Bullet Points

[NSSF]

Vol. 5 No. 17 May 3, 2004



Young baseball fans lining up in front of the STEP OUTSIDE pavilion enjoy the chance to try shooting, archery and angling before a Major League game in Minneapolis.

Shooting Sports a Home Run
at Major League Game

"I got to shoot and now I'm gonna see the baseball game!" said one young fan on Sunday outside the stadium. It was a great day to "STEP OUTSIDE and Celebrate the Outdoors" at the Minnesota Twins game in Minneapolis. Shooting images dominated the plaza where Twins fans enjoyed a "Fun of a Gun" Mobile Airgun Range, an archery range, and other outdoor sports exhibits. They could practice casting, and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources displayed stocked fish tanks. The Project ChildSafe truck was there, and over 25,000 gun safety education kits and locks were distributed. Inside, a super size banner was laid on the field while an arrow was shot into a balloon at 100 yards. On the big screens, STEP OUTSIDE videos played and there was a special invitation from Governor Tim Pawlenty inviting all the fans present to STEP OUTSIDE.

DC LAWSUIT DISMISSAL UPHELD . . . An appellate court last week unanimously upheld a trial court ruling dismissing the District of Columbia's claims that gun makers' lawful and highly-regulated sale of firearms constituted "negligence" or caused a "public nuisance." The court dismissed identical claims by individual plaintiffs. The court said the District could not sue under the District's unique absolute liability statute, but that the individual plaintiffs could (the District, as a subrogee, could recover statutorily defined unreimbursed healthcare expenses incurred in treating the individual plaintiffs). "We are pleased that yet another appellate court has found that manufacturers are not responsible for the criminal misuse of lawfully sold quality firearms under theories of negligence or public nuisance. We are, however, disappointed the court failed to fully appreciate the unconstitutional nature of the District's "absolute liability" statute which achieves the same impermissible result by automatically imposing liability on manufacturers when a criminal misuses a firearm within the District, regardless for example of whether the firearm was stolen from a lawful owner," said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. "The District's 'junk' lawsuit serves as a reminder to the White House and Congress of the ongoing need to pass the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act," Keane added.

NSSF/ESPN PARTNER FOR PRIME TIME SHOOTING SPORTS . . . Exposing millions more viewers to the action and excitement of today's shooting sports, Cable channel ESPN 2 will air qualifying competitions for the Great Outdoor Games V in an hour-long show airing at noon Eastern time on Saturday. This year's competition, in Madison, Wisconsin, will air in July on the ESPN and ABC television networks. In addition to the shooting sports in archery, shotgun and rifle, there's competition among dog handlers, anglers and in timber events.

SHOOTING RANGE RECOGNIZED BY MAJOR CITY . . . Phoenix has named the Ben Avery Shooting Facility and two other local attractions to its "Points of Pride" list of landmarks and attractions unique to the city. In its press release, Phoenix called the range, "a professionally managed and operated safe, family-based and customer-friendly shooting sports recreational facility." It was one of 70 sites originally nominated, and was selected through Internet voting.

PREVENTING CRIMINAL GUN SALES . . . The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, in partnership with NSSF, jointly sponsors firearms dealers awareness seminars around the country. For a location near your store and to learn more about these valuable seminars, visit the National Association of Firearms Retailers Web site.

ENFORCING EXISTING LAWS

TENNESSEE . . . Sixteen defendants were named last week in federal gun-crime indictments handed down as the U.S. Attorney's office is increasingly taking gun-related cases previously enforced only in state courts. The Tenesseean reports federal enforcement brings stiffer penalties, and that one Tennessee U.S. Attorney's office has boosted prosecutions 154% since 2001 by concentrating on career criminals caught with a gun.


AROUND THE STATES

ARIZONA . . . Author Alan Korwin, whose Bloomfield Press has produced numerous authoritative books about firearms issues, is taking on Arizona's The Tribune" for running a page-one story by staff reporter Marija Potkonjak that said a new study shows guns are rarely used in self defense. The "study," conducted by an amateur father and son team, merely collected news stories about lawful self-defense use of guns to conclude, "Almost nobody uses their guns in self-defense," according to John Denton, now a 17-year-old high school senior. Korwin's especially concerned because the newspaper reports that the ridiculous assertion from laughably inadequate research is being published by the Canadian journal Injury Prevention.

MARYLAND . . . A firearm-freedom advocate has filed suit in Maryland to force the state police to enforce a literal interpretation of the law requiring integral safety devices on all firearms sold there. Jim Purtilo contends that the legislators who passed the law in 2000 believed it could be construed to allow firing pin safety features to qualify as "an integral mechanical safety device," but that police are too strictly requiring an additional locking device to qualify forearms for sale. Read about it in The Washington Post after free registration

LOUISIANA . . . Congressman Chris John is calling on the House Committee on Resources to initiate hearings on the declining number of ducks migrating into the Lower Mississippi Flyway, citing continued coastal losses in Louisiana as a potential factor. In the state house, four bills that would have adversely affected gun owners died in committee.

NEW YORK AND LOUISIANA . . . Are the two latest states whose legislative members have formed sportsmen's caucuses. That makes 19 states thus far with a local version of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus to promote the outdoors agenda. Read about them at the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation site.


AROUND THE INTERNET

NSSF REPORTS ONLINE . . . Now all the personnel in your company can regularly learn about programs and the benefits of membership in National Shooting Sports Foundation by checking the Web each month to read NSSF Reports, which was previously distributed only in paper form. There you can read about baseball legend Wade Bogg's honorary chairmanship of National Hunting and Fishing Day, the kickoff of the third season for the Scholastic Clay Target Program, and other news you can use to make your enterprise more successful.


CHRONIC WASTING DISEASE . . . North Dakota and Massachusetts report no positive CWD results from animals tested in the 2003 hunting season. Dr. Ron DeHaven has been named to replace retiring APHIS administrator Bobby Acord at the department of Agriculture, and Michigan's DNR will now be responsible for administration and regulation of captive cervid facilities in the state. For the latest information about CWD, check the NSSF supported Chronic Wasting Disease Alliance Web site's News and Updates section.


NRA NEWS . . . The best place to stay up-to-date on a daily basis with news about politics and firearms issues is the newly launched NRA NEWS Web site, with a daily Internet multi-media talk show that airs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time. At any time, search the site's archives of previous stories.



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COPYRIGHT 2004 by National Shooting Sports Foundation