NRA

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NRA Life Membership…At Half Price

July 31, 2012 by 1 Comment

The NRA is running a promotion for the next 48 hours offering Life Memberships for $500. This is half of the normal $1000 cost of Life Membership. The 48 hours started this morning at 6:30am.

From the NRA:

The NRA is currently offering half off Life Memberships ($500) for a limited time. This is a promotion we are doing on our facebook page as a thank you to all of our fans who helped us reach 1,550,000 likes! This promotion began today at 6:30 a.m. and is available for 48 hours ONLY. You can find the promotion on our facebook page at: www.facebook.com/nationalrifleassociation

If you’ve been thinking of upgrading your membership, this is a good time to do it.

As an aside, the NRA has more people merely liking this offer than any of the gun prohibitionist groups have followers on Facebook. Hmmm.

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Just Like A Bad Meal It Keeps Repeating

July 16, 2012 by

Just as a bad meal keeps repeating on you due to indigestion, so do the Democrats in the Senate keep bringing forth the DISCLOSE Act. After passing the House in the last Congress, it died in the Senate. It has been resurrected by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). He introduced S.3369 this past Tuesday and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has scheduled it for a vote today. That is mighty fast action for a Senate that hasn’t bothered to pass a budget for the past three years.

Unlike in 2009, the NRA is opposing this bill. In fact, they are making a record vote for future candidate evaluations.

Next week, the United States Senate will once again take up the latest version of the DISCLOSE Act, in yet another attempt to curtail the First Amendment rights of Americans. The bill, S. 3369, has been fast-tracked on the Senate calendar and is set for a vote on Monday, July 16.

NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), as well as all members of the Senate, expressing the NRA’s steadfast opposition to the legislation.

“Due to the importance of the fundamental speech and associational rights of the National Rifle Association’s four million members,” Cox wrote, “and considering the blatant attack on those rights that S. 3369 represents, we strongly oppose the DISCLOSE Act and will consider votes on this legislation in future candidate evaluations.”
You may read the full text of the letter here.
Provisions of the DISCLOSE Act that violate First Amendment rights include disclosure provisions that require organizations to turn membership and donor lists over to the government. In recent weeks, we have seen media attacks on political donors that illustrate the danger this legislation poses, and that expose its true intent: to stifle free speech.Also, the bill would create complicated regulation of political spending and campaign activity, creating immense costs to comply with the law and cause a severe chilling effect on free speech.

While the act would have minimal impact on some institutions, such as labor unions, its biggest impact would be limiting the ability of the American people to join together to make their voices heard on issues of every sort. It would also magnify the power of the mainstream media, severely limiting the information available to the American people and threatening the integrity of our electoral process.

Please contact your United States Senator before the Monday vote and urge him or her to vote against this assault on our First Amendment rights. You can find contact information for your U.S. Senators by using the “Write Your Representatives” tool at http://www.nraila.org/. You may also contact your Senators by phone at (202) 224-3121.

GOA or Gun Owners of America is also in strong opposition this bill. Leave it to the Democrats to find a way to unite the NRA and GOA. The GOA release is below:

Anti-gun Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (NV) really does not want gun owners’ voices to be heard in Washington, D.C.

Democrat leaders have scheduled a vote for Monday, July 16, on the so-called DISCLOSE Act.

You may recall that the DISCLOSE Act passed the House in 2010 but died in the Senate after an intense lobbying effort by Gun Owners of America and other groups.

The bill coming to the floor on Monday, S. 3369, sponsored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, puts severe and unconstitutional limits on GOA’s ability to hold individual congressmen accountable in the months leading up to an election.

Instead of protecting the most important type of speech protected by the First Amendment — political speech — this bill would force groups like GOA to “disclose” the names of donors in certain political advertisements.

Since Gun Owners of America is not willing to disclose its membership lists to the Federal Election Commission, we could be prohibited from running radio or TV ads exposing a federal candidate’s voting record during the election season.

This is just another attempt by pathetic, anti-gun politicians like Harry Reid to save their jobs before the political earthquake in November strikes. Indeed, if GOA candidates are victorious in Senate races in November, Harry Reid will no longer be the Majority Leader.

And, as has been the case so often with Reid, there have been no committee hearings to debate the merits of the bill, thus the American people have no opportunity to see just how egregiously DISCLOSE violates the Constitution. In fact, the bill was introduces less than a week ago.

Please urge your Senators to protect ALL of the Bill of Rights. Remind them that your ability to protect the Second Amendment relies on the safeguards of the First Amendment.

ACTION: Contact your Senators and urge them to oppose the DISCLOSE Act. You can use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center to send your Senators a pre-written e-mail message.

UPDATE: The Republicans actually hung together for once and prevented the Democrats from invoking cloture on the debate of the DISCLOSE Act. The vote was 51-44 and it needed 60 to pass. As to why the Democrats brought the bill forward at this time, the Daily Caller has this explanation.

Democrats revived the act during a presidential election campaign in which political action committees and nonprofit organizations, funded by deep-pocketed and largely anonymous contributors, are dominating the airwaves with largely negative political ads.

