Firearms Industry Protection Bill Introduced in Kansas

State Rep. Travis Couture-Lovelady this week introduced HB 2311, the Kansas Firearms Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act. Kansas is the first state in the country to see NSSF-supported legislation introduced to protect the lawful commerce in firearms, ammunition or related products by making it a discriminatory business practice to refuse provision of services.

As previously reported, Operation Choke Point (OCP) was a federally orchestrated initiative in which financial services providers were pressured to end relationships with firearms licensees. But OCP is just the tip of the iceberg as discriminatory practices are occurring throughout the country with many different companies refusing services to industry members. FIND Act advocacy is a new NSSF initiative. We encourage industry members to tell us of instances of discrimination solely because of your involvement in any firearms related business by emailing Elizabeth Karasmeighan, ekarasmeighan@nssf.org. 

 

Georgia Firearms Retailer Delivers Powerful Testimony At U.S. House Hearing on IRS Asset Seizures

The U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight this Wednesday held a public hearing that focused on the negative impact on small businesses of civil seizures by the Internal Revenue Service. Andrew Clyde, owner of Clyde Armory of Athens, Georgia, provided testimony at the hearing that has drawn the interest of the national news media. That hearing was part of ongoing efforts in both houses of Congress aimed at enacting new restrictions on such seizures. Watch Clyde explain how the Internal Revenue Service targeted his business in this Fox News segment from "On the Record with Great Van Susteren."

Later the same day, the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations held a hearing during which both Republicans and Democrats said that more must be done to change practices of law enforcement from making cash and property seizures without clear evidence of criminal wrongdoing. Previous efforts to change civil asset-forfeiture practices have fallen short, and abuses are widespread, members agreed. Read a Washington Post story.

As we have previously discussed in relation to Operation Choke Point, NSSF is closely involved with the ongoing efforts of members of Congress who are working to ensure that discriminatory practices are ended against law-abiding companies in the firearms and ammunition industry. The goal is to ensure that industry members are fully protected and that the lawful commerce in firearms is not arbitrarily abridged at any level of government. NSSF staffed the House Ways and Means Subcommittee Wednesday hearing. 

 

Urge Your U.S. Senators to Support the Sportsmen's Act

The Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act (S.405), NSSF's top legislative priority, has been introduced in the United States Senate by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). For hunters and sport shooters this is the most significant piece sportsmen's legislation in a generation. It protects the use of traditional ammunition, allows more flexibility of 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. NSSF makes it easy for you to contact your two U.S. Senators with your customizable message to support S. 405. Take action here.

 

Interstate Handgun Transfer Ban Struck Down by Judge

This week a federal judge in Texas struck down the 1968 Gun Control Act's federal interstate handgun transfer ban as unconstitutional under both the Second Amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. This law applies only to handguns and prohibits a resident of one state from purchasing a handgun in another state without first transferring the firearm to an FFL in the person's state of residence to complete the sale.

Plaintiffs filed suit after a D.C.-based couple sought to purchase two handguns while in Texas but would have been forced to pay the only D.C-based FFL a $125 transfer fee in order to complete the sale. In addressing plaintiffs' Second Amendment challenge, the judge applied the exacting standard of strict scrutiny to find that there was no "founding-era thinking" that could be relied upon to support a residency-based firearm restriction such as exists with the ban. This finding, coupled with the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, which did not exist at the time the ban was enacted, and the failure of the Department of Justice to provide the court with data to show the ban is narrowly tailored to meet the government's interest in reducing crime, allowed the court to hold the ban violates the Second Amendment. The court also found the ban violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment because it "creates a discriminatory regime based on residency" that interferes with the constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

NSSF expects the Department of Justice to seek a stay of the court's order while it appeals the ruling to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. We caution all retailers not to transfer handguns to out of state residents based on this ruling at this time. If you have any questions on the effect of this ruling please consult your attorney or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for guidance. NSSF will seek to file an amicus brief on behalf of all retailers in support of this ruling and will keep you apprised of any updates as this case makes its way through the appellate process.

 

NSSF Stands Ready As Sandy Hook Commission Report Released

It is unclear if recommendations in the just-released final report of the Sandy Hook School Commission in Connecticut will make their way into legislation and, after that, whether any additional restrictions on firearms or components would be passed by the General Assembly in a state that arguably already has the toughest gun laws in the nation. At the same time, legislators and the governor are struggling to fill an ever-growing budget deficit and long-term obligations shortfall. The firearms industry is always willing to engage with policy makers and legislators to focus on measure that truly enhance public safety. Unfortunately, what we most often hear are proposals that do nothing to advance public safety while only affecting law-abiding citizens. Additional restrictions suggested are impractical and ineffective, costly to taxpayers in some cases and would further negatively affect the economics of an industry that still employs thousands in the state.

 

Conn. Newspaper Taken to Task for Flawed Reasoning

The lack of critical reasoning in the Hartford Courant's recent editorial suggesting that Connecticut's highly restrictive gun laws enacted in 2013 had any role in reducing crime in the state was the topic of a letter to that paper's editor from NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane this week. "… the legislation has only served to punish citizens for legally purchasing firearms. Hunters and target shooters also have been punished by losing the option to purchase firearms that are popular for hunting and the shooting sports," Keane pointed out. Read the full letter.

