Bullet Points

NSSF · Post by **NSSF** » Mon Dec 15, 2003 3:58 pm

Vol. 4 No. 49 December 15, 2003

President Bush at White House with conservation, NSSF and WMI leadership.

PRESIDENT BUSH IN SPECIAL MEETING WITH LEADERS OF SPORTSMEN'S GROUPS
NSSF President Doug Painter, together with Wildlife Management Institute President Rollin Sparrowe and leaders of national sportsmen's organizations, met last Friday with President George W. Bush at The White House. The focus of the meeting was a range of key wildlife and habitat-related legislation, including the Farm Bill and the Healthy Forest Restoration Act. In addition, Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Fish and Wildlife Service Director Steve Williams provided an update on new sportsman initiatives under the Bush Administration, including the opening of 50 additional National Wildlife Refuges to hunting and the support for enhanced hunter access to federal public lands. "During the meeting, the President reaffirmed his strong support of our hunting traditions and the contributions America's sportsmen and sportswomen are making to conservation," said Painter. "What a difference that is making in helping to build a bright future for our community."
TOP ATF OFFICIAL RETIRING . . . Bradley Buckles, director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is retiring from his post after 30 years of service culminating in a move of the ATF to the Justice Department this year. "I am extremely proud to have served many years in the U.S. Department of the Treasury and now, as a result of the Homeland Security Act, the Justice Department. Now that ATF is successfully integrated into the Justice family my job is complete," said Buckles in making his announcement to the 4,800 employees of the bureau.
YOUTH SHOOTERS PROFILED . . . NSSF's Scholastic Clay Target Program and the Grand American Trap Championships are the subject of American Shooter on the Outdoor Life Network tomorrow (12/16/03) evening at 7:30 p.m. Eastern time and again early Wednesday morning at 2:30 a.m. EST. Check your local listings to find the OLN channel on your cable system.
MAKING LEMONADE FROM LIFE'S LEMONS . . . Last Wednesday's U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law, which prevents advocacy advertising on television, radio and in newspapers by groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association, has the NRA looking at alternative and technologically advanced means to deliver its message. In a Boston Globe story, NRA President Wayne LaPierre says the organization will expand its daily video segment on www.nralive.com to a full-scale news broadcast for the upcoming election year.
ENFORCING EXISTING LAWS
COLLEGE GUN BUYERS BUSTED . . . Attorney General John Ashcroft has disclosed a nationwide investigation of illegal firearm purchases with the arrest of college students in Ohio who allegedly broke the law to purchase 76 firearms from a local gun store. A total of 14 people, including the gun store owner, students at Wilberforce University and members of a New Jersey gang called the Double II Bloods, were arrested for illegally supplying the gang with firearms. Attorney General Ashcroft called the case an example of the success of "Project Safe Neighborhoods," which has resulted in a 62 percent increase in the number of defendants charged with federal gun crimes since fiscal year 2000.
AROUND THE STATES
BEAR HUNT SUCCEEDS . . . Hunters in New Jersey's first black bear hunt in more than 30 years took about 300 animals in five days, slowing the expansion of a bear population with the potential to endanger humans in the state. The Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund (SLDF), legal arm of the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation, fought in federal and state court on behalf of the New Jersey State Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs and individual New Jersey sportsmen to oppose anti-hunters who filed lawsuits to stop the bear hunt.
OHIO . . . Governor Bob Taft claims that a lack of disclosure of the names of concealed permit holders is reason enough for him to veto legislation that has been 20 years in the making. In a 25-8 Senate vote and a 70-27 vote in the House, before adjourning for the year, the legislature passed a bill allowing Ohioans with proper training to get a permit from their county sheriff. Even with the ability for reporters to search individual permit holders by name, Taft says he won't sign a bill that doesn't disclose names and all personal information about permit holders to anyone who asks. House Speaker Larry Householder, R-Glenford, explained to The Dayton Daily News, "If you look at the true intent of concealed carry, it is that criminals do not know who is carrying and so when you go out and do full disclosure you really are breaking the intent of the bill."
A WIN IN VIRGINIA . . . A unanimous decision by the Fourth District Court of Appeals favors a 13-year-old whose Virginia school district threatened him with suspension for wearing a National Rifle Association shirt to school. A graphic on the shirt depicted the shooting sports. The Federal judges ruled that the dress code forbidding any reference to arms was overly broad, probably violated the First Amendment, and would likely prevent a student from wearing clothes featuring the Virginia flag because a spear and sword are depicted on the state seal. The ruling prohibits enforcement of the school district's zero-tolerance dress code.
AROUND THE INTERNET
AIMING FOR ACCURACY . . . NSSF Media Education Seminars regularly introduce working journalists to the thrills of sport shooting by providing safety information, basic instruction and plenty of ammunition to reporters who usually are skeptical that firing a handgun could be anything like fun. The purpose is to develop a better appreciation among reporters for the legitimate uses of firearms and a respect for those who responsibly own and use them. It doesn't take long before novice shooters are hitting the target and willing to admit, to varying degrees, that for the first time they understand why 40 million Americans each year enjoy shooting as recreation. For a look at how the seminars succeed, visit http://66.221.79.203/MediaSeminar.wmv to see a streaming video about them, or visit the NSSF Media Resources Web page. Journalists who would like to take part in or learn more about the program should e-mail Gary Mehalik, NSSF's director of communications.
COWBOY ACTION SHOOTING . . . The excitement of competing in the Single Action Shooting Society makes for an interesting CNN story in the network's Travel category on the Internet.
ARMED PILOTS UPDATE . . . A 737 captain explains in a column in The Washington Times why so few airline pilots have completed training to improve security in their cockpits more than a year after Congress cleared the way for pilots to be armed.
IT'S BACK . . . Re-modeling at the NSSF Web site temporarily made the Bullet Points subscription form unavailable, but you may now update subscription information or sign-up for your own weekly digest of news and information about the firearms industry at http://www.nssf.org/BP/subscribe.
POLITICS AND FIREARMS . . .The persistent bother of a reputation for opposing firearms ownership is examined in a Boston Globe article about problems dogging Democrat candidates on the campaign trail this year.

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