January 11, 2011
If there is one thing that threatens the future of hunting more than any other, it is the challenge of finding a place to hunt. More and more hunting land is being lost, either through development or because of restrictive regulations that preclude its use. Concerned hunters working together with NRA-ILA have found a solution: protect our public hunting lands with No-Net-Loss laws.
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September 21, 2010
On July 1, 2010, U.S. Representative Dan Boren (D-Okla.) introduced H.R. 5667, the Firearms Microstamping Evaluation and Study Act. The bill would require a study (1) to determine whether a firearm could be manufactured with “microstamping” technology that would work reliably and be cost-effective for law enforcement purposes, (2) to determine the cost of “microstamping” to manufacturers, firearm owners and state governments, and (3) to determine whether “microstamping” technology could work with non-metallic cartridge cases.
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September 15, 2010
Coinciding with a surge in gun purchases that began shortly before the 2008 elections, violent crime decreased six percent between 2008 and 2009, including an eight percent decrease in murder and a nine percent decrease in robbery.
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July 13, 2010
On June 28, 2010, the Supreme Court, in McDonald et al. v. City of Chicago, Illinois, et al.—a case challenging handgun bans in Chicago and Oak Park, Illinois—ruled that the Second...
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July 13, 2010
In the mid-1970s, the Brady Campaign, a handgun ban activist group then known as the National Council to Control Handguns, said “There are now 40 million handguns . . . . [T]he number...
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May 4, 2010
Despite their patriotic-sounding name—the “Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009”—H.R. 2159 by Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) and S. 1317 by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) aren’t intended to contribute to the war on terrorism.
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April 26, 2010
During April 2010, television ads paid for by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s gun control advocacy group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), hit the airwaves in selected areas. The ads say, “The Columbine school massacre. The killers got their guns because of a gap in the law, called the ‘gun show loophole’. . . . Close the ‘gun show loophole.’”
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April 24, 2010
The expansion of America’s urban and suburban areas has crowded out many shooting areas and made it increasingly difficult to find a place to shoot. On September 24, 2009, Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and James Risch (R-Idaho) introduced S. 1702, a bill that would help remedy this problem by promoting the construction and maintenance of target ranges on public lands. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Reps. Betsy Markey (D-Colo.) and Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) have introduced a companion bill, H. R. 3781.
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April 22, 2010
There are 40 Right-to-Carry states: 37 have “shall issue” laws, requiring that carry permits be issued to applicants who meet uniform standards established by the state legislature. Two have fairly-administered discretionary-issue carry permit systems. Vermont respects the right to carry without a permit. Alaska and Arizona have “shall issue” permit systems for permit reciprocity1 with other states, and have allowed concealed carrying without a permit since 2003 and July 2010,* respectively. Of the 10 non-RTC states, eight have restrictively-administered discretionary-issue systems; Illinois and Wisconsin have no permit system and prohibit carrying. Iowa became the most recent “shall issue” state on April 29, 2010, when Governor Chet Culver (D) signed legislation adopted by votes of 81-16 in the state’s House of Representatives and 44-4 in the Senate.
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April 1, 2010
On October 26, 2005, President Bush signed S. 397, the "Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act." Introduced by Sens. Larry Craig (R-ID) and Max Baucus (D-MT), this legislation is a vitally important first step toward ending the anti-gun lobby`s shameless attempts to bankrupt the American firearms industry through reckless lawsuits. Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) introduced similar legislation, H.R. 800 in the House of Representatives.
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March 24, 2010
Links to web pages describing firearms regulations in National Parks.
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March 1, 2010
When the 108th Congress passed the original "Law Enforcement Officers` Safety Act of 2004"--authorizing active and retired police officers to carry firearms throughout the United States--it took a step forward in advancing public safety.
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September 22, 2009
Michael Bloomberg and Thomas Menino, two of the most virulently anti-gun politicians in America, were the creators of “Mayors Against Illegal Guns” (MAIG) and they are still the driving force behind the group. But do not be fooled by the name: this group would be better named Mayors Against Guns.
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June 8, 2009
Sen. Frank Lautenberg has once again introduced legislation to regulate gun shows. And as before, it calls for massive new government powers to register gun show customers, register gun owners, retain information on gun sales that take place at gun shows, heavily tax both gun collectors and gun sales, and require gun show promoters to police gun show customers, as if they were agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
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May 21, 2009
On April 29, U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the ranking Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, who calls himself "a strong supporter of the war against international terrorism, both at home and abroad," introduced H.R. 2159, calling it the "Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009."
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May 11, 2009
Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) have introduced S. 941, the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2009.” Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio) have introduced a companion bill in the House. The bills would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena. These bipartisan bills are a vital step to modernize and improve BATFE operations.
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April 27, 2009
On March 24 and April 2, respectively, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) introduced H.R. 1684 and S. 816 -- the "Preservation of the Second Amendment in National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges Act" -- to legislatively enact a regulation adopted by the Department of the Interior last year, allowing the carrying of firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges by people who have been issued permits to carry firearms after passing criminal background checks and meeting other state requirements.
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April 1, 2009
An extensive web of laws applies to firearms transactions related to gun trafficking between the United States and Mexico.
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November 7, 2008
Gun shows are large, public events that for many decades have been held in convention centers and banquet halls, attended by gun enthusiasts, hunters, target shooters, law enforcement and military personnel, and their families. Under federal law, firearm dealers—persons engaged in the business of selling firearms for profit on a regular basis—are required to conduct background checks on anyone to whom they sell any firearm, regardless of where the sale takes place. Federal law also provides that a person who is not a dealer may sell a firearm from his personal collection without conducting a check.
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September 26, 2008
In 1969, President Lyndon B. Johnson's National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence recommended "a system of giving each gun a number and the development of some device to imprint this number on each bullet fired from the gun."
