NSSF Industry Summit
Next week from Monday evening to Wednesday afternoon, the progress that has been made, and the path forward in expanding participation in hunting and the shooting sports in America will be the topic of conversation. The more than 200 leaders from throughout the industry attending will be brought up to date on the latest “Models of Success,” an approach that was rolled out during the 2011 Summit with the goal of having states share and adopt proven recruitment and retention initiatives. New discussions on increasing diversity, reducing generational barriers and addressing social media attacks on hunters and hunting are also scheduled. Learn more, see a list of attendees and view the agenda at nssf.org/summit.
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USE THE HASHTAG: #NSSFSUMMIT . . . Summit attendees that use Twitter are encouraged to use the hashtag #NSSFSummit throughout the Industry Summit. By using this hashtag in your tweets, you are essentially contributing to a "live journal" of the event. NSSF will be collecting all of these posts and will provide a link to all of them in the following week's Bullet Points. Hear something worth noting? Have an idea? Tweet it and tag it with #NSSFSummit.
Import/Export Conference
- REGISTRATION OPEN FOR IMPORT/EXPORT CONFERENCE . . . To help industry members navigate the federal laws and regulations that govern the import and export of firearms and related products, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the FAIR Trade Group will present our 13th annual Firearms Import/Export Conference on Aug. 5-6. This year’s conference features a morning of round-table sessions with key ATF branches, Customs and Border Protection, Treasury's Tax and Trade Bureau, and Census Bureau's Automated Export System. The conference will also feature presentations from ATF, an update on the U.N. arms trade control actions, and State Department speakers covering policy updates, enforcement trends, compliance, commercial export policies and brokering licenses, among other topics. Register now for early bird pricing.
Government Relations
- U.S. HOUSE PASSES SPENDING BILL FOR JUSTICE, ATF . . . The U.S. House of Representatives late last week passed the FY2015 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which funds, among other agencies, the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms abd Explosives. Included in the bill was a $3 million competitive grant program for firearms safety kits and gun locks. Additionally, the report that accompanied the bill included a section that expressed the need for ATF to dedicate more resources to their customer service branch to address the backlog of forms for NFA items, marking variances and imports. An amendment to add an additional $19.5 million to the FBI National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) was also approved. The Senate is expected to begin consideration of its version of the bill at the subcommittee level this week.
- COALITION LETTER URGES SENATE ACTION, NSSF CALLS ON GRASS ROOTS SUPPORT FOR BIPARTISAN SPORTSMEN'S ACT . . . A coalition representing 40 million hunters and anglers is urging Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to bring S. 2363, the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014, to the floor of the U.S. Senate in the quickest manner possible. The letter notes, “The risk to this important legislation lies not in its content, but in the perils of partisanship.” Read the letter. NSSF is encouraging all hunters, target shooters and outdoor trade business owners to get on the phone to encourage more senators to co-sponsor S.2363, our industry’s top legislative priority. The most significant package of legislation in a generation, S.2363, protects the use of traditional ammunition, allows more flexibility for federal funds to be used to build and maintain ranges on public lands and ensures access to federal lands for hunting, shooting and other outdoor activities. Call your senators at 202-224-3121 and ask them to co-sponsor the bill if they haven't already done so. Find the list of co-sponsors and call today or as soon as possible.
- 'OPERATION CHOKE POINT' QUESTIONS DRAW NSSF ACTION ON CAPITOL HILL . . . NSSF last Thursday issued a statement to explain that it has been investigating the possible role of the federal government in influencing banks in their lending and business banking relationship decisions involving companies in the firearms industry. NSSF staff has met with members of the House Financial Services Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee concerning several documents that have surfaced from the FDIC labeling companies in the firearms and ammunition industry as “high risk.” As the statement reads in part, “We respect the right of financial institutions to make business decisions based on objective criteria. It is unacceptable, however, to discriminate against businesses simply because they are engaged in the lawful commerce of firearms, an activity protected by the Second Amendment. Read the full NSSF Statement.
- NSSF SEEKS UN NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION STATUS . . . As we continue the process to gain access to the United Nations discussions on gun control policies by attaining Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Consultative status, the NSSF attended UN committee meetings over the past two weeks. NSSF had the opportunity to speak about our mission and to answer questions in front of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)’s Committee on NGOs as they considered our application. Due to further pending questions from the delegates, our application will be considered again at the January meeting.
For more Government Relations news, read NSSF's latest Government Relations Update.
Research
- NSSF-ADJUSTED NICS BACKGROUND CHECKS . . . The May 2014 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 877,655 is the second highest May on record for the system, even with a decrease of 9.9 percent compared to the May 2013 NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 974,457. For comparison, the unadjusted May 2014 NICS figure of 1,476,318 reflects a 3.6 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,424,450 in May 2013. Read more.
- NEWEST NSSF SURVEY TRACKER AVAILABLE . . . The NSSF Survey Tracker is a monitoring service using an online panel of active hunters and target shooters. Sourced by Southwick Associates' online panel at HunterSurvey.com, each report features: Market Snapshot--purchases made in the past two months; and Market Leaders--the top brands purchased in different retail categories. This edition posts Market Leaders for Cover Scents and Binoculars as well as responses to questions on hunting/shooting equipment spending. 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."
