NSSF Blog

Sneak Preview of NSSF Ad

In conjunction with several First Shots seminars scheduled at shooting ranges in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, NSSF will be running this ad in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press to remind residents about what the firearms industry is doing to promote safe and responsible ownership and storage.

The ad says, "80 million firearms owners across America are committed to firearms safety--and so are we [the National Shooting Sports Foundation]."

The copy continues, "That's why we've been an advocate for firearms safety, education, lawful ownership and responsible enjoyment of hunting and the shooting sports for over 50 years."

NSSF has run similar notices in the Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles markets. In each case the purpose was to show gun owners, as well as those considering purchasing a firearm and even those who choose not to own, that the firearms industry has long been dedicated to promoting the safe and lawful use of its products.

This message and our First Shots seminars had a particularly strong meaning for residents of Washington, D.C., who, thanks to the Supreme Court's Heller decision, had their right to own a handgun restored. Chicago residents are hoping for the same result when the Supreme Court issues a decision in the McDonald v. City of Chicago case.  

First Shots is NSSF's program that provides an introduction to shooting. Last year 6,000 people were introduced to the enjoyment of handgun and long-gun shooting at 259 First Shots seminars across the country. Many seminars, as in Chicago and L.A., were filled to capacity. We hope Minnesotans will react just as enthusiastically.

Find out about First Shots seminars near you.

Huffington Post Readers Deserve A Straight Shooter

We know that many Huffington Post readers are not Second Amendment supporters, although we believe they value accuracy in what they read. HuffPost readers in search of a better understanding of gun ownership trends in America and the firearms industry can do better than to rely on a blog written by Josh Sugarmann of the extremist anti-gun Violence Policy Center. HuffPost readers may want to consider subscribing instead to this blog, which chronicles the firearms industry and firearms trends, often using statistics from the FBI (as below) and ATF to ensure accuracy.

Sugarmann's recent post would have readers believe that the market for the most popular style of firearm--the AR, or modern sporting rifle--is in "collapse" because ONE company, KBI/Charles Daly, which was not well known for sales of that style firearm, unfortunately went out of business.

A collapse? Hardly.

Firearm sales, while off their record-setting peak of a year ago, remain strong. At the industry's recent annual trade show, the SHOT Show, attendance was just a several hundred shy of a record--notable in a still sluggish economy--and buying was brisk, signaling another successful year for 2010.

Sugarmann's posting strikes us as an "I'll try anything" attempt to force-march the dead issue of legislation for an assault weapons ban onto the front burner, which would be a long journey indeed from where it currently rests. It's also an attempt to continue to confuse HuffPost readers about AR-style rifles by using the incorrect and politically-combustible term "assault weapons" to describe what are civilian semi-automatic rifles that are widely used for target shooting and, increasingly, for hunting. Remember, it was Sugarmann who years ago said, "The public's confusion over fully-automatic machine guns versus semi-automatic assault weapons -- anything that looks like a machine gun is presumed to be a machine gun -- can only increase the chance of public support for restrictions on these weapons."

Note to HuffPost readers: "Assault weapons" are military weapons, and civilian ownership of them has been severely regulated since 1934.

As for the reference to "long-term trends of declining gun ownership," HuffPost readers should know that many who purchased firearms during the record surge in sales that started back October 2008 were first-time gun buyers, as indicated by participants in NSSF's First Shots program and in overflowing concealed carry classes throughout the country. The real trend is that more people are interested in gun ownership and are buying firearms.

For HuffPost readers who think all this gun buying leads to more crime and accidents, they should know that violent crime rates have been falling for years even as firearms ownership has been increasing. Urban centers like New York, Washington, D.C., Boston and Los Angeles showed major declines in violent crime in 2009. Fatal firearms accidents are at historic lows, too.

All sales surges come to an end, and sales of firearms, including modern sporting rifles, are returning to what most consider normal levels. Nevertheless, new data released by the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System reported 1,243,211 checks in February 2010, ranking the month the second highest February (eighth highest month overall) for most NICS checks. This figure, while being a 1.3 percent decrease from the 1,259,078 checks conducted in February 2009 -- the early stage of the surge in firearms sales -- is an increase of 21.7 percent over checks in February 2008. The total number of background checks reported since the beginning of NICS is 112,380,272. (Background checks are an indicator of used and new firearms sales.)

As you can see, law-abiding Americans are continuing to buy firearms, which they enjoy using for target shooting and hunting, and which they like to own for personal and home protection. We'd like HuffPost readers to know that. Actually, we believe many already do, since we suspect many HuffPost readers are firearm owners. Where else did all those pro-gun commenters come from on Sugarmann's blog?

