Violent Crime Drops as
Firearms Ownership Rises
 FBI RELEASES PRELIMINARY FIGURES FOR 2010 . . . The FBI today released its Preliminary Annual Uniform Crime Report for 2010, showing a decrease of 5.5 percent in the number of violent crimes brought to its attention in 2010 compared to the previous year. Violent crime, which includes murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault, decreased in all four regions of the country and in both cities and non-metropolitan areas. For decades, violent crime in the United States has been dropping. Final figures for 2009 showed violent crime at its lowest level since 1984. At the same time, firearms ownership and use has been increasing, putting the lie to anti-gun organizations' claims that more guns lead to more crime. The largest surge in firearms sales occurred from late 2008 into 2010, and, according to an NSSF report, an estimated 34.4 million people went target shooting in 2009, the largest number ever. Read more.
Shooting Sports Summit
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 PAWLENTY OFFICIALLY ENTERS 2012 PRESIDENTIAL RACE . . . Tim Pawlenty, a keynote speaker at the upcoming Shooting Sports Summit, formally entered the 2012 Republican presidential race today in Iowa. The former two-term governor of Minnesota is a big proponent of our shooting and hunting traditions and an ardent supporter of Second Amendment rights. He will deliver the keynote address on Day 2 of the Summit. The Summit, set for June 7-9 in Louisville, Ky., is rapidly approaching. If you have not already done so, please register today. Your voice and presence are needed as we work together to secure a strong future for hunting and the shooting sports. Learn more and get registered at nssf.org/summit.
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SUBMIT QUESTIONS ON 'WHERE WE GO FROM HERE' . . . NSSF is asking all who can't make it to the Shooting Sports Summit to submit questions about how we as an industry -- and as hunters and shooters -- can increase participation in hunting and the shooting sports going forward. The questions will be addressed during the final panel discussion, "Where We Go from Here," on the last day of the Summit. If you'd like to submit a question, send it via email to NSSF Recruitment and Retention Manager Melissa Schilling at mschilling@nssf.org.
Industry News
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NSSF WELCOMES EIGHT NEW VOTING MEMBERS . . . The NSSF Board of Governors has approved eight companies for the elite category of Voting Membership, as which they make a significant financial commitment to support the organization. Please welcome the following new NSSF Voting Members: Caesar Guerini/Fab Arms, Cobra Firearms, Coonan Inc., Galco Gunleather, ODI/Stag Outdoor Products, Parmatech Corp., Promatic Inc. and VirTra Systems.
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 NSSF EARNS PR NEWS AWARD FOR 2010 ANNUAL REVIEW . . . NSSF won the PR News top prize in the Annual Brochure or Publication category for its 2010 NSSF Annual Review: A Building Block To History. In March, NSSF was recognized by PR News as a finalist for four different awards and one individual award. This is the second year in a row NSSF's Annual Review was recognized by PR News for excellence in communication. It beat out more than 300 entries from other non-profit companies in North America. Read more.
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 SHOT BUSINESS AWARD NOMINEE SUGGESTIONS . . . NSSF is seeking nominees for the SHOT Business Awards for 2011, which will be presented at the SHOT Show. Categories are Retailer, Distributor, Manufacturer's Representative, Company/Organization and Person of the Year, and for most of these categories, the chief criterion is the person or company's community outreach and efforts to preserve and promote our hunting and shooting heritage and protect our firearms freedoms. Send names of suggested nominees, and a paragraph or two on their qualifications, to gsapir@nssf.org.
Government Relations
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Massachusetts State Rep. George Peterson Jr. at the range on Friday. |
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MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATORS TAKE TO THE RANGE . . . Last Friday the Gun Owners' Action League and the National Shooting Sports Foundation held the Fourth Annual Firearms Safety and Education Day for Massachusetts Legislators at the North Leominster Rod and Gun Club. Legislators, their families and staffs were invited to a day at the range. Without the generous support of industry members, this event would not have been a resounding success. A record number of attendees, both experienced and first timers, enjoyed the opportunity to try their hand at various shooting disciplines ranging from trap and skeet to rifle and handgun. NSSF extends a special thanks to Winchester for supplying the ammunition and to Smith & Wesson and Kahr Arms/Auto Ordnance for bringing numerous firearms and a team of representatives. Also, a thank you goes to all the instructors for providing a safe and fun environment and the North Leominster Rod Gun Club for supplying first-class facilities.