 

Sportsmen, Gun Owners Unified Against Vermont Universal Background Checks

This past Tuesday, the Vermont State Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Senate Bill 31, sponsored by Sen. John Campbell (D-15). SB 31 would impose restrictions on the private transfer of firearms and expose federally licensed retailers to liability. Sportsmen and gun owners flooded the capitol where the committee set up overflow rooms to accommodate all those who were opposed. Much of the testimony focused on the undue and costly burdens for law-abiding Vermonters while also pointing to the fact that Vermont is one of the safest states in the country. Gov. Peter Shumlin has repeatedly said the state's current laws are sufficient, and Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, another powerful Democrat, has also voiced opposition to universal background checks. 

 

W. Virginia Sunday Hunting Legislation

Sunday hunting legislation will be introduced in the West Virginia House today as companion legislation to a Senate bill that was filed last week. Strong opposition that may stop the bill in the Senate is led by Chairman Robert Karnes of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources, who is backed by the Farm Bureau. The Farm Bureau sees some need to stand in the way of this legislation. One of the reasons hunters give for a decline in participation is lack of time and opportunity. Sunday hunting would provide a needed positive economic stimulus in the state to the tune of 2,700 jobs and $156 million in new economic impact.

 

Smart Gun Owners Trump 'Smart Guns'

A technology industry association and a gun control group recently co-hosted a symposium on so-called "smart gun' technology. Although the stated goal of the event was to take a "neutral stance on the issue and to provide an open forum for experts to make their case, pro or con," to us, the deck appeared stacked. While NSSF does not oppose the research and development of authorized user technology, we also firmly believe that mandates for it would be inappropriate and ill advised, no matter the level of reliability that may eventually be reached. Read Larry Keane's blog post on this symposium and the overall issue of "smart guns."

 

Calif. Fish & Game Commission Discusses Traditional Ammo Ban

The California Fish and Game Commission met this week to discuss the implementation of AB 711, the law banning the use of traditional ammunition for hunting in California. An NSSF representative gave testimony on the topic and explained a number of concerns involved with the phasing out of traditional ammunition, urging the commission to delay the implementation.

The commission will meet again in April to adopt the proposed regulations. The phasing-in of non-lead ammunition will begin on July 1 with the final phase of the process concluding by July 2019, meaning the use of traditional ammunition for hunting purposes in California will be banned by mid-2019. See the proposed regulations here.

 

ATF Provides Updated Manufacturer's Report

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has released the final version of Annual Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report (AFMER) for 2013 and it shows the number of pistols manufactured that year totaled 4.4 million, compared to 3.4 million in 2012. The number of rifles manufactured also increased, with 3.9 million produced in 2013 compared to 3.1 million in 2012. Total number of exported firearms also grew from more than 287,000 in 2012 to more than 393,000 in 2013.

The report is a comprehensive listing of manufacturing and export activity from all federally licensed manufacturers of firearms and destructive devices. The report provides data with a one-year delay to comply with the Trade Secrets Act. View the 2015 Annual Firearms Manufacturers and Export Report on the ATF website.

 

NFA Business Increasing Rapidly

Based on feedback from the SHOT Show retailer and National Firearms Act (NFA) seminars, the number of dealers getting into the NFA firearms business is continuing to increase rapidly. We understand that the number of NFA applications filed with the NFA Branch at ATF continues to rise unabated. With a greatly increased staff of 25 Legal Instrument Examiners, many of them new and getting to full efficiency, the backlog of NFA forms has been whittled down from more than 80,000 to about 36,000. Given the increasing applications, however, the question is how low will the number of pending applications go before they start to increase again?

Much of the intense increase in interest in NFA firearms is focused on silencers. According to ATF's 2011 Commerce in Firearms Report, as of December 2010 there were 284,087 lawfully registered silencers in the United States. In the latest report, as of March 2014, there were 571,750.

 

Save the Date: 2015 NSSF Congressional Fly-In

NSSF's 2015 Congressional Fly-In will be held April 22-23 in Washington, D.C. More details on this year's event will be available soon. 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.

 

Are You Doing Everything You Should to Protect Technical Data?

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If you are a manufacturer of firearms, components, ammunition or accessories, you are most likely in possession of ITAR-controlled technical data, either your own, a third party's or both. Technical data consists of the drawings, engineering files and other information used in the design, development, production, manufacture, assembly, operation, repair, testing, maintenance or modification of most firearms, components, ammunition and certain accessories. This Orchid Advisory takes a look at three areas of concern and practical fixes that can be applied. Orchid Advisors is an endorsed compliance information provider for NSSF members.

 

Thank You to Our Latest NSSF PAC Contributors

President's Club ($5,000): No new contributors to report
Cabinet Club ($2,500 or more): No new contributors to report
Capitol Club ($1,000 or more): No new contributors to report
Caucus Club ($500 or more): No new contributors to report
Congressional Club ($250 or more): No new contributors to report
Industry Club (up to $249): Laura Springer, Nicholas Verna, Jon Walgren and Seth Waugh

 

NSSF PAC Is Here to Help Your Business

It's a new year and the perfect time for NSSF business members to get engaged in the NSSF Political Action Committee (PAC). The NSSF PAC is the only PAC fighting to promote, protect and preserve the interests of industry members against attacks by the Obama Administration, gun control groups and others committed to regulating us out of business and destroying America's hunting and shooting sports heritage and firearms freedoms. Take a stand now by joining the NSSF PAC. All you need to do is complete and return your prior approval form. The NSSF PAC and its pro-industry, pro-Second Amendment and pro-sportsmen allies in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives want to fight for you. Join the NSSF PAC today.

 

Learn more about our industry's Political Action Committee: