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February 9, 2015

Vol. 16 No. 06

Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2015
Introduced in Senate

NEW BIPARTISAN SPORTSMEN'S ACT OF 2015 . . . U.S. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) have introduced the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2015, a package of pro-sportsmen's legislation designed to safeguard and promote America's hunting and fishing traditions and to enhance the role of hunters, anglers and shooters as America's preeminent supporters of wildlife conservation. In keeping with a longstanding tradition of bipartisanship on sportsmen's issues, the legislation enjoys strong support from both sides of the political aisle with Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus (CSC) Co-Chairs U.S. Sens. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and CSC Vice-Chairs U.S. Sens. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) serving as original co-sponsors. Passage of this legislation is an NSSF priority. Read the NSSF news release. Read the text of the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2015.

• ANTI-HUNTING GROUP'S SUIT HIGHLIGHTS NEED FOR SPORTSMEN'S ACT . . . Need for passage of the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act became all the more apparent last week when the anti-hunting Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a petition in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals for a rehearing on an opinion issued by that court late last year. That opinion reaffirmed that traditional lead ammunition may not be regulated by the EPA under the Toxic Substances Control Act, a proposition now challenged by CBD based primarily on statements in NSSF's filings with the court. NSSF has intervened in this case and, given the opportunity, will respond to the numerous frivolous issues raised by CBD in this latest filing to prevent any distortion of the law.

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Government Relations

• BILL WOULD PREVENT MORE OPERATION CHOKE POINTS . . . U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R- Mo.) has reintroduced the Financial Institution Customer Protection Act to ensure that all businesses, including those involved in the firearms industry, have fair access to financial services as a matter of federal law. As we have reported, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) executives, after meeting with the congressman, recently admitted involvement with Operation Choke Point and said they would implement many of the policies contained in his legislation. NSSF has been working closely with Rep. Luetkemeyer and his staff.
  
  

• OBAMA BUDGET SEEKS MORE FUNDS FOR 'GUN SAFETY,' ATF . . . The Obama Administration's $4 trillion budget calls for $1.091 trillion in discretionary spending. Within the budget, the president requests $43 million in program increases for the Department of Justice. Among documents put forth by the DOJ they cite a $14 million increase to support the "President's gun safety initiatives." The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) seeks an additional $8 million and 10 staff positions to address deficiencies at the National Firearms Center to provide additional resources to improve performance for licensing functions, including imports and NFA applications. ATF also requested $30.2 million for additional special agents and industry operations investigators. Republican House and Senate leaders have already come out against the president's budget request. NSSF's Government Relations staff will work with legislators to ensure that industry concerns are addressed appropriately.
  
  

• CALIF. FISH & GAME MEETS ON IMPLEMENTING TRADITIONAL AMMO BAN . . . The California Fish and Game Commission will meet on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss the implementation of AB 711. This law will eventually ban the use of traditional ammunition for hunting statewide. NSSF has once again provided comments explaining the industry's opposition to AB 711 and its negative impact on the state's economy, sportsmen and conservation.
  
  

• SAVE THE DATE: 2015 NSSF CONGRESSIONAL FLY-IN . . . Save the date for NSSF's 2015 Congressional Fly-In, April 22-23 in Washington, D.C. More details on this year's event will be available in the near future. Participation in the NSSF Congressional Fly-In is limited to presidents/CEOs (or a senior staff member of their choosing) of voting members and supporting manufacturer and distributor members. The NSSF Congressional Fly-In is a great opportunity to meet directly with senators and representatives to explain legislative priorities and outline the significant economic impact our industry has on their districts, states and the nation. Watch the Fly-In Video.

For more Government Relations news, read NSSF's latest Government Relations Update.

SHOT Show

• 2015 SHOT SHOW UNIVERSITY, RETAIL SEMINARS SET RECORD ATTENDANCE . . . The 2015 SHOT Show University and NSSF's numerous Retailer Seminars earned compliments across the board from their hundreds of attendees as being the best ever SHOT Show events dedicated to educating retailers in the firearms industry. Read more.
  
  

• KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR INBOX FOR SHOT SHOW SURVEYS . . . All SHOT Show attendees and exhibitors should keep an eye on their email inboxes. Our post-show surveys have been deployed in an effort to make many improvements based on your feedback. What did we do right? What could be improved upon? Please let us know. All of your input will be heard.
  
  

• INDUSTRY SPONSOR SUPPORT KEY TO SUCCESSFUL 2015 SHOT SHOW . . . The success of the 2015 SHOT Show was due in great part to the many dedicated industry sponsors that contributed generously in support of the firearm industry's largest trade show. For many of our sponsors, this was not the first time they have stepped up to the plate. Read more.

Members

• DID YOU KNOW? . . . Voting members have free access to all NSSF research reports. With dozens of industry and consumer reports to choose from, including the new 2014-15 Industry Reference Guide, this benefit alone can make your NSSF membership worth it. Non-Voting NSSF members receive discounted pricing on this NSSF research if it is not already available free-of-charge. To find out more about these invaluable NSSF benefits and available research, click here.
  
  

• NSSF LAUNCHES PREMIUM RANGE MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY . . . NSSF is pleased to announce that it is now offering a Premium Range Membership to add to its array of membership options. Modeled after the success of the Premium Retailer Membership, the new category will provide a variety of benefits and tools to range owners and operators seeking to improve how they do business, grow their customer bases and successfully meet the challenges of safety and environmental issues today's modern firearm ranges face. Read more about it here and visit nssf.org/premium for a list of benefits offered.

Retailers

• ATF Q&A . . . As part of NSSF's mission to help promote, protect and preserve the shooting industry, we offer a compliance hotline to our retailer members. Here are two questions that were asked during the numerous calls we received last week. The first question relates to returning a consigned firearm to a different person than who originally placed it on consignment. The second question covers whether an employee who is prohibited from owning a firearm can become employed by an FFL. Do you and your staff know the answers? Click on the links to get answers to these and many other great questions.
  
  

• FAQs NOW AVAILABLE FOR ATF eFORMS USERS . . . The latest edition of ATF's eFormsNews (Volume 2, Issue 1) identifies and answers frequently asked questions (FAQs) such as recurring NFA errors and how to avoid them. Other items include news regarding the enhanced eForms system and the "State of eForms," which updates NFA forms processing timelines, addresses improved pending application numbers and provides a current eForms status update. Please send questions or comments to Lee.Alston-Williams@atf.gov.

News of Note

• PROJECT CHILDSAFE RECEIVES GENEROUS DONATION . . . Project ChildSafe recently received a generous $125,000 donation from Scott Goodspeed and Tri Town Precision Plastics to support its nationwide commitment to promoting firearms safety among all firearms owners through the distribution of safety education messages and free firearm safety locks. Project ChildSafe, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit charitable organization. All donations to the organization are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Visit projectchildsafe.org to learn more about firearms safety and how you too can support Project ChildSafe to help put a gun lock into someone's hands.
  
  

• FROM COLLEGE FIREARMS CLUB TO FIREARMS INDUSTRY ENGINEER . . . Apex Tactical Specialties recently announced the hiring of Matt Theiss as a design engineer. An avid target shooter and a graduate of the College of Engineering at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Theiss co-founded Cal Poly's marksmanship club, which got off the ground with the help of an NSSF collegiate shooting sports grant. California-based NSSF members Apex and Hogue have also helped fund the Cal Poly program. NSSF extends its congratulations to Matt Theiss on his new job in the industry. Read more here.

Jobs

• FIREARMS INDUSTRY JOBS . . . Visit 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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