Tune In to NSSF's Daily Radio Show

Get the jump on your weekend entertainment by checking out NSSF's new Insights radio show. Launched earlier this week, Insights’ 90-second programs provide hunting and shooting tips that just might help you be more successful afield, post a better score at the range and keep your gun in tip-top shape.

Five shows are available so far, with many more on the way. The easiest way to listen to Insights is at http://www.nssf.org/insights. Click on the "Subscribe via RSS" link for a list of shows and to be notified when each show becomes available. The shows also are available in iTunes' podcast library.

Insights, which is broadcast Monday through Friday, is being carried by more than 120 radio stations nationwide. If you think listeners near where you live would enjoy the show, send an e-mail with the name of your local radio station and its call letters to Mike Walker at mike@walkeragency.com. We'll ask the station to carry the show. Interested station managers should also contact Mike Walker for details on becoming a broadcast affiliate. The show is made available on a barter basis (NSSF provides the content; the station provides the air time).

Governor Rell Congratulates NSSF on Project ChildSafe Award

Recently NSSF received an Award of Excellence for its Project ChildSafe program, the firearms safety education effort that has distributed 35 million gun lock safety kits nationwide.

Today a thoughtful letter of congratulations from Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell arrived at our Newtown headquarters. The letter reads . . . 

Dear Friends:

On behalf of the State of Connecticut, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to the National Shooting Sports Foundation, as you are a recipient of the American Society of Association Executives' 2010 Associations Advance America Award of Excellence.

You were selected for this prestigious award for your program, Project ChildSafe, out of nearly eighty entries. I commend the National Shooting Sports Foundation for your dedication to providing innovative programs in education, skills training, standard setting, citizenship and community service. This award is truly an honor and reflects the hard work and commitment to excellence that you have displayed. Your passion and dedication is an inspiration to all of Connecticut's residents.

Please know that you have my best wishes for continued success in all your future endeavors. Congratulations again on this tremendous achievement.

Sincerely,

M.Jodi Rell

Governor

NSSF President Steve Sanetti responded by saying, "We appreciate Gov. Rell recognizing a home-state organization for earning this prestigious award, and we appreciate as well her ongoing support for appropriate firearms safety education.”

Any law enforcement agency can request to receive a quantity of Project ChildSafe firearm safety kits, with each kit containing a cable-style gun lock and safety brochure. The kits are provided free of charge to law enforcement, which in turn provide them free to gun owners. The goal is to encourage owners to safely store firearms in their homes, particuarly to prevent children from encountering a loaded firearm. Learn more at www.projectchildsafe.org.

Thanks to Project ChildSafe and other firearm safety programs, fatal firearms accidents have dropped to their lowest levels since record-keeping began in 1903, including a 60 percent decrease in fatal accidents among youth 14 and under in the last 10 years.

Five Could Be The Magic Number

A Los Angeles Times story on McDonald et al. v. City of Chicago et al. reports "all signs Tuesday were that five [U.S. Supreme Court] justices saw the right to 'bear arms' as national in scope and not limited to laws passed in Washington."

Five is a familiar number for those who remember the 2008 Heller case, in which the justices voted 5-4 to reaffirm the Second Amendment as an "individual" right to keep and bear arms as opposed to a "collective" right pertaining to militias only. That ruling, however, applied only to federal government jurisdictions, such as the District of Columbia. An identical vote in the McDonald case would make the Second Amendment truly a national right, as it should be, by incorporating, or applying, the Second Amendment against state regulation. The court's decision is expected in several months.

NSSF President Steve Sanetti and Senior Vice President and General Counsel Larry Keane were at the Supreme Court today to hear the oral arguments in this landmark case. See Keane's blog post for an analysis of the proceedings, which includes the following:

"Lawyers arguing for incorporation, Alan Gura on behalf of the petitioners McDonald, et al. and former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement for the National Rifle Association, took two separate and distinct paths in their arguments.  Gura argued that the High Court should reverse the 7th Circuit’s decision on the grounds that the Second Amendment is an incorporated right through the Fourteenth Amendment’s 'privileges and immunities' clause, while Clement focused his argument on the Fourteenth Amendment’s 'due process' clause.

"It seems that Paul Clement had the more persuasive argument."

Read the transcript of this morning's oral arguments.

Analysis From Today's Oral Arguments in "McDonald v. City of Chicago"

Larry Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel, was at the U.S. Supreme Court this morning to hear the oral arguments made in the McDonald, et al v. City of Chicago, et al case that will determine if the Second Amendment will be applied to cities and states through the 14th Amendment.

