Giving a Firearm as a Gift? Some Reminders From NSSF
The holidays are just around the corner. As hunters, shooters, collectors or just plain plinkers, it’s a natural instinct to want to share our enjoyment of firearms with others. What better way to do that than to make a gift of a firearm to a family member, close friend or relative?
The first thing to remember if you’re thinking about giving someone a gun is that . . . it’s a gun! You already know that ownership of a firearm brings with it some serious legal and ethical obligations that other consumer products don’t. So let’s look at some questions you may have about giving a firearm as a gift.
The first question you have to ask is whether the intended recipient can legally own the firearm where he or she lives. With more than 20,000 different gun laws on the books, even the kinds of firearms that law-abiding citizens can own vary from place to place; for example, juveniles (under age 18), generally speaking, are precluded by law from possessing a handgun. Check out the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) website for an overview of local laws and, whatever you do, don’t forget that you can never under any circumstances transfer a firearm to someone you know — or have reasonable cause to believe — legally can’t own one. That’s a federal felony, so be careful. Continue reading
Chicago Campaign Targets Illegal Gun Purchases
NSSF, ATF, U.S. Attorney, Area Law Enforcement Emphasize ‘Don’t Lie for the Other Guy’
As part of an ongoing national effort to help prevent illegal “straw” purchases of firearms, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are reminding the public in the Chicago Chicagoland area that stiff penalties are in place for individuals convicted of such purchases.
Billboard advertisements for the Don’t Lie for the Other Guy program have been purchased by NSSF in key locations throughout the region with the message: “Buy a gun for someone who can’t and buy yourself 10 years in jail. Don’t Lie for the Other Guy.”
The month-long public awareness campaign was officially launched today with a short program at the Bass Pro Shops, 709 Janes Ave, Bolingbrook, Ill. Present at the event were representatives of the ATF Chicago Field Division, the Bolingbrook Police Department, Will County Sheriff’s Office, DuPage County Sheriff’s Office and NSSF.
More than 55 million impressions will be delivered via billboards and in-transit displays, as well as 3.5 million digital and social media impressions around Chicago along with more than 2.4 million impressions through 30-second radio spots airing on local stations. Chicagoland was chosen for this special campaign by ATF. No taxpayer dollars are used. The program is funded in full by the firearms industry. Continue reading
NSSF Declares August National Shooting Sports Month
There are countless celebration days and months in America, and now the shooting sports have one of their own. The National Shooting Sports Foundation has declared August to be National Shooting Sports Month, a time to celebrate one of America’s great pastimes — target shooting — and to encourage newcomers and experienced shooters to #LETSGOSHOOTING.
NSSF developed the celebration month to focus the attention of everyone in the shooting sports community — shooting ranges, firearms retailers, manufacturers and recreational shooters — on the fun and excitement of target shooting.
An estimated 50 million Americans participate in target shooting sports, and millions more have expressed interest in learning about rifle, shotgun and handgun shooting, according to NSSF research.
“With so much going on in people’s lives today, the shooting sports offer an opportunity to tune out distractions, learn a new skill, socialize and share their experiences,” said NSSF President and CEO Steve Sanetti. “It’s important to remember to pass on our traditions and to reflect on our unique freedoms that make participating in them possible.”
Experienced shooters are encouraged to introduce family members and friends to this rewarding lifetime activity, and newcomers without mentors will discover a safe, supportive introduction to recreational shooting at a range near them.
To help people find ways to celebrate, NSSF has launched www.ShootingSportsMonth.org. Among its many interactive features, the site contains an easy range search by state, events and sales promotions across the country and many other resources for target shooters of all skill levels.
Safety, of course, goes hand in hand with enjoying the shooting sports. Following safe firearms handling procedures and securely storing firearms when not in use are priorities for shooters. Find more about firearm safety at www.ShootingSportsMonth.org.
“It’s going to be fun month,” said Zach Snow, NSSF Director, Shooting Range Services. “And we want to know how everyone is celebrating. Tell us on our Facebook page, share your Instagram and Twitter posts with the hashtag #LetsGoShooting, let’s make this month one to remember.”
Learn more at www.ShootingSportsMonth.org.
Take the Project ChildSafe S.A.F.E Summer Quiz
Firearms can be a range of things, from useful tools to fun range toys. However, given their nature, firearms can be dangerous in the hands of a bad guy or someone who does not know proper safety procedures.
Project ChildSafe, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization developed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), bills itself as the largest, most comprehensive firearm safety education program in the U.S. The organization has partnered with over 15,000 law enforcement agencies to create safety education messages and had distributed more than 37 million firearm Safety Kits to gun owners in all 50 states and five U.S. territories.
You probably already know the Four Laws of Gun Safety. Summer is a great time to get out and hit the range for some shooting fun. While out shooting (or even just handling firearms in general), be sure to practice these four important rules and teach any youngsters or new shooters that you are are shooting with about safe firearm handling.
Project ChildSafe has put up a S.A.F.E Summer Quiz about gun safety. Take the quiz today, either by yourself or with your kids to help reinforce safe firearm handling practices.
NSSF and Manufacturers Try to Help Inform Media of Suppressor Facts
Shockingly, news media remains willfully ignorant and sticks with agenda
A few weeks ago, the National Shooting Sports Foundation and representatives from Daniel Defense and Sig Sauer hosted Washington DC-based media for a suppressor demo day at a range in Manassas, Virginia.
Media members, including those from the Associated Press as shown in the video, had the opportunity to fire suppressed rifles and pistols for themselves and to get an education on suppressor (a.k.a. silencer) basics. Company reps explained how suppressors are not assassin’s tools that enable gun-ninjas to perpetrate undetectable crime but, rather, reduce the report of a firearm from louder-than-a-jet-engine to about-like-a-jack-hammer – helping to get it closer to OSHA hearing-safe levels.
As the Hearing Protection Act gains support from both House and Senate lawmakers (148 in the House and 16 in the Senate), as well as from Second Amendment supporters, we won’t be holding our breath waiting for fact-based reporting from the mainstream media.
Keep pushing, keep writing your reps to support the bill, keep calling out the media and anti-gun politicians on their misunderstandings (or outright lies).
Guess Which Country Just Helped Illustrate the Absurdity of US Suppressor Laws?
TN Man Convicted of Smuggling Suppressors into US Thanks to Lighter Regulation in… England(!?)
Well, this is embarrassing, as far as firearm freedoms go. It’s like having to admit that your Bugatti Veyron got beat around the track by the neighbor kid’s 1989 Honda CRX. Isn’t America supposed to be the bastion of gun rights (or, as anti-gun groups would have you believe, a violent wild west frontier straight from the bloodiest shoot-em-up flick you can find)?
Most proponents of an originalist (or any other common sense) interpretation of the United States Constitution and Bill of rights probably already feel that firearms are too heavily regulated in the US, and none are more highly regulated than Title II weapons that fall under the purview of the National Firearms Act, such as machine guns, silencers, short barreled firearms, and destructive devices. Such items are flat out illegal in a number of states and, where they are legal, ownership involves a number of hurdles, including high prices, payment of a $200 transfer tax, being finger-printed, wait times lasting the better part of a year, and federal registration of the item. “But hey, at least we don’t have European-style gun control, right?”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) recently released details of the conviction of a Tennessee man who traveled to England, where some may be surprised to find less restrictive laws, to purchase firearm silencers and smuggle them back into the US, presumably because the draconian laws in place here made them too difficult to obtain. Continue reading
