LAW . . . A newly created subcommittee in the Virginia State Senate killed legislation to repeal the state's one-gun-a-month law. The subcommittee was created by the Chairman of the Senate Courts of Justice Committee Henry L. Marsh III (D) specifically for the purpose of terminating the proposed legislation. NSSF is engaging members in the Virginia Senate on the actions of the subcommittee as it is a violation of senate rules for a subcommittee to kill a bill. NSSF supports the repeal of one-gun-a-month and remains actively engaged in passing this legislation.

  • MISSISSIPPI SALES-TAX HOLIDAY BILL FAILS . . . A bill creating a two-day sales tax holiday for guns and ammunition in honor of Second Amendment Weekend has died amid lawmakers' concerns over the state budget, the Sun Herald reports. Rep. Warner McBride (D-Courtland) authored House Bill 1207, which had 39 cosponsors, including several from southern Mississippi, but the House Ways and Means Committee didn't take up the bill. Read more.

  • VIRGINIA BILL WOULD DEVELOP FIREARM SAFETY COURSE IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS . . . A proposal to require Virginia’s State Board of Education to develop a program of firearm safety education for elementary education students is advancing in the state Senate, reports the Associated Press. If passed, the program would be made optional to local school boards. NSSF supports the bill.

  • NSSF CONGRESSIONAL FLY-IN . . . The 3rd Annual NSSF Congressional Fly-In is scheduled for Wednesday, April 28, to Friday, April 30. Participation in the Fly-In is a voting member benefit. All Voting Members are strongly encouraged to attend this key government relations effort to help advance our industry's federal legislative priorities. If you are interested in attending and receiving additional details as they become available, please contact Marje Swarts at mswarts@nssf.org. Register for the Fly-In online.

  • LEGISLATIVE UPDATES IN YOUR STATE . . . For information on current legislation affecting your state, bookmark NSSF's government relations Web page. The page is updated frequently with information on legislative threats and successes related to the industry and gun owners.

Industry Briefs

  • NSSF'S CAULEY AWARDED CEM DESIGNATION . . . Diedra Cauley, NSSF's director of exhibitions and conferences, has been awarded the designation of Certified in Exhibition Management (CEM) by the International Association of Exhibitions and Events. "CEM certification is recognized throughout the exhibition industry as the premier mark of professional achievement. We commend Diedra for this great accomplishment," said NSSF Senior Vice President Chris Dolnack. Cauley is responsible for the operational aspects of the SHOT Show and all other major events sponsored by NSSF.

  • CABELA'S ANNOUNCES ADDITION TO EXECUTIVE TEAM . . . Cabela's Inc. (NYSE:CAB) announced the addition of a new member to its executive team. Doug Means will be joining Cabela's as executive vice president and chief supply chain officer, reporting to CEO Tommy Millner. Previously, Means served as executive vice president of production for Better Sportswear at Jones Apparel Group, which he joined in 1992.

  • NASGW IS SEARCHING AGAIN FOR A PRESIDENT . . . Family and personal matters have ended the brief tenure of Mark Kresser as head of the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers, and his resignation has launched a new search for a candidate to fill that position.

  • ELLETT BROTHERS NAMES ROSENLIEB DIRECTOR OF MECHANDISING . . . Ellett Brothers has announced Dick Rosenlieb as director of merchandising for its shooting division. Rosenlieb joins Ellett Brothers after 20 years of service with the National Wild Turkey Federation and most recently with Safari Club International.

  • LEUPOLD & STEVENS ANNOUNCES PROMOTION OF MUNDY . . . Leupold & Stevens, Inc. has announced the promotion of Pat Mundy to communications manager. Mundy oversees a staff of six in developing and implementing advertising, public relations, interactive and other marketing communications. Prior to his promotion, Mundy served as marketing communications supervisor.

Jobs


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