Here's his analysis.

Also, see the SCOTUS blog report and look for the oral arguments transcripts later at this site.

Sequel to 'Heller': 'McDonald v. Chicago' Goes Before The Supreme Court

The words from the 14th Amendment printed below are central to the McDonald v. City of Chicago case, which will be argued tomorrow before the U.S. Supreme Court. The court will rule on whether cities and states must honor the Second Amendment, which protects the right to keep and bear arms.

The key words from the 14th Amendment are "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law . . . . "

When cities such as Chicago and Oak Park, Ill., prohibit owning handguns, residents are denied their right to self protection, a violation of their Second Amendment right and their ability to protect their "life, liberty and property."

You can consider McDonald v. City of Chicago as the sequel to the 2008 landmark case--the District of Columbia v. Heller--in which the Supreme Court reaffirmed that the Second Amendment is an "individual" right to keep and bear arms as opposed to a "collective" right related to service in a militia. The court's decision, however, applied only to areas regulated by the federal government, such as Washington, D.C. As a result, instead of ending questions about the Second Amendment, the Heller decision actually served as the launching pad for legal attempts to further clarify how the right to keep and bear arms truly applies to all citizens.

After Heller, many lawsuits were filed to overturn laws that prevented individuals from owning handguns. In Chicago, several residents, in party with the Second Amendment Foundation and Illinois State Rifle Association, brought suit challenging the city's long-standing gun ban. The residents, among them a retired maintenance worker named Otis McDonald, wanted the freedom to own a handgun to protect themselves and their families. The National Rifle Assocation also filed a separate lawsuit seeking to overturn the city's statute. 

Key elements in these cases date to the 18th and 19th century and are fascinating (and complicated) to consider. When the Bill of Rights was ratified in 1791, the intent was to limit the federal government from infringing on rights deemed to be "fundamental" by the founders--rights such as "freedom of speech" (First Amendment) and protection against "unreasonable searches and seizures" (Fourth Amendment). It seems inconceivable that such fundamental rights did not apply to the states, but that was the case. Following the Civil War when newly freed slaves had their individual rights abused by former Confederate states, Congress responded by passing the 14th Amendment. Through the 14th Amendment, the Supreme Court has applied other amendments to the states, although, not yet, the Second Amendment.

How broadly or narrowly the right to keep and bear arms will be applied to, or "incorporated as against," state regulation of the Second Amendment is what everyone will be watching when the court renders its decision. On Tuesday, one hour has been set for oral arguments. Attorney Alan Gura, who won the Heller case, will argue for the petitioners Otis McDonald, et al. Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement will argue for the NRA, which is also a party to the case. Chicago's defense will take up the remainder of the time.

While the court's decision won't be known for some months, one thing we do know is how Americans feel about their Second Amendment rights. Nearly three out of four Americans considered the Second Amendment an individual right to own a firearm at the time of the Heller case, according to a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. 

It's a right that should be honored in every locality in the United States.

Background on McDonald v. City of Chicago can be found at the following . . . 

• Chicago Gun Case
• Supreme Court of the United States Blog
• Alan Korwin's blog
• USA Today story
• NSSF Amicus Curiae Brief

Gun Rights Advances Get Front-page Treatment

A story on the front page of today's The New York Times chronicles pro-gun successes across the country.

From The Times:

When President Obama took office, gun rights advocates sounded the alarm, warning that he intended to strip them of their arms and ammunition.

And yet the opposite is happening. Mr. Obama has been largely silent on the issue while states are engaged in a new and largely successful push for expanded gun rights, even passing measures that have been rejected in the past.

Read the rest of the story.

NSSF Hails Washington State Supreme Court Decision on 2d Amendment

The court's ruling holds that the Second Amendment is an incorporated right.

From the just released press release:

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) – the trade association for the firearms industry – hailed today’s ruling by the Washington State Supreme Court holding that the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans are applicable to the states through the 14th Amendment.

“This decision by the Washington State Supreme Court is a welcomed development and victory for the rights of law-abiding firearms owners,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel.  “America's firearms industry remains optimistic that the U.S. Supreme Court will rule in the upcoming McDonald v. City of Chicago case that the Second Amendment is a fundamental individual liberty that all states and local governments must respect." 

The NSSF filed an amicus brief in support of the petitioner in McDonald v. City of Chicago, set to be heard by the High Court next month. 

Learn About Handgun Ownership

When it comes to learning about handguns, shooting and firearms ownership, not knowing how or where to begin can be an intimidating hurdle for newcomers. The National Shooting Sports Foundation's First Shots® program provides opportunities to get started in a supervised, supportive environment at shooting ranges across the country. Participants also learn how to continue with handgun shooting if they enjoy their introduction, which, our surveys show, most do.

