NSSF Bullet Points | Online News Service

August 19, 2013

Vol. 14 No. 32

This Week:

Research

Project ChildSafe

Government Relations

SHOT Show

Ranges/Retailers

ATF Notice

N.J. Gov. Christie Rejects Three Gun-Control Bills

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Friday night vetoed three NSSF-opposed gun-control bills that had been passed by the Democrat-controlled state Legislature earlier this year, including a ban on sales of .50-caliber firearms, despite his earlier call for such a measure. He also vetoed expanded background checks and a requirement that local law enforcement send information on missing guns to federal databases. Christie said legislators had ignored his task force's broad recommendations to address underlying causes for societal violence and, instead, focused on gun control. Christie did sign a bill to create a school-violence task force. Earlier this month, he signed 10 mostly noncontroversial firearms-related bills into law.

Research

NEW NSSF IIR: THE OPTICS MARKET . . . NSSF has expanded its titles of Industry Intelligence Reports (IIR) with an all new offering: The Optics Market. Within this 12-page report, NSSF members will find both trend data and consumer-survey information on optic segments such as rifle scopes, spotting scopes, binoculars and range finders. NSSF members may access this report by logging in, selecting NSSF Industry Research and then Industry Intelligence Reports.

FIREARM RETAILER FINANCIAL BENCHMARKING REPORT . . . NSSF's 2013 Shooting Sports Industry Financial Benchmarking Report provides firearms retailers the opportunity to compare their business performance with companies similar to their own. Key performance measures include return on asset, asset turnover, cash cycle and inventory turnover and income statement and balance sheet breakouts, as well as 2011 vs. 2012 trend data. For additional information see NSSF's recent press release.

USITC FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION DATA FOR JUNE 2013 . . . NSSF tracks and reports monthly U.S. import and export units for several sporting arms, ammunition and optics categories from the U.S. International Trade Commission. See complete breakdown category's June import and export data. NSSF members can access additional historical import and export data by logging in and clicking NSSF Industry Research.

Project ChildSafe

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham joined NSSF last Friday at a Project ChildSafe event in Greenville, S.C.
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SEN. GRAHAM LAUNCHES PROJECT CHILDSAFE . . . U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham joined NSSF last Friday at a Project ChildSafe event in Greenville, S.C., to help promote firearm safety. On the issue of guns, Sen. Graham said, "We can find common ground when it comes to protecting children from accidental gun discharges and keeping guns out of the hands of felons." Also attending were USA Olympic Shooting Team member Amanda Furrer, representatives of the Greenville Police Department and Greenville County Sheriff's Office, a representative from FNH-USA and NSSF Senior Director of Communications Bill Brassard. The event was held at Sharpshooters Gun Club and Range. Attendees were able to pick up a free firearm safety kit that included a gun lock and other information about gun safety. Law enforcement representatives demonstrated how to properly install the locks on various firearms. After the event, Sen. Graham and rifle competitor Furrer showed off their shooting skills. Graham said, "You'll see why I'm not on the Olympic team and this young lady is." See CBS affiliate and Fox affiliate coverage.
FLINT LAUNCHES PROJECT CHILDSAFE . . . Last week was a busy one for Project ChildSafe. In Flint, Mich., U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee kicked off the NSSF-sponsored safe gun storage program with ATF's Flint Field Office. "There's no single solution to this problem," Rep. Kildee said. "All of us can do more." Said George Krappman, resident agent in charge for the field office, "If doing an event such as this . . . prevents one gun from getting into the wrong hands, then we've accomplished something." Read more.

Government Relations

Elizabeth Karasmeighan and Jake McGuigan (pictured), along with Mike Bazinet,
represented NSSF at NCSL.
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NSSF GOES TO STATE LEGISLATORS CONFERENCE TO HELP FixNICS^SM . . . The National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) annual legislative conference provides the opportunity to speak with state legislators and staff members from all corners of the country under one roof. So, Atlanta Ga., is where NSSF sent a team last week to speak with those who determine laws of vital interest to our members. At the top of the NSSF agenda was explaining how the states must ensure that all appropriate records, including adjudicated mental health records, are sent to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). The NSSF FixNICS message that the national firearms background check system is only as effective as the records in it was well received by legislators of both parties, and nearly all of the staffers who work in state capitols. South Carolina, Louisiana and New Jersey acted in their recent sessions to pass laws that improve their reporting procedures, so FixNICS has momentum. More states are poised to act in their upcoming sessions. See the NSSF advertisement in the NCSL program.
NOW IS THE TIME TO BE HEARD IN CALIFORNIA . . . The California Assembly's Public Safety Committee last week passed a highly restrictive package of gun-control legislation. NSSF is urging all gun owners, hunters and target shooters to contact their state senators and representatives to oppose these measures. For hunters, leading the list of onerous measures is Assembly Bill 711 that would make California the first state in the nation to completely ban the use of traditional lead ammunition in hunting. Before the end of August contact your legislators to tell them you oppose this unnecessary and unprecedented measure. The committee also voted to approve bills that would add all semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines to the state's list of banned assault weapons; ban owning any magazine that holds more than 10 rounds, including existing ones; ban "bullet buttons"; and require long-gun purchasers to pass a written test. The bills, all opposed by NSSF, already passed by the state Senate and are moving ever closer to an Assembly floor vote and the governor's desk.
COLO. RECALL EFFORT ABOUT REPRESENTING CONSTITUENTS . . . The recall effort being faced by Colorado State Senate President John Morse is a political case study in what can and should happen when a legislator ignores the will of his constituents and joins a national effort to curtail rights and impose strict regulations upon the citizens who elected him. The recall election is being watched nationally. Read more on the NSSF Blog.

