Back to News
March 20, 2025
NSSF PROFILE Q&A: U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.)
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to post the latest of our occasional Q&A features with an elected official who supports hunting and the shooting sports. NSSF thanks U.S. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) for speaking with us about his staunch support for the Second Amendment and the importance of the firearm and ammunition industry to his constituents in the Volunteer State. Sen. Hagerty is serving in his first six-year term in in the U.S. Senate. Sen. Hagerty is currently seated on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations; the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations; and the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules & Administration. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Sen. Hagerty served as the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. We thank Sen. Hagerty for speaking with us.
1) Who introduced you to hunting and shooting sports, and why are hunting and the shooting sports important to you in your job representing Tennessee?
My father introduced me to hunting and shooting sports at a young age. Our farm in Castalian Springs, Tennessee, had a target range, and I spent probably too much time there growing up. It helped forge a bond with my father for which I remain thankful.
2) What was your most recent shooting sports/hunting experience?
Most recently, I took a shooting lesson in Ireland with an Olympic shooting coach. What a privilege to learn from one of the best shooters I have ever met! Here at home, I went dove hunting in Hondo, Texas.
3) Describe your favorite shooting sports or hunting activity.
The best is when I get to hunt or shoot alongside my children, experiencing the beauty of God’s creation, participating in a tradition that millions of Americans enjoy and creating treasured memories just like my father did for me. I’m grateful my kids enjoy it as much as I do, in fact, my eldest son was captain of his shooting team in high school and is now on the shooting team at his college.
4) Which piece of pending legislation in Washington, D.C., related to the conservation, hunting and the firearm industry is particularly important to you and why? Or what is your next priority for protecting the Second Amendment rights of Tennesseans, and Americans more widely?
Law-abiding firearm companies have too often been denied financial services for political reasons. We call it “de-banking,” and it is something I’ve focused on as a member of the Senate Banking Committee. A key part of the problem is federal bank supervisors claiming there is “reputational risk” when a bank serves longstanding, reputable firearms manufacturers because they are politically unpopular in some places. It’s bogus. I support the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) Act (S. 875), which would remove reputational risk as a component of federal supervision, and ensure lawful businesses, including firearms companies, have access to the essential services they need to operate their businesses and serve Americans’ needs.
I’m also proud to support the Fair Access to Banking Act, (S. 401). This bill keeps regulators from pressuring banks to debank politically disfavored industries, and reinforces a key principle: social policies should be decided not in corporate boardrooms but in Congress, by elected representatives accountable to the American people.
5) What do you see as the challenges and opportunities in Washington, D.C., or more broadly the country, for hunters and shooting sports enthusiasts, now that there is a new pro-Second Amendment administration returning to the White House?
I’m grateful to have a President back in the White House who champions our Second Amendment rights. Anti-Second Amendment bureaucrats ran amok in Washington for the last four years, taking dozens of seemingly small regulatory actions that make it harder to manufacture, ship and sell a firearm. It’s not the stuff that makes national news or lands at the Supreme Court. Added up, however, it could have the effect of choking our legendary firearms manufacturers. I’m partnering with the Trump Administration to root out and eliminate these roadblocks, and I’m excited that the President’s pro-growth policies will launch Tennessee-based companies like Barrett Firearms and Smith & Wesson to new heights.
You may also be interested in:
Categories: BP Item, Featured, Government Relations, Top Stories
25650