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LaPierre Addresses Arms Trade Treaty Talks

July 11, 2012 by

The pro-gun NGOs have been jerked around by the organizers of the Arms Trade Treaty talks going on this month at the United Nations. First, they were supposed to speak at the end of the conference and then at the beginning. It appears that they have struck a happy median and are having them speak this week.

Wayne LaPierre of the NRA was finally able to present his brief remarks today to the ATT talks. They have just been posted by the NRA-ILA and appear below:

Mr. President, thank you for this brief opportunity to address this conference. I am Wayne LaPierre and for 21 years now, I have served as Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association of America.

The NRA is the largest and most active firearms rights organization in the world, with four million members who represent 100 million law-abiding Americans who own firearms.

On behalf of those 100 million American gun owners, I am here to announce NRA’s strong opposition to anti-freedom policies that disregard American citizens’ right to self-defense.

No foreign influence has jurisdiction over the freedoms our Founding Fathers guaranteed to us.

We will not stand idly by while international organizations, whether state-based or stateless, attempt to undermine the fundamental liberties that our men and women in uniform have fought so bravely to preserve – and on which our entire American system of government is based.

For six years, the NRA has closely monitored this effort for an Arms Trade Treaty.

We have watched with increasing concern and, one year ago, I delivered to the Preparatory Committee our objections to including civilian arms in the ATT. I said then … and I will repeat now … that the only way to address NRA’s objections is to simply and completely remove civilian firearms from the scope of the treaty.

That is the only solution. On that there will be no compromise. American gun owners will never surrender our Second Amendment freedom. Period.

Our Founding Fathers wrote the Second Amendment so Americans would never have to live in tyranny.

For any foreign entity to attempt to encroach on that great freedom is offensive to every American who has ever breathed our free air, or who has ever used a firearm to fend off an evil attacker – whether a criminal breaking into their home, or in defense of their family against a tyrant halfway around the world.

Our Second Amendment is freedom’s most valuable, most cherished, most irreplaceable idea. History proves it. When you ignore the right of good people to own firearms to protect their freedom, you become the enablers of future tyrants whose regimes will destroy millions and millions of defenseless lives.

Without apology, the NRA wants no part of any treaty that infringes on the precious right of lawful Americans to keep and bear arms.

Let there be no confusion. Any treaty that includes civilian firearms ownership in its scope will be met with the NRA’s greatest force of opposition.

Mr. President, there are those who believe that merely excluding civilian firearms from the ATT preamble will be sufficient.

Let me state – in the clearest possible terms – that it is not. A preamble to a treaty has no force of law. We know that, and a strong bipartisan majority of the United States Senate and House of Representatives know it as well.

Any Arms Trade Treaty must be adopted by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate, which has 100 members. Already, 58 Senators have objected to any treaty that includes civilian arms, and a majority of the U.S. House of Representatives also opposes such a treaty.

The NRA represents hundreds of millions of Americans who will never surrender our fundamental firearms freedom to international standards, agreements, or consensus.

America will always stand as a symbol of freedom and the overwhelming force of a free, armed citizenry to protect and preserve it.

On behalf of all NRA members and American gun owners, we are here to announce that we will not tolerate any attack – from any entity or organization whatsoever – on our Constitution or our fundamental, individual Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Thank you.

UPDATE: Here is the video from Wayne’s speech before the ATT talks. 

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NRA’s Firearmsfuture.com

July 9, 2012 by 8 Comments

The NRA has established a new website to support their “All in 2012” message for this election. To introduce it they just released this two minute video. I think the video is very well made and does get the message across.

At firearmsfutures.com, the NRA has a set of five videos concerning the UN Arms Trade Treaty, Operation Fast and Furious, border security, the narco-terrorists (or drug cartels, if you prefer), and the impact of gun control in the United Kingdom. As with the intro video, they are very well done and do get the message across.

The NRA is encouraging members and supporters to not only view these videos but to share them with friends, family, and neighbors. They provide links to share them ranging from Facebook and Twitter to Pinterest (the Complementary Spouse’s favorite).

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The NRA Goes Racing

July 2, 2012 by 3 Comments

The NRA is coming to NASCAR. They will be sponsoring a race in the Nationwide Series over Labor Day at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. This race has had a number over the years and was called the Great Clips 300 last year.

The NRA made the announcement on Saturday.

I think NASCAR and the NRA make a good fit and it should bring the NRA very good publicity as the election season begins its final run to the November election.

Fairfax, Va. – The National Rifle Association (NRA), in partnership with Speedway Motorsports, Inc. is pleased to announce the NRA American Warrior 300 to be held on September 1, 2012, of Labor Day Weekend at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. This event will celebrate and honor America’s bravest and most respected fighting men and women. Sign up for a FREE subscription for the full NRA American Warrior magazine and the NRA will give you a FREE race ticket to the NRA American Warrior 300.

“As Americans gather in back yard BBQ’s this Labor Day and celebrate the upcoming school year, the return of hunting season, and the work ethic which makes America great, we wanted one race that focuses entirely on the life’s work of the American Warrior,” said Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president. “This is a labor of patriotism and gratitude. As a tribute to these wonderful people, the NRA and Speedway Motorsports came together to make possible the NRA American Warrior race.”