SHOT Show

BIRDIES FOR THE BRAVE . . . NSSF will once again be hosting a charity golf event at the 2013 SHOT Show in partnership with PGA Tour for Birdies for the Brave on Jan. 11-12, 2014, at TPC Summerlin, in Las Vegas. Birdies for the Brave is a national military outreach initiative founded by PGA Tour pro Phil Mickelson and his wife Amy and proudly supported by the PGA Tour. It's a great opportunity for our industry to provide even more support for those who have sacrificed so much for our country. Read more.
MEET CONVEXX'S SUSAN SCHWARTZ . . . The announcement of NSSF selecting Las Vegas-based ConvExx as the new SHOT Show management company has reverberated throughout the firearms, exhibition and event industries as well as in the Las Vegas business community. The news was met with no small number of words of encouragement and congratulations from SHOT Show exhibitors and attendees alike. Each week, the SHOT Show Blog is featuring a series of "who's who" blog posts to introduce the ConvExx team. This week: Managing Director at ConvExx, Susan Schwartz.

Ranges & Retailers

NSSF RANGE COMPLIANCE CONSULTANT PROGRAM UNVEILED . . . Gaining more knowledge of the regulatory requirements and taking corrective action to implement programs required by OSHA protects and ensures a bright future for shooting facilities. To further assist member indoor ranges with this intimidating task, NSSF has created a Range Compliance Consultant Program. Similar to NSSF's FFL Compliance Program, this compliance program offers guidance from advisors who will perform an on-site mock OSHA audit. Zach Snow, NSSF manager, shooting promotions, provides more details on this program in a RangeReport.org article.
WHAT'S SELLING WHERE? . . . SHOT Business magazine regularly interviews store owners and managers across the country to find out what products are selling. Stores in four regions provide insight on current trends they're seeing. Take a look at what's been selling recently.

News of Note

NSSF SUPPORTS FOLDS OF HONOR . . . NSSF is once again a top-tier sponsor of Folds of Honor Patriot Range Days, which supports the Folds of Honor Foundation's mission of providing scholarships to spouses and children in military families. Since its inception in 2007, Folds of Honor has awarded more than 5,000 immediate and future-use educational scholarships. The official kickoff of Patriot Range Days comes this weekend at the AR15.com Rockcastle Pro-Am 3 Gun Championships presented by Brownell's in Park City, Ky. "NSSF is honored to be a supporter of Folds of Honor and its Patriot Range Day initiative, and we encourage all target shooters to contribute to Folds of Honor when visiting a participating range," said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti.

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NSSF 'GUN CRIMES' INFOGRAPHIC HITS THE MAINSTREAM . . . NSSF's recently released "Gun Crimes Plummet Even As Gun Sales Rise" infographic shined down on New York City's Times Square when it ran on the Thompson Reuters Building billboard (pictured at right). The infographic has hit the mainstream and is currently trending on the popular infographic website Visual.ly, where it is listed on the front page right up there with infographics about Hollywood hairstyles and pop culture. NSSF's infographic was designed to counter the false impression many Americans have that gun-related crime has increased over the past 20 years, even though it has actually fallen dramatically.

AMERICANS MEDAL AT PARALYMPIC WORLD CUP IN BANGKOK . . . When the guns were finally silent on Sunday to conclude the International Paralympic Committee Shooting World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand, American shooters had a lot to celebrate. Eric Hollen of Colorado Springs, Colo., took gold in the Falling Target Pistol, in which the shooter has 2.5 minutes to hit five discs of descending size. McKenna Dahl of Arlington, Wash., won the gold medal in the Falling Target Rifle 2 event, in which competitors using air rifles face a similar challenge. USA Shooting's other medalist, Mike Tagliapietra of Colorado Springs, finished third and picked up a bronze in the same event Hollen won. Visit USA Shooting's website to read press releases on these athletes' triumphs.
HISTORIC REMINGTON FIREARMS, ART DONATED TO NEW MUSEUM . . . Remington Arms Company has donated 85 firearms and works of art from its private Remington Factory Collection to the new NRA National Sporting Arms Museum at the Bass Pro Shops' flagship store in Springfield, Mo. The donations include original oil paintings used in classic Remington ads, treasured early models of Remington firearms, prototypes and experimental firearms, as well as milestone guns like the 10 millionth Model 870 shotgun and the first R15 rifle.
IOWA DNR LAUNCHES SCHOLASTIC PISTOL PROGRAM . . . The Iowa Department of Natural Resources held its first Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP) demonstration/recruitment event on Aug. 11, hosting nearly 60 pistol coaches and interested parties to learn about the program. Those newly informed individuals are expected to return to their home ranges and clubs to form SPP teams. SPP and its sister program, the Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP), are youth shooting programs administered by the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation. SCTP was established by NSSF. To learn more about SPP or SCTP, call 419-794-9924 or visit www.sssfonline.com.

ATF Notice

ATTENTION FIREARM MANUFACTURERS AND IMPORTERS . . . ATF today released the following notice to Federally licensed firearms manufacturers and importers regarding marking variance requests: "The email address marking_variances@atf.gov has been unable to receive any emails since August 2, 2013. ATF is currently working on a solution. Until the problem is resolved, all firearms manufacturers and importers who wish to submit a marking variance request must send the request to ATF's Firearms Industry Programs Branch at fipb@atf.gov. If you are a firearms manufacturer or importer who has submitted a request after 8/2/13, ATF may not have received the request. Please resubmit the request to fipb@atf.gov. Upon correction of the issue, FIPB will notify all firearms licensees to resume submitting marking variance requests to marking_variances@atf.gov."

Jobs

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

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