May 17, 2010

Vol. 11 No. 20

This Week:

NSSF Honors Fallen Law Enforcement

Fraternal Order of Police President Chuck Canterbury, left, accepts a $100,000 check from NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane.

$100,000 DONATION . . . The National Shooting Sports Foundation honored the nation's fallen law enforcement by contributing $100,000 to the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) Foundation. The donation, which coincides with Police Week and the National Peace Officer's Memorial Service, was presented Saturday by NSSF to FOP President Chuck Canterbury. "Members of the firearms industry are proud to stand with America's brave men and women in blue who everyday put their lives on the line to help secure our freedom and keep us safe from harm," said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. Law enforcement represents a rapidly growing and increasingly important market segment for the firearms industry. In just a few short years, the law enforcement segment of NSSF's SHOT Show has grown to represent 27 percent of the show's exhibit space, making the show the second largest law enforcement show in the United States. Full Story

Trends

COLLEGE STUDENTS TAKING UP SHOOTING IN INCREASING NUMBERS . . . On college campuses across the country, the number of students participating in the shooting sports is on the rise. From Harvard to Jacksonville University to the University of Colorado, the shooting sports are "in." To encourage this growth trend, the National Shooting Sports Foundation last year began providing grants to college shooting programs through its Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative. "After just one round of grants, NSSF has seen participation in target shooting grow significantly at colleges," said Zach Snow, NSSF's senior shooting sports coordinator. "We're just getting started, so the sky's the limit. All it takes to form a team or club is for a dedicated coach, faculty member or student to step up and lead the way. Once that happens, participants follow." See the success stories so far.

Legal & Legislative

SUPREME COURT NOMINEE ELENA KAGAN ON GUNS . . . During a meeting last week, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) showed Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan the flintlock rifle he received as NRA's "Man of the Year," to which Kagan responded, "It's beautiful . . . It's gorgeous," reports ABC News. Despite that friendly exchange, Kagan's record on gun rights is sparse. Never having been a judge, she has not written a judicial opinion about the constitutional right to keep and bear arms. What little she has written on the subject has been discussed in recent news stories and blog posts, as the media and firearm owners look for indications about how strongly she would support the Second Amendment if confirmed to serve on the high court. Read more on Kagan's record on guns and why senators should push Kagan to explain further her views on the right to keep and bear arms. The National Rifle Association has raised concerns about Kagan.

VIDEO: LOOK BACK AT 2010 NSSF CONGRESSIONAL FLY-IN . . . NSSF recently hosted its third annual -- and most successful yet -- congressional "fly-in." Firearms industry executives met in Washington, D.C., with key congressional leaders on a number of legislative and regulatory issues important to the industry. See what lawmakers and members of the industry had to say about the fly-in. Play Video
SENS. NELSON, ISAKSON SUPPORT EXCISE TAX MODERNIZATION BILL . . . Sens. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) have become the latest co-sponsors of S.632, legislation to rectify a longstanding inequity in the frequency with which firearms and ammunition manufacturers pay a federal excise tax on the products they sell. It is important that members of the firearms and ammunition industry continue to urge their senators and representatives to support S.632 and the House version of the bill, H.R.510. This is legislation that is pro-conservation, pro-business and bi-partisan. Learn more.
BLOOMBERG MOVES TO STREAMLINE FIREARMS PERMIT PROCESS . . . New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that his administration will seek to simplify the process by which New Yorkers obtain gun permits. Though the mayor's office claims the move is to "allow for better investigation of applicants who might not qualify for a gun while more swiftly satisfying those fit to have them," pro- and anti-groups recognize the action as a political ploy to ward off litigation following the 2008 Heller decision that struck down gun-control laws in other cities and subsequent challenges that the High Court is preparing to rule on.
CALIFORNIA GROUPS CONTINUE TO MISLEAD ON TRADITIONAL AMMO . . . With legislation working its way through the California Assembly (AB 2223) that would expand California's ill-advised ban on traditional ammunition into all wildlife management areas of the state, anti-hunting groups are continuing to stoke the flame of emotion in hopes that legislators will forget about science. Read more.
WISCONSIN DNR AND THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES . . . The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has partnered with the Humane Society of the United States, a group dedicated to eradicating hunting, fishing and trapping. Read NSSF's response.

News of Note

REMINGTON TO EXPAND PLANTS, ADD JOBS AT TWO LOCATIONS . . . Remington Arms expects to invest $11 million in the expansion of manufacturing plants in Ilion, N.Y., and Hickory, Ky., adding 100 people to the workforce at each of the facilities.
NEARLY 80,000 CONVERGE ON CHARLOTTE FOR NRA CONVENTION . . . Charlotte, N.C., officials estimate the National Rifle Association's Annual Meetings and Exhibits last week drew close to 80,000 attendees and brought in about $20 million, CBS-affiliate WBTV 3 reports. View coverage of the event at NRA.org and the NRA Blog.
SHARPLESS NAMED EXECUTIVE V.P. AT REDDING RELOADING . . . Redding Reloading Equipment, maker of reloading gear for the metallic cartridge handloader, has named Robin Sharpless to the newly created position of executive vice president. The position, said Richard Beebe, Redding president and CEO, better reflects Sharpless' contributions to the growth of the company, and in his new role Sharpless will assume broader responsibilities in the day to day operation of the company while retaining his current sales and marketing oversight.
TRCP NAMES WHIT FOSBURGH NEW PRESIDENT/CEO . . . The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership has named White Fosburgh president/CEO of the national sportsmen/conservation group. He was formerly the vice president for program development at Trout Unlimited and director of T.U.'s Coldwater Conservation Fund.
HEARING HEARD ON FIRST NEW JERSEY BEAR HUNT IN FIVE YEARS . . . More than 100 speakers aired their views at the last public hearing before officials take final administrative action on a black bear management plan in New Jersey. The plan, put forward by the state Fish and Game Council and approved by acting New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin, calls for a hunting season for black bears as well as continued efforts to educate people on ways to minimize bear confrontations and nuisance situations.

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.

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