NSSF Bullet Points | Online News Service

February 18, 2013

Vol. 14 No. 6

This Week:

Government Relations

Industry News

Research

News of Note

In The Courts

NSSF Legislative Action Center

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SPREAD THE WORD . . . NSSF's Legislative Action Center is the industry's one-stop hub for finding contact information for federal and state legislators, learning about newly introduced firearms legislation and taking action--sending a letter or making a phone call to lawmakers. NSSF asks firearms industry companies to promote the Legislative Action Center on its homepages and wherever else they see fit. In addition to the Legislative Action Center, online visitors can use NSSF's Research State and Federal Legislation and Industry-Relevant Federal Legislation tools for tracking alarming efforts to restrict ownership and use of semiautomatic rifles and ammunition. Get more info from NSSF's press release.

Government Relations

    How Colorado representatives
    voted on HB 1224.

  • COLORADO: YOUR CALLS, EMAILS URGENTLY NEEDED . . . The Colorado House of Representatives on a narrow 34-31 vote today passed HB 1224 restricting magazine capacity and was debating three other gun-control measures as this report was being prepared for distribution. HB 1224 had been amended arbitrarily in committee to increase magazine restrictions from 10 to 15 rounds and to allow Colorado-based Magpul to continue manufacturing in the state. Calls and emails from Colorado residents opposed to these measures are urgently needed, and state senators especially need to hear from hunters, target shooters and all gun owners. Magpul has threatened to move out of the state if the magazine capacity bill passes both houses.

  • CONNECTICUT: LETTER TO GUN VIOLENCE PREVENTION TASK FORCE . . . Firearms manufacturers, retailers and ranges joined forces in a Feb. 14 letter to the Connecticut Legislative Task Force on Gun Violence Prevention and Children's Safety to reinforce a publicly stated commitment to be part of the process to help ensure effective answers are found to the criminal misuse of firearms. Read More.

  • ILLINOIS: HOUSE COMMITTEE ANNOUNCES HEARING DATES . . . The Illinois House Judiciary Committee announced it will hold hearings on Feb. 19 and 22 to discuss comprehensive gun control legislation. NSSF encourages Illinois residents to attend these hearings and urge legislators to oppose anti-gun legislation that does nothing more than penalize law-abiding retailers and gun owners. The locations for both House Judiciary Committee hearings are Room 114, Capitol Building in Springfield on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at noon, and Room N-600, Bilandic Building in Chicago on Friday, Feb. 22, at 10 a.m.

  • MINNESOTA: HEARINGS ON ANTI-GUN BILLS BEGIN FEB. 21 . . . On Thursday, Feb. 21, at noon in Room 15 of the state capitol, the Senate Judiciary Committee will begin hearings on far-reaching anti-gun measures that would seriously affect Minnesota-based manufacturers, retailers and firearm owners. This committee may also meet from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21, and Friday, Feb. 22. The Senate Judiciary Committee will likely be considering, among other bills, Senate File 205, or its companion Senate File 458, an omnibus anti-gun bill.

  • NEW JERSEY: 20 ANTI-GUN BILLS PASS DESPITE OPPOSITION . . . The New Jersey General Assembly's Law and Public Safety Committee passed 20 anti-gun bills following a seven-hour public hearing and despite more than 500 gun owners packing committee rooms. NSSF was present for the hearing and submitted written opposition. With the floor vote on these bills likely this Thursday, Feb. 21, NSSF is urging New Jersey residents to contact their legislators. Read NSSF's Legislative Action Alert.

  • FOCUSING ON FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PROJECT CHILDSAFE . . . NSSF continues to press the point that deterring access to firearms by unauthorized persons--including children, at-risk individuals and persons legally prohibited from possessing a firearm--must be central to any discussion about reducing violence and the misuse of firearms. Apparently, some in the media agree. This Businessweek article points out that the George W. Bush Administration supported the industry's Project ChildSafe program with more than $90 million while under the Obama Administration all federal funding ceased--"much to the consternation" of the program's law enforcement partners. NSSF has sent a copy of the article to every House and Senate office.

Industry News

  • HORNADY ON AMMUNITION AVAILABILITY . . . Addressing rumors and questions about the current availability of ammunition, Hornady Manufacturing has posted this message on its website.

  • IN ADDITION TO SALES SURGE, CABELA'S ALSO SEEING RISE IN NEW CUSTOMERS . . . Outdoor retailer Cabela's (NYSE:CAB) on Thursday reported that same-store sales (sales at stores open for at least a year) jumped 12 percent compared to the same period a year ago, a new record. The company also says it has seen a rise in firearm purchasers new to the store. "Two years ago, about 16 percent of firearms buyers were new customers. Over time this percentage has increased, and, in the fourth quarter of this year, 21 percent of firearms purchasers were new to Cabela's," CEO Tommy Millner said during the company's earnings call.

