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December 2, 2013

Vol. 14 No. 47

Six Weeks Until SHOT Show^®

2014 SHOT SHOW . . . Believe it or not, NSSF's 2014 SHOT Show is only a month and a half away. As the entire industry prepares, enthusiasm is already building for the Jan. 14-17 event in Las Vegas. If you haven't already done so, register today at shotshow.org. Also, be sure to take advantage of all the show's offerings, such as retailer and law enforcement seminars, SHOT Show^® University^SM and more. Stay up to date on show news through the SHOT Show Blog and connect with the show on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

SHOT Show

• RATE-GUARANTEE DEADLINE APPROACHING . . . The best way to take advantage of special hotel-room opportunities is through onPeak, the official housing partner of the SHOT Show. Its hotel rate-guarantee deadline is Wednesday, Dec. 11. To view or book available hotel/travel deals through onPeak, click here or call 800-388-8104. As you book your travel plans for January remember that you too can be scammed, and we urge you to read our warning. To make your planning even easier, visit our restaurant guide, "SHOT on a dime," and find ways to dine within your budget and free attractions that you can't miss.

• SHOT SHOW UNIVERSITY SPEAKER SPOTLIGHT . . . With a theme of Aiming for Excellence, 2014 SHOT Show University provides education and training for operating businesses more effectively. If you haven’t already done so, apply today. Meet speaker Chip Bell, who could boast of 20-plus years of working with top executives from the world’s leading brands and helping them stay ahead of the competition by maintaining world-class customer-experience strategies. Read his blog post, describing service innovations that can set your business apart from your competitor’s.

• CELEBRITY APPEARANCES . . . Promotional services for celebrity appearances are offered at the 2014 SHOT Show. Log in to the Exhibitor Listing Dashboard and let us know about celebrity appearances or other special events you are planning at your booth. Follow these directions for the dashboard.

• GET PREPARED: 2014 SHOT SHOW EXHIBITOR WEBINAR SERIES . . . Preparing for the SHOT Show entails not only knowing what you will be doing in Las Vegas but also having an understanding of your company's goals and how to best accomplish those goals through the tools provided to you both pre-show and onsite. Tune in on Thursday, Dec. 5, from 11 a.m.- noon for the second segment in this series, 25 Do's and Don'ts To Ensure a Profitable SHOT Show. If you missed it last week, Develop a Plan That Will Guarantee Success at the SHOT Show is available online in the Exhibitor Resource Center under Exhibitor Education and News.

• SHOT SHOW LAW ENFORCEMENT EDUCATION SEMINARS . . . NSSF has partnered with Law Officer magazine to present a quality education program for law enforcement professionals at the 2014 SHOT Show. The Law Enforcement Education Program (LEEP) will offer seminars by experts in the field during the first three days of the SHOT Show. For more information about LEEP and a full description of the seminars, visit shotshow.org/education. Register today!

• NSSF PAC AT 2014 SHOT SHOW . . . There's still time for NSSF corporate members to join their industry's PAC before the end of the year. No one understands better than the NSSF PAC the unique legislative and regulatory challenges industry members face, and no one has advanced our industry's interests with more passion and commitment in Washington, D.C. With the midterm elections one year away and our gun rights on the line, we urge members to join the NSSF PAC now, so together we can continue to promote, protect and preserve America's hunting and shooting sports heritage and firearms freedoms for present and future generations. For more information about the NSSF PAC please stop by the PAC booth at the 2014 SHOT Show in the NSSF Member Lounge or visit the PAC’s website. 

Government Relations

• LEON COUNTY COMMISSION NIXES ITS OWN GUN ORDINANCE IDEA THAT NSSF OPPOSED . . . The Leon County, Florida, Board of Commissioners, by a 6-1 vote, has ended consideration of an ordinance that would have restricted private transfers of firearms in public places such as at gun shows. Even ahead of passage of the proposed ordinance, the county attorney's office had requested the assistance of federally licensed firearms retailers in processing such background checks, which are exempt from NICS checks under federal law. NSSF wrote FFLs in the region urging them not to comply with the county's request.

• NEW YORK COURT DECIDES FOR DEFENDANTS, CITING TIAHRT AMENDMENT . . . Justice Frederick J. Marshall of the New York State Supreme Court, Erie County, has ruled that defendants in the Williams v. Beemiller, et al. case do not have to produce firearm trace data that plaintiffs sought as part of their "jurisdictional" discovery requests. The judge cited the Tiahrt Amendment in the Nov. 25 ruling. Justice Marshall's ruling helps close the door on private individuals seeking trace data directly from FFLs and the admissibility of such information in litigation. Though trace data does not constitute business records, the case serves as a warning to FFLs that their private business records are discoverable. NSSF advises that FFLs should ensure their business records are accurate and maintained in compliance with the Gun Control Act. Read the decision.

