| $100,000 in Grants Available to Colleges  | Watch a brief video about
the Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative | NSSF GRANTS FOR NEW COLLEGIATE SHOOTING PROGRAMS . . . NSSF is accepting applications for a total of $100,000 in grants to public and private colleges for start-ups of new target-shooting clubs and teams. Up to $10,000 will be awarded to each qualifying school. The grants are provided through NSSF's Collegiate Shooting Sports Initiative, which is credited with spurring growth in collegiate target shooting across the country. "Students and coaches provide the passion, NSSF provides the seed funding," said NSSF Manager of Shooting Promotions Zach Snow. Grant guidelines and applications are available at www.nssf.org/college. Direct questions to Zach Snow at zsnow@nssf.org. Read the press release. NSSF Industry Summit  HOTEL SPECIAL GROUP PRICING DEADLINE TODAY . . . If you haven't registered for the 2014 NSSF Industry Summit, the time is now. The Summit is only three weeks away and industry leaders from more than 100 companies and organizations have already committed to attend and contribute to this critical discussion. Registration does not include housing accomodations, so if you have already registered, please be sure that you have made your hotel reservations before today's special group pricing deadline.
Government Relations  | | Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) speaks during a meeting of Senate Democrats with sportsmens' groups. NSSF president Steve Sanetti shown at right. | SENATE LEADERS MEET WITH SPORTSMEN . . . NSSF President Steve Sanetti, together with leaders of several prominent hunting and traditional conservation advocacy organizations, met last week with the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee to discuss legislative priorities for sportsmen. Already passed by the House of Representatives, the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act, S. 1996, awaits action in the Senate. In response to a question from Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) concerning the nation's retail shortage of ammunition, Sanetti explained that a growing number of recreational shooters was driving unprecedented demand. He also reminded senators those sales were providing increased funding for state conservation projects through the Pittman-Robertson federal excise taxes collected from manufacturers.
- WASHINGTON POST PUBLISHES NSSF LETTER ON 'SMART GUNS' . . . User-authorized technology for firearms, what political proponents and the media like to call "smart guns," are very much in the news. As the industry's trade association, NSSF both responds to reporters' questions on the topic and seeks to correct mistakes, exaggerations and incorrect assumptions in news stories and commentary. Last week, NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane responded to a Washington Post editorial calling for New Jersey to immediately implement its nascent law mandating the technology for handguns sold in the state. Read the Letter to the Editor. See the NSSF fact sheet on "Smart Guns."
- SUNDAY HUNTING PASSES IN W.V. COUNTIES; MORE SUNDAY HUNTING COMING TO MARYLAND . . . West Virginia voters last week approved ballot measures to allow hunting on private property on Sundays in Braxton, Calhoun, Nicholas, Webster and Wirt counties. The ballot measure was turned down only by voters in Lewis and Gilmer counties, the latter by an unofficial total of a mere 30 votes. Tuesday was the first time that Sunday hunting has been put before voters in more than a decade. Read the NSSF press release. Meanwhile, as the result of newly enacted laws in Maryland, state game managers are now authorized to allow Sunday deer hunting for the first time on designated public land in Frederick, Washington, Allegany and Garrett counties. Sunday deer hunting on private land was already allowed in those counties.
- OPPOSE ILLINOIS LEGISLATOR'S EXTENSIVE ANTI-GUN BAN . . . Illinois State Sen. Dan Kotowski (D-33) has introduced SB 3659, the most extensive piece of anti-gun legislation seen so far this year. Under this bill, nearly all firearms would have to be registered (for an undetermined fee) or turned in to police. Kotowski's bill also contains a provision that licenses and registers all gun owners in Illinois. Additionally, the bill seeks a ban on all magazines having a capacity exceeding 10 rounds and imposes large fines and prison sentences for the possession of such magazines for AR-15s and other modern sporting rifles. NSSF is working to defeat this legislation. If you are an Illinois resident, contact your legislator to oppose this bill. See The NSSF Legislative Action Alert.