  • TIBBETS NAMED INTERIM PRESIDENT OF ATK SPORTING GROUP . . . ATK has announced the appointment of Jay Tibbets to serve as the senior vice president and interim president of the company's Sporting Group. He replaced Ronald P. Johnson, who resigned from ATK to become chief executive officer of Savage Sports Corporation. Tibbets joined ATK in 2000 and has led various strategy and business development organizations in support of ATK's strategic growth initiatives. Read the full announcement.

  • OLYMPIC ARMS WILL NO LONGER SERVE NEW YORK STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES . . . Firearms manufacturer Olympic Arms has announced a New York State sales policy in reaction to draconian legislation passed in New York that "will make it illegal for the good and free citizens of New York to own a large selection of legal and safe firearms and magazines." The new sales policy states that "the State of New York, any Law Enforcement Departments, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders within the State of New York, or any New York State government entity or employee of such an entity--will no longer be served as customers." Other industry companies, including LaRue Tactical, have announced similar policies.

Research

  • NSSF SURVEY TRACKER AVAILABLE . . . The NSSF Survey Tracker is a monitoring service utilizing an online panel of active hunters and target shooters. This edition's questions pertain to what influences consumers' purchase of a brand. A second page to this month's report covers questions pertaining to hunting. View the edition--December 2012. Sourced by Southwick Associates' HunterSurvey.com, each report features: Market Snapshot--purchases made in the past two months; Market Leaders--the top brands purchased in different retail categories; and Question of the Month--insight into opinions and attitudes of today's recreational hunters and target shooters. NSSF members may view, in addition to this latest edition, historical survey trackers by logging on to www.nssf.org/members and clicking on "NSSF Industry Research" and then on "Survey Tracker".

In The Courts

  • OKLAHOMA STATE TROOPER LOSES SUIT AGAINST GLOCK . . . A court has decided against an Oklahoma state trooper who sued Glock for an injury he sustained after he intentionally caused his semiautomatic service pistol to malfunction during a department training exercise. During the exercise, the state trooper was instructed to hold his hand on the slide of his pistol to prevent it from recoiling after being fired. The reason for doing so was to teach the trooper how to handle a situation where his pistol malfunctions, and he must clear it and be ready to reuse it in a short time period. The trooper did as instructed and when his pistol discharged, the trooper's hand was severely injured. The trooper sued Glock, claiming that the pistol was defective and unreasonably dangerous. However, the court saw things differently, finding that Glock could not have reasonably foreseen that its product would be used in the manner which injured the trooper. The trooper's employer has since developed safer ways to train its officers. Representing Glock in this matter were Christopher Renzulli and Edwin Brondo Jr. of the Renzulli Law Firm.

  • RETAILER CLEARED IN SERIAL NUMBER MISTAKE CASE . . . A North Carolina man who sued a firearms retailer for selling him a used handgun with a serial number that was incorrectly placed into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database by law enforcement and flagged as being stolen has lost his court case. During a traffic stop, the customer disclosed that he had the handgun in his car. When the police ran the serial number it came back as stolen and the customer was arrested. Further investigation revealed that the customer's handgun was not in fact stolen. Another handgun with the serial number 664–57007 had previously been reported stolen but the police in that case incorrectly entered 664–57001, which was the serial number of the customer's gun. The presiding court found that the retailer had no duty, nor means, to verify whether the used gun sold to the customer was stolen and dismissed the case.

News of Note

  • WINGSHOOTING PRESERVES CAN BENEFIT FROM NSSF'S FIRST SHOTS . . . First Shots manager Tisma Juett recently addressed attendees of the North American Gamebird Association 81st Annual Convention and Conference in Kansas City, Mo., on how preserve owners can use First Shots to attract new customers. Juett noted that many wingshooting preserves throughout the country remain open through March, offering opportunities for enjoying a late-season hunt with friends and family. A preserve also can be the perfect place to introduce a newcomer, whether youth or adult, to upland bird hunting. Read the full release.

  • $1 MILLION PLUS AVAILABLE TO COLLEGIATE SHOTGUNNING TEAMS . . . The Association of College Unions International (ACUI) has announced that more than $1 million in endowment money will be given away at the 2013 Collegiate Clay Target Championships held at the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas, on March 26-31. The money comes from a donation from Larry and Brenda Potterfield of Midway USA. The endowment funds will be deposited to Midway USA Foundation/Scholastic Shooting Trust, whose purpose is to provide funding for high school and collegiate shooting teams.

  • COLLEGIATE SHOOTING TEAM GAINS FAVORABLE PRESS, NSSF GRANT . . . Hampden-Sydney College's clay target team has had a banner year in its early development. First, it received a $6,000 grant through the National Shooting Sports Foundation's Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative to help in its establishment. Next, the newly formed team placed fourth overall and was only a few targets behind second-place Virginia Tech at the Hokie Invitational, and now it has earned feature article coverage in The Virginia Sportsman magazine. Subscribe if you'd like to read about this young, but already accomplished, shooting program.

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COPYRIGHT © 2013 by National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted for broadcast, publication, retransmission to email lists, Websites 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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