Having a supervised, safe and fun first experience is key to staying involved and wanting to learn more. At a First Shots seminar, newcomers will receive . . . 

• an educational introduction to the safe, recreational use of handguns
• a clear understanding of the local requirements for owning and purchasing a handgun
• individual and group training and shooting range access for continued participation
• shooting sports opportunities for all levels of interest

Most First Shots seminars provide an introduction to handgun ownership, but some shooting ranges also offer an introduction to rifle and shotgun shooting as well. See the seminar list below for a First Shots seminars across the United States, and check back here for updated seminar listings throughout the year. You can also watch this 30-second video about First Shots.

Unless noted, all seminars listed here are for handgun introduction. 

Schedule of First Shots Seminars

Saturday, February 20	Shooters World- AZ 3828 North 28th Ave Phoenix, AZ 85017 602-266-2600 9:00am
Saturday, February 20 (Handgun/Rifle/Shotgun)	P2K Range 2082 Willow Glen Drive El Cajon, CA 92019 619-442-9971 10:00am
Saturday, February 20	Montrose Rod & Gun Club 123 Akard Ave Montrose, CO 81401 970-249-2771 9:00am
Sunday, February 21	Top Gun Shooting Sports Inc. 16725 Racho Rd Taylor, MI 48180 734-282-8470 12:00pm
Monday, February 22	Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center 299 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 800-331-0852 6:00pm
Saturday, February 27	Duncan's Outdoor Shop 501 Salzburg Ave Bay City, MI 48706 989-894-6691 2:00pm
Saturday, February 27	A & S Indoor Pistol Range 617 Overhead Bridge Road Youngwood, PA 15697 724-925-1212 10:00am
Saturday, February 27	Texas Thunder Range 7128 Bandera Rd San Antonio, TX 78238 210-509-2273 10:00am
Sunday, February 28	Top Gun Shooting Sports Inc. 16725 Racho Rd Taylor, MI 48180 734-282-8470 12:00pm
Saturday, March 6	Sim Trainer Academy 2031 Dryden Rd Dayton, OH; 45439 937-293-3914 4:00pm
Monday, March 8	Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center 299 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 800-331-0852 6:00pm
Saturday, March 20 (Handgun/Rifle/Shotgun)	Brune Land & Cattle 1079 FM 1890 Columbus, TXÂ 78934 949-230-2965 9:00am
Sunday, March 21 (Handgun/Shotgun)	Deep River Sporting Clays 284 Cletus Hall Rd Sanford, NC 27330 919-774-7080 10:30am
Thursday, March 25	Shooters World- AZ 3828 North 28th Ave Phoenix, AZ 85017 602-266-2600 5:00pm
Monday, March 29	Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center 299 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 800-331-0852 6:00pm
Saturday, April 3	Sim Trainer Academy 2031 Dryden Rd Dayton, OH; 45439 937-293-3914 9:00am
Monday, April 12	Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center 299 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 800-331-0852 6:00pm
Saturday, April 24	Ammo Alley 11562 County Rd 395 Hartsburg, MO 65039 573-634-6196 8:00am
Monday, April 26	Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center 299 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 800-331-0852 6:00pm
Saturday, May 1	Sim Trainer Academy 2031 Dryden Rd Dayton, OH; 45439 937-293-3914 4:00pm
Saturday May 8	Gainesville Target Range 1610 NW 65th Place Gainesville, FL 32609 352-359-2864 8:00am
Saturday May 8 (Handgun/Shotgun)	Tri-Cities Shooting Association Rattle Snake Mountain Shooting Range Milepost 7.75 SR 225 Benton City, WA 99320 509-545-1169 8:30am
Sunday May 9 (Rifle)	Gainesville Target Range 1610 NW 65th Place Gainesville, FL 32609 352-359-2864 8:00am
Monday, May 10	Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center 299 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 800-331-0852 6:00pm
Saturday, May 22 (Handgun/Rifle/Shotgun)	P2K Range 2082 Willow Glen Drive El Cajon, CA 92019 619-442-9971 10:00am
Monday, May 31	Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center 299 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 800-331-0852 6:00pm
Saturday, June 5	Sim Trainer Academy 2031 Dryden Rd Dayton, OH; 45439 937-293-3914 9:00am
Monday, June 14	Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center 299 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 800-331-0852 6:00pm
Monday, June 28	Smith & Wesson Shooting Sports Center 299 Page Boulevard Springfield, MA 01104 800-331-0852 6:00pm