Belt-tightening in Connecticut: the Cost of Gun Control
A recent study released by the Connecticut-based National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) examined the economic impact of the gun industry and gun control laws on state jobs and revenue in the Constitution State.
The firearms industry has a long history in Connecticut, including companies with roots that date back to before the Civil War. According to the NSSF, though, in 2016 Connecticut had 4,900 people employed in the firearms industry and related fields, a drop of almost 40% from 2013.
Tax revenues paid by the industry also dropped substantially, from $134 million to $85 million during the period. Similarly, the industry’s total impact on the state’s economy was down by nearly $700 million. One firearm manufacturer, PTR Industries of Bristol, Connecticut, in announcing its move out of the state, pointed to new gun laws, adding that “we feel that our industry as a whole will continue to be threatened so long as it remains in a state where its elected leaders have no regard for the rights of those who produce and manufacture its wealth.”
These are jobs and revenues that the state can ill-afford to lose. As noted in an earlier alert, Connecticut is in the midst of a fiscal crisis, facing a two-year, $3.6 billion budget deficit. The state is already treading water on jobs: one commentator estimates that the employment level in Connecticut in 2016 was below the level of jobs that existed 27 years earlier, in 1989. Employment in Connecticut’s manufacturing sector, in particular, has decreased drastically over the last 25 years. Continue reading
NSSF Backs President’s Selection of Gorsuch for Supreme Court
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition and related industries, tonight expressed its strong support for President Donald Trump’s nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit to become an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
“We are pleased to lend our support to President Trump’s nomination of Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court and urge the Senate to approve his nomination in as expeditious manner as possible,” said Lawrence Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “We are confident that Judge Gorsuch will serve our nation with distinction as an Associate Justice of our nation’s highest court and that his service will do honor to the legacy of the late Justice Antonin Scalia in the protection of the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans.”
About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 12,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, visit www.nssf.org.
2017 SHOT Show Boasts Big Attendance and Positive Outlook for the Firearms Industry
Four-day show draws nearly 65,000 industry professionals
LAS VEGAS – The 39th Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show, owned and operated by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), signaled a positive year ahead for the firearms industry. Strong attendance, upbeat buyers and sellers, and a series of packed special events that collectively made up “SHOT Week” resulted in one of the top-rated SHOT Shows.
The show spanned January 17-20 at the Sands Expo. Industry professionals packed the aisles from the opening bell, and attendance totaled nearly 65,000, surpassing last year’s turnout to make it the second most attended SHOT Show ever.
At one of the show’s biggest events, the NSSF State of the Industry Dinner on the first day, NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti, in a speech titled “A New Hope,” listed a series of priorities that industry will focus on to help protect its future and that of its customers. “Our overriding hope is that when it comes to helping stop the misuse of firearms by criminals, and preventing access to them by legally prohibited felons, the violently mentally ill, and the drug gangs who terrorize disarmed inhabitants of our cities, the American public will realize we are all on the same side.”
There were thousands of products for buyers to see on the show floor, encompassing firearms, ammunition, accessories, optics, knives, gun safes, apparel and law enforcement equipment, among other categories. More than 500 new products from 338 companies were on display in the show’s New Product Center, sponsored by U.S. Concealed Carry Association. In addition to the more than 1,600 exhibiting companies on the main show floors, the NEXT 2.0 Pavilion provided first-time vendors from the show’s extensive waiting list with welcome visibility and potential new customers. Continue reading
39th SHOT Show Kicks Off at Sands Expo Center in Las Vegas
Firearm industry professionals gather at largest trade show for target shooting, hunting, outdoor and law enforcement products.
The 39th Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade ShowSM (SHOT Show®) opened its doors this morning at the Sands Expo Center with industry expectations running high in response to the energized market in America for firearms, ammunition and accessories.
Over the next four days, the show will attract nearly 65,000 industry professionals from the firearms and outdoor industry, including 2,500 members of the outdoor press-the largest gathering of outdoor media in the world-and showcase new, innovative products used for target shooting, hunting, outdoor recreation and law enforcement purposes.
Owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, the SHOT Show is the largest trade show of its kind in the world. The show is open to trade members only and not to the public; consumers will see the products unveiled at the SHOT Show on retailers’ shelves during the course of the year.
The 2017 SHOT Show opens following a year of extraordinary firearms sales-the strongest in history based on NSSF-adjusted background check statistics-and a surprise end to a tumultuous election season. Following those elections, the $6.7 billion industry is seeing purchases continue at a steady pace. Both industry professionals and consumers are optimistic about the future of firearms ownership and the shooting sports. Responding to this optimism, NSSF has added a number of new features to the show. Continue reading
Firearms Industry Group Backs Sessions for AG
Firearms industry group National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) has released a statement backing President-Elect Donald Trump’s pick for Attorney General.
The trade association for the firearms, ammunition and related industries, today expressed its strong support for the nomination of the U.S. Senator from Alabama as the 84th Attorney General of the United States.
“During the last eight years, through numerous attacks on our Second Amendment liberties, Senator Sessions has worked tirelessly to protect the rights of law-abiding citizens, including through his staunch support of the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act.” said Lawrence Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “We are confident that with Senator Sessions as the top law enforcement officer in the nation that our public will be safer, that criminals will be taken off the streets, that justice will be served, law enforcement priorities will take precedence over politics and the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans will be respected.”
Frankly, we here at GunLink are just excited to see someone other than anti-gun Eric Holder or Loretta Lynch filling the roll, whose duties as the head of the United States Department of justice include being at the helm of the BATFE.
Gear Up for SHOT Show 2017 with GunLink
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) annual Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) is just around the corner and, as usual, the GunLink team will be there to cover it all. From the opening shots of the pre-show Industry Day at the Range through the last booth of the show floor, be sure to follow our coverage on our family of websites and social media outlets.
Join the discussion on the GunLink Forums in the 2017 Industry Day at the Range thread and in the 2017 SHOT Show thread. For more in-depth coverage, reviews and more, stay right here on the GunLink Blog. If instant gratification and up-to-the-second updates, photos, and reports from the range (as if there was cell service out in the desert) and SHOT Show floor is what you are looking for, find us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Don’t forget that you can use all of these avenues to connect with us to let us know what type of shooting and firearms news you want to see covered from the show. Continue reading
