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April 11, 2014 |
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NSSF Encourages Reaching Out to Your Senator during Easter Recess, Urge Them to Co-Sponsor the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act
------------------ Three House Chairmen Ask ATF to Rule on 'Armor Piercing' Ammo The Chairmen of three committees of the U.S. House of Representatives wrote the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), B. Todd Jones, this week strongly urging him to issue a long overdue ruling, consistent with the original Congressional intent, to clarify that ammunition designed and manufactured for use in rifles should not be classified as "armor piercing" under a 30-year-old law. There are 19 petitions with ATF requesting that products be exempted because they are intended for sporting purposes. NSSF has been leading the effort to win this acknowledgement from ATF, which is increasingly important as manufacturers develop and seek to bring to market ammunition for hunting using non-traditional materials to replace traditional lead components. California has banned the use of traditional lead ammunition for hunting state-wide. Read the letter from Chairmen Bob Goodlatte, F. James Sensenbrenner and Howard Coble. ------------------ ATF Issues Advisory on Russian-made 5.45x39 Ammo ATF has issued a Special Advisory on the classification of Russian manufactured 7N6 5.45x39 steel core ammunition, which has been determined to be armor piercing. Handguns chambered in 5.45 x 39 do not appear to be commercially available for sale in the U.S. Read the advisory. ------------------ There's No Guns like Smart Guns for AG Holder
------------------ Sig Sues ATF for Misclassification of Muzzle Brake as Silencer Sig Sauer has filed a civil lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for wrongfully classifying a muzzle brake designed to reduce recoil as a silencer. Sig alleges that since silencers are "subject to burdensome legal requirements," ATF is subjecting the company to economic loss. In short, there is no market for a non-silencing silencer. ATF Director B. Todd Jones is named as defendant in the suit and has 21 days, after being served, to respond to the civil action. Sig explains it designed the muzzle brake to reduce recoil and muzzle rise, so it is not subject to regulation under the federal Gun Control Act. ------------------ NSSF Testifies at Rhode Island Hearing on FIXNICS The Rhode Island House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday to consider FixNICS legislation introduced and supported by the legislative task force that met over the past year. Jake McGuigan, NSSF Director, Government Relations. State Affairs, testified before this committee and stressed the importance to the industry that appropriate mental health records are submitted to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). Rhode Island is currently not submitting any mental health records at to NICS. Rhode Island is one of the priority target states in NSSF's nationwide FixNICS initiative. With a new change in legislative leadership is seems highly unlikely that the industry will be impacted by any gun control legislation in the Ocean State. ------------------ Maryland General Assembly Adjourns The Maryland General Assembly adjourned its 2014 legislative session at midnight on Monday. Fortunately, for retailers, manufacturers and gun-owners, the legislature did not pass any anti-gun legislation. The industry did secure a small victory, as reported last week, with the inclusion of language into this year's budget that requires the state police to develop a report on imaging and present it to the state legislature by the end of the year on ballistics imaging. NSSF will continue to work on the repeal of ballistics imaging and the further expansion of Sunday Hunting throughout the state in the next legislative session. ------------------ Dough is Rising for Giffords/Kelly Anti-Gun Super PAC Recently released Political Action Committee (PAC) fundraising reports show that former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and husband Mark Kelly's anti-gun fundraising efforts are bringing in significant contributions. The couple's Americans for Responsible Solutions organization is a member of a Super PAC, founded to "encourage elected officials to stand up for solutions to prevent gun violence and protect responsible gun ownership," according to the group's website. Super PACs have no limits on raising and spending money. Visit the NSSF PAC site. ------------------ ATF Takes E-Forms Program Offline until Further Notice The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) has taken its troubled eForms systems offline. NSSF has been working to get additional resources to improve all ATF's interactions with federally licensed firearms retailers, including form-processing times. Users of the system were told by ATF in an email that "The eForms software is not performing to our expectations. As a result, we are taking the eForms system down until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we work with our industry partners to deliver a quality product. Any eForm (already) submitted will continue to be processed. The finalized forms will be sent to the user via email. Until the eForms system is returned to service for the industry, all imports forms (Forms 6 Part I and 6A), NFA forms (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10), and AFMER reports (Form 5300.11) must be submitted via paper, including any eForms in draft status." Questions should be directed to eForms.admin@atf.gov. NSSF will keep you apprised of developments. ------------------ ATF Release Annual Lost/Stolen Report This week the ATF released a report on firearms FFLs reported lost or stolen in 2013. On a state by state basis, nearly two-thirds of the 54 states and territories (33) saw declines in the number of firearms reported lost by FFLs. There was also a significant decline in the incidents of burglary (down 23%), larceny (18%) and robbery (19%) nationwide. While the report found that there was an increase in the number of receivers reported as lost, this may be due to manufacturers assigning blocks of serial numbers to models, not producing the firearms for a variety of reasons. In such situations, the never-produced receivers are reported as "lost or stolen" to account for the serial numbers. Read the ATF report. ------------------ Arguments Conclude in Colorado Gun Ban Lawsuit
------------------ 'Active Shooter' Term Abused, Says Noted Criminologist In a USA Today column, highly respected criminologist James Alan Fox pointed out how the once-obscure term "active shooter" has been adopted by media and gun-control advocates to promote the idea that an epidemic of mass shootings is occurring in America. "In sharp contrast to the 'active shooter panic' is that mass shootings, instances in which four or more are killed by gunfire, are not on the rise. . . . The only increase has been in publicity and dread," writes Fox, a Northeastern University professor. He added, "Excessive alarm, fueled by misleading news reports, leads to knee-jerk responses that are not necessarily for the best." Read the column. ------------------ Another Mayor Drops out of Bloomberg-Founded Group Danbury, Conn. Mayor Mark Boughton this week became the latest mayor to bolt from Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), the organization founded by now former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Boughton is involved in a six-way race for the Republican nomination for governor. Boughton's move was quickly criticized by pro-gun control Democrats and anti-gun activists. In a piece of understatement, Boughton said MAIG not only opposes illegal trafficking of firearms but advocates a broad range of gun controls. About 50 mayors nationwide have left MAIG. ------------------ --------------------------- Learn more about our industry's Political Action Committee:
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Your United States senators will be spending the next two weeks in their home states during the Easter recess. This provides the ideal opportunity for firearm owners, hunters, target shooters and sportsmen to attend public events, such as town hall meetings, that your senator may hold. You can also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121 (an operator will connect you directly with the Senate office you request) or 
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, testifying before the House appropriations subcommittee on April 4, 
Closing arguments were heard this week as the 10-day trial in the suit brought by NSSF, county sheriffs, Magpul Industries, firearms retailers and individual gun owners against Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper came to a close. Gun rights proponents had the opportunity to question the state's witnesses about Colorado's unconstitutional restrictions on commonly owned standard capacity ammunition magazines and mandatory universal background check laws. Several of the witnesses examined either had a tough time defending the state's case, were unaware of the true impact that Colorado's gun control laws have on law-abiding citizens or provided contradictory and irrelevant testimony. There was no indication from the court when a decision in the case is likely to be rendered. 
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