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October 15, 2013

Vol. 14 No. 40

Help Support Project ChildSafe

OWN IT? RESPECT IT. SECURE IT. . . . NSSF's Project ChildSafe program is going strong, with more than 100,000 firearm safety kits distributed across the U.S. just during our S.A.F.E. Summer campaign.  Hundreds of NSSF members have also helped spread the Own it? Respect It. Secure it. message by posting content on their websites, placing campaign stickers in their front windows and including the Own it? Respect It. Secure it. mark in their advertisements. Thanks for the support! We hope many more of you will join us in promoting the importance of proper firearm storage through Project ChildSafe. A few ways to get involved:

  • Display the Own it? Respect it. Secure it. badge on your website.
  • Sign up here to get your own window sticker and other links to Project ChildSafe resources and information.
  • Post about Project ChildSafe on your social media pages saying, “I commit to firearm safety and support #ProjectChildSafe. Take the pledge: http://bit.ly/12EIMur

Government Shutdown

  • FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN UPDATE . . . The FBI NICS section is maintaining normal business hours, and there should be no impact on FFLs involving firearm transaction background checks, because the NICS examiners who perform these checks and their managers are classified as "essential personnel" not subject to the federal government shutdown. However, most NICS support personnel are subject to furloughs, and this will affect appeals, support and liaison activities. Individuals who have requested an "appeal of a denial" will be subject to a delay in response to their request. View a summary of additional industry relevant information regarding the government shutdown.

Government Relations

  • CALIF. GOVERNOR SIGNS LEAD AMMO BAN, VETOES DETACHABLE MAGAZINE BILL . . . California Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed into law AB 711, a statewide ban on the use of traditional ammunition in hunting, the first such ban in the nation. NSSF and a coalition of hunting and sportsmen groups, gun owners, labor organizations and law enforcement officials had urged him to veto this anti-hunting bill. At the same time, Brown vetoed SB 374, a measure that would have classified any semiautomatic centerfire rifle that does not have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept 10 rounds of ammunition or less as an assault weapon. He also vetoed AB 180 that would have allowed the City of Oakland to enact its own ordinance regarding firearms that would be even more restrictive than state law. View a list of the bills that Brown signed or vetoed.

  • U.S. SENATORS PLEDGE TO OPPOSE U.N. ARMS TRADE TREATY . . . The U.S. Senate today responded in overwhelming fashion to Secretary of State John Kerry's recent signing of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). In a bipartisan letter led by Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), 50 senators pledged to oppose ATT ratification. Every Republican Senator, except Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), and five Democratic senators signed the letter, ending any chance of Senate ratification. At the same time, 180 members of the U.S. House of Representatives backed Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) in a bipartisan letter to President Obama in opposition to the signing of the ATT.

  • NSSF CALLS OUT NEW YORK TIMES FOR CONFIRMATION BIAS . . . The New York Times appears to be on an ongoing institutional mission to demonize and curtail gun ownership in this country and to provide as much biased fodder to the professional gun-control community as it can. As NSSF's Larry Keane points out, ignoring reports that do not reach the conclusions favored by The Times' writers and editors apparently is no longer enough. Sometimes, a selective, methodologically unexplained approach to reinterpreting existing data is in order (even if it only succeeds in moving numbers from one column to another). Read Keane's commentary.

  • http://nssf.org/share/images/SAFEAct_FieldGuide.jpgN.Y. STATE POLICE GUIDE SUGGESTS, SHERIFFS CONFIRM, SOME S.A.F.E. ACT PROVISIONS MAY NOT BE WIDELY ENFORCED . . . The New York State Police field guide for troopers and other law enforcement officers on how to handle the state's extensive new gun-control law known as the S.A.F.E. Act, championed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and rapidly passed by the State Legislature in January, itself acknowledges that the new law has raised concerns in the law enforcement community and suggests some provisions, such as the requirement that only seven rounds can be loaded in a magazine, are not going to be widely enforced. The New York State Sheriffs' Association has joined a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the laws. Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh told the Syracuse Post-Standard that he and other sheriffs have discretion in enforcing laws in the field when it comes to the S.A.F.E. Act.

  • NEW COLORADO STATE SENATE PETITIONING UNDER WAY . . . Colorado State Sen. Evie Hudak is the subject of a renewed effort to recall her from office following the historic recalls of two Colorado state senators in September. The successful recalls of fellow Democrats John Morse and Angela Giron were the result of a grassroots campaign that targeted them as well as Hudak. The recall petition cites strict new gun restrictions passed by the Colorado legislature. “She has infringed upon our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. She has voted to make all citizens less safe and to drive hundreds of jobs from Colorado,” the petition reads. Gov. John Hickenlooper is urging the national gun-control organizations that spent millions in his state to defend the two recalled senators to sit this one out.

