Vol. 5 No. 19 May 17, 2004
Visit www.hsshf.org, or call (203) 426-1320 for more information about the Hunting & Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation. More than 170 companies have committed a portion of their profits to the “Heritage Fund” administered by the HSSHF to help preserve our hunting and shooting sports heritage, and many individuals have become Century Club members by contributing $100 or more.
SPORTSMEN, SHOOTING INDUSTRY
PARTNER IN POLITICS TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Vote Your Sport Campaign Launches Web Site
Hunters are as varied as all the kinds of people in America, but there's one notable distinction that sets them apart as a group. It's their commitment to the democratic process and the determination with which they take part in it. Hunters are more frequently registered to vote and take part in elections more regularly than most sectors of the population. To focus the sportsmen's vote in the upcoming presidential and Congressional elections, Vote Your Sport's Web site has been launched at http://www.voteyoursport.com. Fewer than half the hunters registered to vote are Republican, and about one in five is registered Democrat. About a third are neither. But despite party affiliation, a Roper Starch poll in 2000 by the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation shows, by a three-to-one margin, hunters considered voting their sport more important than supporting a particular candidate because of party affiliation. Gun control topped hunters’ list of concerns when deciding for whom they would vote in the 2000 election. Gun control issues were “much” or “somewhat more” important to 78 percent of the hunters than it had been in previous races.
GRANT SUPPORTS NSSF'S CONSERVATION VIDEOS FOR SCHOOLS . . . The Pope and Young Club, a leading conservation-oriented organization that supports wildlife management educational programs, has given NSSF a grant of $1,000, renewing its long-standing partnership with NSSF in support of its conservation video programs distributed to schools through the Council for Wildlife Conservation and Education.
NEED TO ATTEND A MEDIA SEMINAR . . . The Los Angeles Times carries a hand-wringing feature following the attack where a mountain lion ate one person and mauled another before being shot to death. Rather than focusing on the proven lethal danger of the predator in 13 such attacks, the report centers around the irrational concern that fellow Californians might be carrying firearms. Michael Bane, television host of Shooting Gallery on The Outdoor Channel and the man who's been hosting journalists for years in NSSF's Aiming for Accuracy Media Seminars, also happens to be the author of Trail Safe, a guide for self-protection in the wild. He points out the article contains all the expected stereotypes, including a retired police captain who carries his own firearm for protection when out in the wild, but is against the idea of others packing protection.
SUMMERTIME SHOOTING FUN . . . Thousands will be encouraged to give shooting a try at the Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoor Festival, June 4-6 in Memphis. The festival is essentially a giant-sized STEP OUTSIDE event organized into separate “sporting villages,” where attendees can try their hands at various outdoor skills—casting, dog training, test-driving ATVs and more. NSSF is sponsoring a .22 rifle range with free introduction and instruction to shooting on interactive targets designed for the newly developed Scholastic Rifle Program.
INDUSTRY LAWSUIT UPDATES . . . The City of St. Louis has filed a brief in its appeal of the dismissal of a lawsuit against firearms manufacturers and both sides in the District of Columbia lawsuit have asked the appellate court to reconsider its ruling (see Bullet Points 05-03-04). Check the Litigation section of the NSSF Web site for these documents and complete information about all the "junk lawsuits" filed against lawful and highly regulated manufacturers of non-defective products in an attempt to blame them for the illegal activities of unrelated third parties.
THE BEST RANGES . . . Three more shooting ranges have made a list of the nation's best, the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in Arizona, Tennessee Clay Target Complex in Nashville and Florida's Indian River County Shooting Range in Melbourne. See what it takes to win this prestigious recognition at the National Association of Shooting Ranges Web site.
AROUND THE INDUSTRY
ON THE UPSWING . . . February's SHOT Show was successful in a lot of ways, and set new records for attendance and exhibition space. Not as easy to measure was the strong optimism and enthusiasm for the future many attendees sensed. Now, the National Association of Manufacturers President Jerry Jasinowski reports “Since August of last year, we’ve now added 1.1 million non-farm jobs to our economy, so we have clearly turned the corner on employment. But the big story of the day is that the turnaround in manufacturing employment actually started in February. News of 37,000 new jobs since then will provide the manufacturing community with an emotional lift and greater confidence to expand operations as the recovery continues."
