NSSF Response To Obama’s Executive Actions

Like the NRA, the National Shooting Sports Foundation issued a response to President Obama’s Executive Actions on gun control. Their response is a bit more detailed than the NRA response and they note that they will be issuing more responses as the days go by. They bring up a good point about making the shipper – not the recipient dealer – responsible for reporting guns lost or stolen in transit.

NSSF Statement: “Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence and make Our Communities Safer”
We
all share the goal of reducing the intentional misuse of guns and
enhancing the safety of our communities. As the trade association for
the firearms and ammunition industry, the National Shooting Sports
Foundation (NSSF) will carefully review all aspects of the executive
actions that President Obama announced today. Much remains to be spelled
out. In the interim we have some initial reactions:
  • We support further resources being allocated to staffing and
    increasing operational hours for the FBI’s National Instant Criminal
    Background Check System (NICS) to make the system more efficient and
    responsive.
  • We represent Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs). The criteria
    for what will constitute being “engaged in the business” going forward
    needs considerable clarification and raises questions about
    enforceability.
  • The number of firearms lost or stolen while in transit to or
    from FFLs is less than 0.15 percent of the number manufactured and
    imported in a given year. In these rare occurrences, FFLs already
    actively participate in ATF’s long-standing voluntary reporting program
    and FFLs and common carriers work closely with ATF to investigate them.
    Proposals to make a shipping FFL responsible for tracking and reporting
    firearms no longer in their inventories, after the legal title has been
    transferred to the purchaser, are misdirected, as the receiving FFL is
    in the best position to know if it receives its shipment.
  • We have long called for the effective enforcement of the
    numerous laws already on the books regarding the criminal misuse of
    firearms and would encourage the administration to carry through on this
    directive.
  • NSSF has been working actively since early 2013 through our
    FixNICS initiative to encourage states to report all appropriate
    adjudicated mental health records to NICS and has succeeded in getting
    legislation passed in more than a dozen states. We welcome the
    administration’s attention to this issue.
  • With regard to the development of “smart-gun” technology, the
    industry has never opposed its development. How additional government
    research into this technology would advance it is unclear. Law
    enforcement agencies and consumers themselves will have to make the
    determination whether acquisition of firearms with this technology
    “would be consistent with operational needs,” as the White House itself
    states. We would continue to oppose mandates for this technology,
    particularly since there are well proven existing methods to secure
    firearms, and firearms accidents are at historic low levels.
NSSF
will have additional responses in the days, weeks and months ahead,
especially as federal departments and agencies begin the work of
carrying out the executive orders.

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