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April 18, 2023
NSSF Honors U.S. Senator Steve Daines as Legislator of the Year
WASHINGTON, D.C. — NSSF®, The Firearm Industry Trade Association, proudly honored U.S. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) as the 2022 NSSF Legislator of the Year for his determined commitment to protecting the firearm industry against attacks that threaten the lawful commerce of firearms in America and jeopardize the Constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. Additionally, his commitment to preserving the Constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners, hunting, public lands access and conservation set him apart as a leader in Congress.
“We are honored to present Senator Daines with the 2022 NSSF Legislator of the Year Award for his unwavering leadership in the U.S. Senate to protect the firearm and ammunition industry, lawful gun owners, hunters and sportsmen and women,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. “Senator Daines’ leadership to ensure fairness in business, reasserting Congress’ role in ensuring the federal government isn’t picking marketplace winners and losers based on politics, protecting gun owners, hunters and sportsmen and women’s rights and public lands access is commendatory. Senator Daines is an example to be emulated.”
Sen. Daines introduced the Firearm Industry Nondiscrimination (FIND) Act in 2022, S. 4435, legislation to ensure firearm-related businesses have fair access to financial services and corporate entities wouldn’t benefit from taxpayer-funded contracts while using those profits to discriminate against constitutionally-protected firearm businesses. He has since reintroduced the FIND Act in the 118th Congress as S. 428. The legislation would make corporations ineligible for federal contracts if they hold discriminatory policies against firearm businesses.
Sen. Daines fought against anti-hunting special interest influence over the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with the introduction of The Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act, S. 4940, legislation to prohibit Secretaries of the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture and their agencies from banning the use of traditional lead ammunition and fishing tackle absent approval by applicable state fish and wildlife departments and proof that their use is primarily causing wildlife population decline. The legislation worked to ensure that the best conservation practices are grounded in sound science and not driven by the political agendas of special-interest anti-hunting groups.
That legislation was introduced after Sen. Daines led 26 Senators warning U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Martha Williams not to buckle to politically-driven agendas to ban the use of traditional ammunition and fishing tackle on National Wildlife Refuges (NWRs), encompassing over 2.3 million acres of public land. Director Williams ignored the warning to acquiesce to hunting and angling restrictions for hunters and anglers.
Today, Sen. Daines reintroduced the NSSF-supported Protecting Access for Hunters and Anglers Act in the 118th Congress.
Looking to protect law-abiding gun owners, Sen. Daines introduced the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act in 2022 to protect those who live in a concealed carry or Constitutional carry state to carry concealed firearms in other states. Your Second Amendment right to carry a firearm for self-protection does not end at your state’s border.
Sen. Daines stood up to misguided “woke” corporate social media when Twitter locked his account over a hunting photograph, incorrectly labeling it “graphic violence.” The photograph was of the senator and his wife, Cindy, with a pronghorn antelope he harvested on a hunt.
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About NSSF
NSSF is the trade association for the firearm industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of thousands of manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers nationwide. For more information, visit nssf.org.
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