COMMITMENT TO HUNTING . . . Whether you knew him as the executive director of the Outdoor Writers Association of America, or most recently the vice president of communications at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Steve Wagner has the reputation you would expect from an Oklahoma State University graduate with degrees in wildlife management and journalism. NSSF is pleased to welcome Steve to its staff of communications professionals as its new director of public relations. "His extensive experience as an outdoor communicator will help strengthen NSSF's outreach efforts to key audiences," notes NSSF president Doug Painter, "to the outdoor writing community, wildlife and conservation professionals and, of course, our members and hunters and shooters across the country."
AROUND THE STATES
ILLINOIS . . . Headed for the governor's desk is a measure ensuring the protection of public hunting lands, but there's a complication. According to The Chicago Tribune, Governor Rod Blagojevich promises"'wholesale vetoes" of several pieces of pro-gun legislation if lawmakers do not pass an assault weapons ban, to underscore his tough new gun-control attitude. One proposal was inspired by a Wilmette, IL, man who shot an intruder in his home, only to be charged with violating the city's gun ban. The legislation would allow someone to use self-defense as a legal argument in court and passed the House 90-25.
CALIFORNIA . . . The plan to impose outrageous new taxes on ammunition has, for the moment, been discarded by its legislative proponent. SB 1152, however, remains and would create the requirement for sellers of ammunition to enter personal information and the thumbprint of all buyers of ammo into a database.
COLORADO . . . We recently reported that Colorado found no Chronic Wasting Disease in 100 samples of cervids taken by hunters over two years, but now a mule deer discovered dead in the backyard of a Colorado Springs home has tested positive for CWD. For the latest on CWD, check the NSSF-supported Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance Web site.
GEORGIA . . . Citizens can register to vote while they get their hunting and fishing licenses, because the "Sportsmen Voter Registration Bill" (SB 541) was signed into law last week by Governor Sonny Perdue.
MINNESOTA . . . Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports $43,000 for firearms grants and $81,000 in archery grants still available to help groups improve safety and facilities at shooting ranges across the state. Apply for a grant with a call to the DNR at (651) 297-2449 or e-mail chuck.niska@dnr.state.mn.us.
SPORTSMEN'S CAUCUS VICTORY . . .Minnesotans have the recently created Sportsmen's Caucus to thank for creating the first dove hunting season in the state since 1946, with an expected $115 million benefit to the state's economy. With the legislature classifying mourning doves as game, Governor Tim Pawlenty's signature will make Minnesota the 40th state with a hunting season for the bird.
FLORIDA . . . Governor Jeb Bush has signed into law measures to prohibit police from assembling lists of firearms owners and protecting law-abiding shooting ranges from harassing lawsuits. Protection of the ranges, the first of its kind in the nation, was made possible by the creation of a Statement of Principles for the Environmental Management of Target Shooting Facilities, the culmination of nearly a decade of research and cooperative efforts initiated by the National Rifle Association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Wildlife Management Institute.
NEW JERSEY . . . Despite, or perhaps because of, a successful hunt last year, a state legislator is introducing a law to prohibit bear hunting for the next five years.
SOUTH CAROLINA . . . With little debate, legislators voted to discard a 30-year-old gun control by removing the restriction against purchasing more than one firearm in a month. If Governor Mark Sanford signs the measure, South Carolina will be the first state to have removed such a restriction. South Carolina was the first to enact it in 1975.
A TIP OF THE HAT
VOTE YOUR SPORT NOW ONLINE . . . Thanks to both Jim Scoutten, whose Shooting USA program debuts this week on The Outdoor Life network, and to Damasso Torres at Students for the Second Amendment, who have installed the icon you see below on their Web sites. Now's the time to be sure your friends and shooting buddies are registered to make a difference with a vote in this fall's important elections. Follow the link below to get registration information for your state. Learn more about the important campaign with a quick visit to the Vote Your Sport Web site at http://www.voteyoursport.org.
PROTECT OUR INDUSTRY,
PROTECT YOUR JOB -- GET REGISTERED
AND VOTE YOUR SPORT
Read more in The Washington Post about how employees are protecting their jobs by working with their companies on issues that affect their industry.
COPYRIGHT 2004 by National Shooting Sports Foundation, Inc. Permission is granted for broadcast, publication, retransmission to e-mail lists, WWW or any other copying or storage, in any medium, online or not, if 1) the text is forwarded in its entirety, including this paragraph, and 2) no fee is charged. — SUBSCRIPTION to Bullet Points is free, and available at www.nssf.org — To UNSUBSCRIBE, click here and follow the instructions to have your e-mail automatically removed.
- - - - -
Gary G. Mehalik
gmehalik@nssf.org
National Shooting Sports Foundation
(203) 426-1320
Bullet Points
Moderators: pilkguns, m1963, David Levene, Spencer, Richard H