- JERSEY CITY FIREARM PROCUREMENT POLICY DRAWS NSSF RESPONSE . . . The Jersey City, New Jersey, administration policy to require its police department firearms suppliers to provide detailed information about their business practices attracted the attention of the Wall Street Journal. Companies that do not comply with the city's questionnaire process are not allowed to submit bids to supply city police with rifles, handguns and ammunition. NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane told guns.com "The questions being asked display a profound ignorance of firearms public policy issues and what members of our industry do to cooperate with law enforcement. We think it is wrong to politicize the purchasing of law enforcement equipment. Police departments should be able to purchase the equipment that meets the needs of their officers."
 SECOND CALIF. PUBLIC WORKSHOP ON LEAD AMMO BAN IMPLEMENTATION SET FOR JUNE 3 . . . The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has announced the second public workshop to discuss implementation of the state's traditional lead ammunition ban will be held June 3 in Eureka at the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center, 921 Waterfront Drive, from 7-8:30 p.m. Workshops feature a CDFW representative detailing the proposed implementation plan, after which public comments are heard. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 711 requiring the Fish & Game Commission to adopt regulations to ban lead ammunition for hunting no later than July 1, 2015, with full implementation to occur no later than July 1, 2019. Final recommendations to the Fish and Game Commission will be made in September. Additional workshops are being discussed for Redding, Sacramento, Fresno and San Diego. Individuals and organizations also may email comments to wildlifemgmt@wildlife.ca.gov (Use "Non lead implementation" in subject line) or send correspondence to CDFW, Wildlife Branch, Attn: Non lead implementation, 1812 9th St., Sacramento, CA 95811. SHOT Show  EXHIBITORS: NSSF MEMBERSHIP PROVIDES SHOT SHOW SAVINGS AND DISCOUNTS . . . Membership in NSSF, your industry's trade association and the owner of the SHOT Show, has a long list of benefits. For SHOT Show exhibitors, one of those benefits can mean huge savings on booth space at the show. On the SHOT Show Blog, NSSF's Senior Director of Sales Dave Jeannette provides a look at the ways NSSF members save big. Research  USITC FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION DATA FOR MARCH 2014 . . . NSSF tracks and reports monthly U.S. import and export units for several sporting arms, ammunition and optics categories from the U.S. International Trade Commission. See a complete breakdown of each category's March import and export data. NSSF members can access additional historical import and export data by logging in and clicking NSSF Industry Research. Retailers -
NSSF RETAILER SEMINARS IN ILLINOIS, INDIANA AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY . . . Seven more NSSF Retailer Education Seminars are scheduled for this year, including ones in Bloomington, Illinois, on June 24 and in Indianapolis on June 26. NSSF encourages all firearms retailers in the region to register to attend these five-hour seminars designed to help FFL holders stay in compliance and protect their livelihood. Seminar topics include Regulatory Compliance, Deterring Straw Purchases, Error Proofing Your 4473, the ATF Inspection Process, Inventory Security and NICS. Seminars are free to NSSF members and $100 per person to non-members. Register today. Read press release. - NEW ATF Q&A FEATURE FOR RETAILERS . . . This week's ATF questions come from our 24/7 compliance hotline — that is free to use for our members, login for details. The questions cover properly documenting imported firearms in your A&D book and your responsibilities as an FFL to respond to a trace request. Take a moment to review the answers and please make sure your staff does as well. A new feature in the Retailers section of the NSSF website, ATF Q&A can serve as a great resource when a compliance question arises.
Legal  BREAKING: BRADY CAMPAIGN SUES NEW JERSEY TO COMPEL ACTION ON SMART GUN LAW . . . As Bullet Points was being prepared, word was received late this afternoon that the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and the Mercer County chapter of the organization had filed suit in Mercer Superior Court to compel the state's attorney general to take action in a manner that would start the clock running toward implementation of the state statute requiring the adoption of user-authorized technology for all handguns sold in the state. NSSF will keep you informed as additional details become available.