• COLORADO SUIT GOES AHEAD WITHOUT COUNTY SHERIFFS . . . A lawsuit seeking to overturn two new Colorado gun-control laws remains alive despite a judge's ruling last week that county sheriffs cannot participate. The lawsuit will move forward on behalf of other organizations that support gun rights, which had joined 55 of the state's 64 sheriffs as plaintiffs. Chief U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger ruled last week that the sheriffs, in their official capacities, do not have standing to challenge the laws. The lawsuit seeks a decision from Krieger that the laws are unconstitutional. One of the laws bans magazines with capacities of more than 15 rounds. The other imposes fees and requires background checks for private transfers of firearms. The laws took effect July 1.

• THESE MAYORS HAVE THEIR OWN PROBLEMS WITH THE LAW . . . Mayor Gordon Jenkins of Monticello, N.Y., is the latest member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), the group started and funded by Michael Bloomberg, to have his own problems with the law. Jenkins recently was arrested for driving under the influence and for literally punching a police department clock. And he's not the only MAIG mayor to have been recently arrested. Read the New York Post editorial.

• COLORADO ANTI-GUN LEGISLATOR RESIGNS IN FACE OF RECALL EFFORT . . . Sen. Evie Hudak (D-Westminster, Colo.) became the latest target of recall elections, resigning her seat in the Colorado Legislature just days before opponents were expected to turn in signatures to try to oust her from office. She was targeted for her support of strict gun-control legislation, which did not sit well with much of her constituency. By resigning, Hudak ensured that Democrats would keep their narrow one-vote majority in the next legislative session, because a committee from the Democratic Party will appoint her replacement. If recalled, voters could have replaced her with a Republican.

Research

• NOVEMBER NSSF-ADJUSTED NICS BACKGROUND CHECKS DOWN 14.2 % . . . The November 2013 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 1,308,100 is a decrease of 14.2 percent compared to the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 1,525,177 in November 2012. For comparison, the unadjusted November 2013 NICS figure of 1,805,759 reflects a 9.6 percent decrease from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,997,703 in November 2012. NSSF-adjusted NICS for November 2013 is the second highest on record — an 18.8% increase over November 2011. Read more.

News of Note

• NUMBER OF FEMALE HUNTERS ON THE RISE IN PENNSYLVANIA AND NEW JERSEY . . . LehighValleyLive.com, reporting on Southwick Associates' "Women in the Outdoors in 2012" study, points out the significant increases in hunting licenses sold to females in Pennsylvania and New Jersey from 2009 to 2012. According to figures from the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the number of female license buyers in its state increased from 67,165 in 2009 to 79,181 in 2012, a growth of 18 percent. In New Jersey, the increase was nearly 30 percent for the same period. Read the full article.

• CULLING THE SUBURBAN HERD . . . In its Dec. 9 cover story, "America's Pest Problem," Time Magazine looks at the country's overabundance of many wildlife species such as white-tailed deer, black bears, wild turkeys and wild pigs. Estimates show, for instance, more white-tailed deer inhabit America today than when Columbus sailed. With deer and other wildlife accounting for crop damage, vehicle collisions and the spread of Lyme Disease, the only viable solution to controlling species populations, the article asserts, is hunting. "We were wrong to disrupt the balance by killing too often during the heedless years of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Now it is wise to correct the more recent mistake of killing too rarely." Read story (subscription required).

• RANGE REPORT COVERS A NEW WAY FOR RANGES TO GET FUNDING . . . Sometimes traditional sources such as banks and other local investors do not make funding available to new range developers. In that case, entrepreneurs might consider crowdfunding, a relatively new concept that is proving successful. Read more about this modern approach to obtaining funding for a new shooting range at RangeReport.org.

• STRATEGIC ARMORY CORPS. NAMES NEW PRESIDENT . . . Owner of ArmaLite, AWC Ammo and other industry manufacturing companies, Strategic Armory Corps. last week announced the hiring of John Spurrier as its new president and chief operating officer. Spurrier, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was most recently president and chief executive officer of Kriss USA, a manufacturer of weapons-operating systems. SAC, which serves the firearm enthusiast, law enforcement, military and international markets, also owns Surgeon Rifles, McMillan Firearms and AWC Silencers.

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.

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