  • WATCHDOG GROUP SEEKS COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN MAYOR'S OFFICE, MAIG . . . The watchdog group Judicial Watch has filed suit against New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's office seeking communications between that office and the gun-control group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which Bloomberg founded. The Freedom of Information Law lawsuit seeks to force the mayor's office to produce all communications between the Office of the Mayor, the director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) and Vice President Joe Biden because Judicial Watch suspects taxpayer dollars were used in advocacy efforts.

Ranges/Retailers

  • NICS EXTENDING BLACK FRIDAY HOURS OF SERVICE . . . The FBI NICS Section has announced extended hours of service on Friday, Nov. 29, 2013 (“Black Friday”) for E-check Users and state Point-of-Contact (POC) Programs. Typically, the NICS is available daily from 8 a.m. until 1 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). In response to requests to bring NICS into service earlier on "Black Friday,” to better accommodate business hour extensions throughout the industry, and due to a long history of record-breaking volume on this day, the FBI will bring the NICS in-service starting at 4:30 a.m. EST for NICS E-check Users and for state POC Programs. The NICS Contracted Call Centers will open, as normal, at 8 a.m. EST.

  • NSSF FFL COMPLIANCE CONSULTANTS IDENTIFY TOP COMMON ISSUES . . . The annual meeting of NSSF's FFL Compliance Consultant team resulted in identification of the top issues the team ran into while conducting hundreds of in-store audits during 2013. To continue providing the best compliance tools possible for NSSF and other industry members, the team also planned locations for NSSF Retailer Education Seminars in 2014 and compliance products to be developed in the coming year. Click here for more information on the NSSF FFL Compliance Consultant team and program. Premium Retailer Members can receive an in-store audit with their paid membership.

Research

  • NSSF MODERN SPORTING RIFLE (MSR) CONSUMER REPORT 2013 . . . What are the demographics of today's modern sporting rifle (AR and AK platform) owners? Why are consumers purchasing MSRs? Which and how many accessories do they own? These questions and much more are answered in NSSF's 75-plus page comprehensive report on consumer ownership, usage and attitudes toward modern sporting rifles. See NSSF's press release for more information.  The report is available exclusively to NSSF members by logging in at http://www.nssf.org/members/.  Not a member but want to be? Contact Samantha Hughes at shughes@nssf.org or 203-426-1320 ext. 262.

SHOT Show

  • MAKE YOUR SHOT SHOW PLANS NOW, STATES NEW RANGEREPORT.ORG ARTICLE . . . Respected members of the shooting range industry tell why their peers should start making plans right now for attending the SHOT Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 14-17, 2014, in an excellent article by Carolee Anita Boyles. Visit www.rangereport.org and click on the SHOT Show logo to read, “Make Your SHOT Show Plans Now.”

  • SHOT SHOW UPDATE . . . It has been an exciting and challenging year for the industry as a whole, and in particular for NSSF and its signature event -- the SHOT Show. Several changes have been made to improve some elements of the show, and some veteran companies remain on board and committed to providing the best service possible to all attendees. Read an update from NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Chris Dolnack.

News of Note

  • JOHN D. SMITH JOINS NSSF AS VP/CFO; TWO ADDITIONAL STAFF CHANGES ANNOUNCED . . . John D. Smith has been named Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, succeeding longtime VP/CFO Nancy Coburn, who will retire at the end of the calendar year. Smith's responsibility is to provide financial and strategic support to both NSSF and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI), with direct responsibility for accounting, finance, investments, forecasting and budgeting. Erik Scarpati has been promoted to Manager, Multimedia. His duties will include overseeing production of NSSF's video projects. Ani Chaghatzbanian is NSSF's new Meeting Planner. Her focus will be on arranging logistical details for NSSF's many sponsored meetings, conferences and workshops. Read more about these NSSF staff members.

  • SKEET SHOOTING IS BONDING ACTIVITY FOR CALGARY FLAMES HOCKEY TEAM . . . The Calgary Herald reports that the Calgary Flames have been heading to the shooting range lately for some team bonding. The Flames' Joe Colborne said hockey and skeet are similar in some respects. "A lot of times you can overthink it, but it's just like leading a guy with a pass in hockey," Colborne said. "You put it to where he's going to be not where he's at so you have to lead it a little bit. Once you get that down, guys that usually have better hand-eye in hockey are usually a lot better in shooting."

  • MINNESOTA DNR CREDITS FIREARM-SAFETY PROGRAMS FOR HUNTING-FATALITY DECLINE . . . “The number of hunting fatalities in Minnesota has dropped substantially in the past few decades, a trend that state officials attribute to effective firearm-safety programs,” states an Associated Press article appearing in the StarTribune. The article reports that In the early 1990s the state began mandating completion of a hunter-education program for hunting-license applicants born after 1979, and Mike Hammer, who coordinates education programs for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, credits the program for dramatically reducing hunting accidents and fatalities—even though the number of hunting licenses has nearly tripled since 1968.

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.

NSSF's Mission

"To promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports."

Click here to visit the NSSF website and see how we accomplish this mission.


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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