Ranges
- FIRST FIVE-STAR RANGE IN NEW JERSEY . . . The latest shooting range to receive NSSF's highest rating, Five Stars, is RTSP located in Randolph, New Jersey. RTSP exhibits excellence in all aspects of the Five Star rating program. In just three years, it has expanded from a 10,000-square-foot range-retail business to a monstrous 35,000-square-foot training facility that includes 21 shooting lanes, multiple classrooms, a shoot house, digital simulator, lounge areas including a VIP member room and more than 4,000 square feet of retail space. In addition to meeting all the criteria within the rating system, RTSP presents the image that’s expected at all Five Star rated facilities - family-friendly and welcoming to newcomers who may be intimidated when first starting out with firearms.
ATF
- MORE QUESTIONS ANSWERED . . . Two more questions from NSSF’s members-only compliance hotline. Would you and your staff know what to do if you lost a 4473 form? And what do you have to do to properly sell a duty firearm to a law enforcement officer? Get the answers to these and other common ATF compliance questions.
- GUIDANCE REGARDING ATF INSPECTION AVAILABLE FOR RETAILERS . . .
Are you ready to face an ATF inspection? Former ATF Deputy Assistant Director and NSSF FFL Compliance Consultant Harry McCabe provides an overview of the inspection process and tips on making sure the inspection runs as smooth as possible in this article on “When you are inspected.”
Legal
- JUDGE IN MICROSTAMPING SUIT DENIES PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION REQUEST . . . After taking the matter under advisement, a Fresno, California, Superior Court judge has denied the request of NSSF and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) for a preliminary injunction to stop temporarily the enforcement of that state's law requiring new semiautomatic handguns to include microstamping capability. The judge also denied the state's motion to dismiss the underlying lawsuit. The court had taken both matters under advisement after hearing oral arguments from the parties. We will continue to keep you informed about this case as the process continues.
News of Note
- NASGW DONATES TO INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS . . . The National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) Board of Directors recently took several actions in support of industry organizations and causes including the approval of three donations on behalf of its member firms. A $25,000 donation has been made to the U.S. Olympic Shooting Team, a $30,000 donation to NSSF's Project ChildSafe safety education program and a $50,000 donation to the NRA-ILA.
- MEDALS FOR USA SHOOTERS . . . Last Friday, USA Shooting Team athletes earned four medals and had six individual finalists at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior Cup. Sydney Carson won the women’s skeet gold medal, defeating her Russian opponent by one target. Carson also joined teammates Dania Vizzi and Hannah Houston in winning the women’s skeet team gold medal. Amber Culwell captured a bronze medal in the women’s trap event by defeating her teammate Samantha Smith by one target. Culwell, Smith and Katlyn Lawson combined to earn a team bronze medal in women’s trap. Earlier in the week, double trap specialist Ian Rupert won gold. See other ISSF results.
- PERFECT NEWS IN IOWA HIGH SCHOOL TRAPSHOOTING . . . The fastest growing high school sport in Iowa is trapshooting. You can see why after an exciting finish this past weekend at the Iowa High School and Scholastic Clay Target Program State Championship. High school trap shooter Austin Gerber shot his first perfect 100, then went up against eight other perfect 100 shooters in a shoot-off and outlasted them all to win the individual competition. Read more about the competition from The Gazette.
- KAHR ARMS BREAKS GROUND ON NEW PENNSYLVANIA HQ SITE . . . The Kahr Firearms Group last week officially broke ground for a new corporate office and manufacturing space in Pike County, Pennsylvania. Kahr announced it would move its headquarters after the passage of the tough gun laws, known as the SAFE Act, in New York State in 2013. The company cited the more firearms-friendly business climate of Pennsylvania as the reason for the relocation. Kahr produces firearms under its own name in addition to owning the Auto-Ordnance, Thompson and Desert Eagle (Magnum Research) brands. Read a local newspaper story.
- NSSF PRESIDENT’S Q&A WITH CONNECTICUT NEWSPAPER . . . NSSF President Steve Sanetti recently sat down with a reporter from the Waterbury Republican-American for a detailed Q&A on the role of NSSF, the firearms industry commitment's to education and safety and related topics. Read the Q&A.
- CALIF. PUBLIC WORKSHOP ON LEAD AMMO BAN IMPLMENTATION IS TUESDAY . . . The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has announced the second public workshop to discuss implementation of the state's traditional lead ammunition ban will be held Tuesday, June 3, in Eureka at the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, 921 Waterfront Drive, from 7-8:30 p.m. The Fish & Game Commission must adopt regulations to ban lead ammunition for hunting no later than July 1, 2015, with full implementation to occur no later than July 1, 2019. Final recommendations to the Fish and Game Commission will be made in September. Individuals and organizations also may email comments to wildlifemgmt@wildlife.ca.gov (Use "Non lead implementation" in subject line) or send correspondence to CDFW, Wildlife Branch, Attn: Non lead implementation, 1812 9th St., Sacramento, CA 95811.
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