- JUDGE UPHOLDS STRICT D.C. GUN LAWS . . . Washington, D.C. residents will continue to face the strictest gun laws in the nation in order to legally possess firearms in their homes as the result of decision handed down late last week by a federal district court Judge. In the case known as Heller II, the judge upheld Washington's extensive gun registration laws as constitutional. These are the laws put in effect after the Supreme Court ruled in 2008 in the first Heller case that the District's 30-year ban on handguns violated the Second Amendment. The case will be appealed. See a news story about the decision.
- NSSF, SAAMI MICROSTAMPING SUIT ORAL ARGUMENTS POSTPONED AGAIN . . . A Fresno, California, Superior Court judge last week postponed until Wednesday oral arguments in the lawsuit brought by NSSF and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) against the State of California to prevent enforcement of the state's microstamping statute. The state statute being challenged was enacted in 2007, but not made effective until May 2013, requires that all semiautomatic handguns sold in the state not already on the California-approved handgun roster incorporate unproven and unreliable microstamping technology. We will continue to keep you informed.
News of Note  NSSF PROVIDES FIRE-PREVENTION POSTER, 30-SEC. PSA . . . To remind target shooters and hunters to do their part to help prevent wildfires, NSSF offers a poster and audio public service announcement containing prevention guidelines for use throughout what is expected to be a bad fire season. The poster is available in two sizes and is suitable for use by shooting ranges, firearms retail shops, outdoor-equipment stores and online sharers. The 30-second PSA is for radio, television and Internet use. The straight-forward message is—"Wildfires have many causes—don't be one of them!" Read press release. Learn more at www.nssf.org/education/PreventWildfires.cfm.
 NSSF'S DOLNACK AMONG TOP 100 CMOs ON TWITTER . . . Social Media Marketing magazine has named its top 100 chief marketing officers on Twitter and among them is NSSF Senior Vice President and CMO Chris Dolnack. According to the magazine, "These are the top 100 CMOs around the world who, 1.) provide useful content, 2.) consistently engage with their followers, 3.) truly "get it" when it comes to the best ways to use Twitter and other forms of social media and 4.) were active on Twitter as of April 28, 2014." See the full list.
- ATK SALES UP 71% IN SPORTING GROUP . . . ATK (NYSE:ATK) reported that fourth-quarter sales in its Sporting Group -- which includes ammunition for law enforcement, military and sporting applications as well as firearms, optics, reloading gear and sport-shooting and tactical accessories -- were up 71 percent to $558 million compared to $326 million in the same period last year. Sales from Savage and Bushnell were $62 million and $132 million, respectively. For the full year, the Sporting Group achieved record sales of $1.9 billion, up 57 percent from $1.2 billion in the prior year.
- DANIEL DEFENSE NAMES NEW COO . . . Daniel Defense today announced a new chief operating officer, Fred Sharp. Sharp joins Daniel Defense from Ferno Washington Inc., where he was Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Cindy Daniel, the company's COO since 2001, has transitioned into her new role as Executive Vice President.
NSSF Membership -
 DID YOU KNOW? . . . NSSF's Voting Members receive a considerable discount on their SHOT Show booth space ($25 per square foot, compared to $35 for non-NSSF members). For information on becoming an NSSF Voting Member, contact Bettyjane Swann, NSSF Member Services Director, at 203-426-1320 ext. 237 or bswann@nssf.org.
- TWO WEEKS LEFT TO SUBMIT APPLICATIONS FOR SCHOLARSHIPS . . . NSSF encourages employees of voting Member companies and their family members to apply for education aid through NSSF's Voting Member Scholarship Program. A maximum of 25 winning entries will share in $60,000 in scholarship funding. Applications for these scholarships will be accepted through 5 p.m. Eastern time Monday, June 2, 2014. Learn more about scholarship eligibility and essay topics and to acquire an application at nssf.org/scholarship. Read the press release.
Jobs -
FIREARMS INDUSTRY JOBS . . . Visit www.nssf.org/jobs for current employment opportunities in the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry. Employers: Log in to post a job opening.  | NSSF's Mission "To promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. " Click here to visit the NSSF website and see how we accomplish this mission. |
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