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September 25, 2008
Handguns account for over one-third of Americas' 250+ million privately owned firearms. More than one million new handguns are sold in the U.S. annually.
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September 25, 2008
Americans use upwards of seven billion rounds of small arms (rifle, shotgun and handgun) ammunition every year, mostly for target practice, competition and hunting.
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September 23, 2008
The per capita rate and annual number of firearm accident deaths have decreased steadily for decades, and fell to all-time lows in 2006, the most recent year for which data are available from the National Center for Health Statistics.
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August 18, 2008
The presidential primary season is finally over, and it is now time for gun owners to take a careful look at just where nominee Barack Obama stands on issues related to the Second Amendment. During the primaries, Obama tried to hide behind vague statements of support for “sportsmen” or unfounded claims of general support for the right to keep and bear arms. But his real record, based on votes taken, political associations, and long standing positions, shows that Barack Obama is a serious threat to Second Amendment liberties. Don’t listen to his campaign rhetoric! Look instead to what he has said and done during his entire political career.
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July 15, 2008
On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment—"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed"— protects a purely individual right, as do the First, Fourth and Ninth Amendments.
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June 26, 2008
On June 26, 2008, the Supreme Court affirmed, in a 5-4 decision, the ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Parker v. District of Columbia (re-cast as District of Columbia v. Heller before the Supreme Court), that the Second Amendment protects a pre-existing, private, individually-held right, to keep arms and to bear arms, without regard to a person’s relationship to a militia. Highlights of the majority opinion, written by Justice Antonin Scalia and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, and Clarence Thomas.
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May 25, 2008
Active National Pro-Firearms Organizations other than the National Rifle Association of America.
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April 10, 2008
On March 5, the National Academy of Sciences released Ballistic Imaging, the report of a committee assigned to evaluate the feasibility, accuracy and technical capability of a possible national database of so-called “ballistic images” from new guns sold in the United States.
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March 31, 2008
Representatives Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio), have introduced H.R. 4900 the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2007.” The bill would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena. This bipartisan bill is a vital step to modernize and improve BATFE operations.
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February 27, 2008
American Shooters and Hunters Association (AHSA) was created with the specific intent to provide political cover for anti-gun politicians by allowing them to claim support from a “sportsmen’s” group. AHSA would be more correctly called the “American Association for the Protection of Anti-Gun Politicians.” No gun owner or sportsman should fall prey to its carefully crafted lies and deceptions.
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February 12, 2008
In 1974, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) said that the "manufacture and sale of handguns should be terminated. Existing handguns should be acquired by the states."
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February 6, 2008
Every year since 1997, Brady Campaign has pretended to “grade” the states, with states that have the least gun control getting the fewest points, based upon Brady’s presumption that less gun control means more crime.
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January 25, 2008
"Encoded Ammunition" (Bullet and Cartridge Case Serialization) Means:* Forfeiture of Currently-Owned Ammunition * A Separate Registration for Every Box of New Ammunition * Outrageously Expensive Ammunition Costs for Police & Private Citizens Alike *A Waste of Taxpayer Money, Better Spent on Traditional Police Programs
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October 29, 2007
On October 13, Arnold Schwarzenegger, governor of California, signed AB1471 into law. As of January 1, 2010, the law will define (and prohibit the sale of) any newly-designed semi-automatic pistol as an “unsafe handgun,” unless the pistol is equipped with two or more internal parts that imprint, onto the cartridge case of a fired round of ammunition, a microscopic array of characters that identify the make, model and serial number of the pistol. Despite claims by the bill’s supporters that it benefits police efforts, it wasn’t supported by statewide police groups.
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October 24, 2007
Based on incidents that are newsworthy mainly because they’re so rare, some anti-gun politicians have called for new restrictions on antique guns, replicas of antiques, and new guns that work like antiques. These guns are almost never used in crime, and are mainly owned by collectors, target shooters, and hunters who enjoy these guns’ history and the unique shooting challenges they present.
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October 15, 2007
After Hurricane Katrina, many New Orleans residents legally armed themselves to protect their lives and property from civil disorder. With no way to call for help, and police unable to respond, honest citizens were able to defend themselves and their neighbors against looters, arsonists and other criminals.
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October 5, 2007
Some opponents of the “NICS Improvement Amendments Act” (H.R. 2640) have spent the last several months painting a picture of the bill that would rightly terrify gun owners--if it was true.
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June 12, 2007
On March 9, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled, in Parker v. District of Columbia, that gun control laws imposed by the D.C. City Council, prohibiting possession of a handgun, and prohibiting keeping any gun assembled and loaded at home (the condition required for self-defense), are unconstitutional.
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April 2, 2007
The National Rifle Association has always supported including the records of individuals adjudicated mentally defective into the National Instant Background Check System. We believe that the NICS should serve the intent of Congress, which is to prohibit the sale of firearms to criminals and other prohibited persons, such as adjudicated mental defectives. However, we must not forget that the NICS also serves the purpose of clearing firearm purchases by law-abiding Americans. Too often, the system has been abused and has not delivered on the promise of a fair and instant check.
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March 20, 2007
On March 9, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled (in Parker v. District of Columbia) that certain gun control laws imposed by the D.C. City Council are unconstitutional. The laws prohibit the possession of a handgun, and the use of any gun for defense against violent criminals who invade a person's home. The court agreed with the Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Justice Department, the Framers of the Bill of Rights, and constitutional scholars past and present, that the Second Amendment protects a pre-existing right of individuals, not a so-called "right" of a state to maintain a select militia, or a privilege to have guns only when serving in a select militia. The court also ruled that individuals have a right to possess handguns.
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