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CALIFORNIA ANTI-GUN LEGISLATORS AT IT AGAIN . . . Many of the same ridiculous pieces of anti-gun legislation are being debated again this year in both the California Assembly and the Senate. NSSF urges all firearms owners, retailers and sportsmen to contact their legislators to oppose these onerous bills that will only cost the state money and have no impact on increasing public safety. The first bill, Senate Bill 427, is an attempt to help resolve the unconstitutionally vague provisions of the current handgun ammunition registration law (AB 962) and also add new provisions impacting retailers. The second bill, Assembly Bill 809, would once again require that firearms retailers report the same sale records for long guns that they currently collect for handguns. Please urge your legislators to oppose these bills.
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PRODUCT LIABILITY PROTECTION UPHELD FOR FIREARM MANUFACTURER . . . The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals found that Remington Arms Co. was not liable to the plaintiff under the Louisiana Products Liability Act for an injury sustained while firing one of Remington's rifles. The act requires "reasonable anticipation" by the manufacturer of an injury caused by an expected use of its product. The court found that when the plaintiff fired the rifle, a component part had been removed and not reinstalled prior to the use of the rifle, thereby causing the injury. The court determined that Remington could not have "reasonably anticipated," at the time of manufacture, that a user would fail to reinstall the critical part before attempting to fire the rifle. Read the Matthews v. Remington opinion.
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THE MYTH OF BIG-TIME GUN TRAFFICKING . . . A piece in this weekend's Wall Street Journal is helping to put to rest the false claim that America's firearms industry plays a role in illegal firearms trafficking operations. The article, written by criminologist Gary Kleck, confirms Department of Justice and independent research dispelling gun control propaganda on the issue of trafficking into Mexico. Read NSSF's complete blog post on the topic.
ATF
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 ATF PROVIDES GUIDANCE TO FFLs AFFECTED BY FLOODING AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS . . . ATF has developed an informational brochure and a video designed to offer guidance to federal firearms licensees who will be or are affected by flooding and other natural disasters. The brochure, "Disaster Preparedness for Federal Firearms Licensees" (ATF publication 3317.7), can be found online at ATF's website. The video entitled, "Disaster Preparedness," can be found in ATF's Online Educational Seminars. If you have any questions concerning what you can do to prepare for a disaster, please contact your local ATF field office or call ATF's 24-hour hotline at 800-800-3855. Further information about ATF can be found at www.atf.gov.
Education & Safety
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 AR STANDS FOR ARMALITE . . . NSSF continues its education campaign to correct confusion about AR-style rifles -- modern sporting rifles -- by providing a graphic on the NSSF Blog that drives home the point that the AR prefix does not stand for "assault rifle" or "automatic rifle." The AR stands for ArmaLite, the company that in the 1950s developed this style rifle. Read the full post and download the graphic to use on your website or blog or in your magazine or TV show.
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FIREARM SAFETY AND CONSERVATION VIDEOS FOR SCHOOLS . . . Less than a week after launching its annual free videos-to-schools campaign, NSSF reports more than 4,000 of its Firearm Safety and Conservation DVDs have been ordered by teachers and administrators. If you know an educator that might be interested in these videos, alert them to this NSSF webpage to preview and order the videos free of charge. The Firearm Safety DVD contains It's Your Call: Playing It Safe Around Guns, McGruff the Crime Dog on Gun Safety and Fireams Safety Depends on You. The Conservation DVD contains Wildlife for Tomorrow, Unendangered Species and What They Say About Hunting.
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PROJECT CHILDSAFE . . . The Granville Police Department on Mon County, W.Va., is giving away 300 Project ChildSafe firearm safety kits to gun owners free of charge. The giveaway is promoted in this WDTV.com video news segment. NSSF's Project ChildSafe program provides free safety kits that include a gun lock and firearm safety education material to law enforcement departments throughout the country. The program has distributed 35 million firearm safety kits.
NSSF History Snapshot
Throughout its 50th anniversary year, NSSF each week will be spotlighting various moments from the Foundation's history.
Jobs
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NSSF's Mission
"To promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports."
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SHOT Show Blog
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2011 Shooting Sports Summit, June 7-9
Help NSSF continue to increase participation in hunting and the shooting sports. Register today for the 2011 Shooting Sports Summit.
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