The details of the event are as follows:

NRA American Warrior 300
September 1, 2012
Atlanta Motor Speedway
1500 Tara Place
Hampton, GA 30228

Shooting sports and motor sports represent our American heritage and naturally complement each other in celebrating the American Warrior. The motor sports are as uniquely American as the Second Amendment, and the NRA is proud to stand alongside Speedway Motorsports in serving our combined community of gun-owners and NASCAR fans. Representative of this large community is legendary NASCAR team owner and current NRA board member, Richard Childress. In addition to being one of NASCAR’s most successful team owners, Childress is also an accomplished hunter and dedicated conservationist. Childress was elected to his first term on the NRA Board of Directors in 2009. The NRA is honored to have the support of Richard Childress for the NRA American Warrior 300.

Also supporting the event is NRA Board Member and Fox News “War Stories” host, LtCol Oliver North, USMC (Ret.). LtCol North reports on American heroes for NRA Life of Duty. These reports and the NRA American Warrior magazine are components of a new class of sponsored NRA membership, called “NRA Life of Duty.” This membership program includes a state-of-the-art online network (NRALifeofDuty.TV, presented by Brownells) designed for those men and women who make their living defending the American way of life.

The NRA American Warrior magazine is the NRA’s bi-monthly salute to all who serve, from the armed forces to law enforcement to first responders. Each issue of the NRA American Warrior provides interactive media, videos and articles detailing the latest tactics and technology. It is for those who live and breathe the coolest guns, gear, gadgets and for those who ask questions such as what gear does a Navy SEAL carry on a mission? The first 25,000 who sign up online at www.NRA.org/warrior or text “Warrior” to 64274 will receive a free subscription for the full NRA American Warrior magazine and the NRA will give you a free race ticket to the NRA American Warrior 300.

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Gun Rights Organizations React To Contempt Resolution

June 21, 2012 by 1 Comment

The National Rifle Association and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms have both released statements backing the actions of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on a contempt citation for Eric Holder.


From the NRA-ILA:

Fairfax, Va. – The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform passed a resolution recommending that the House find Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. in contempt of Congress by a 23 to 17 vote.

“The NRA fully supports this contempt resolution,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “The American people – including millions of NRA members and tens of millions of NRA supporters – deserve the truth, and we will support any effort that leads us to that truth.”

The Committee’s report thoroughly details the immediate reasons for the resolution: the Justice Department’s open defiance of legitimate demands for documents that are needed for oversight and investigation of one of the most disastrous episodes in the history of federal law enforcement.

Since taking office, Attorney General Holder has seized on the deadly violence in Mexico to promote more gun control. He perpetuated the lie that “90 percent” of firearms used in Mexican crime come from the U.S. and he called for resurrecting the 1994 Clinton gun ban; and to justify the illegal multiple sales reporting scheme, which amounts to gun registration for honest Americans who buy long guns in southwest border states.

There is little doubt that the White House used the Fast and Furious program to advance its gun control agenda. The White House actively sought information from the operation to support its plan to demand reporting of multiple rifle sales by the nearly 9,000 federally licensed firearm dealers in border states.

“The NRA’s support of this resolution was not undertaken lightly. Eric Holder and the Justice Department owe it to the American people to produce the truth,” concluded Cox.

A letter to Chairman Issa from Chris Cox can be found here: http://nraila.org/media/7733622/cc-letter-to-issa.pdf

From the CCRKBA:

BELLEVUE, WA – President Obama’s claim of executive privilege to prevent Congressional access to documents relating to Operation Fast and Furious smacks of monumental hypocrisy and looks like an attempt to cover blood on the administration’s hands, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

It did not prevent the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from voting 23-17 to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress.

“In a March 2007 interview with Larry King on CNN, then-Senator Barack Obama complained about a ‘tendency’ on the part of the Bush administration to ‘hide behind executive privilege’,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb recalled. “Now we must find out what is in those documents that the White House wants to hide from the American public.”

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been investigating Fast and Furious since March 2011. Guns linked to the operation are also linked to the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry, and untold numbers of Mexican citizens.

“Today’s action by the White House creates the strong suspicion that the Obama administration is trying to hide from the fact that they have blood on their hands,” Gottlieb observed. “That’s not rhetoric; we’re talking about the deaths of countless Mexican citizens and especially a dead federal officer. Fast and Furious has given us a verifiable body count.

“There is evidence that those involved in Fast and Furious thought it could bolster calls for additional gun control,” Gottlieb said. “If that’s accurate, it demonstrates a callousness that goes beyond the limits of human decency. It is imperative that that the American public knows all the facts of this case prior to the election. The people responsible for this disaster must be held accountable, and that will not happen so long as the administration continues to stonewall, and hiding behind executive privilege suggests that Holder and the president have no intention of coming clean.”

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Shepard V. Madigan – A Loss In District Court

March 31, 2012 by 6 Comments

US District Court Judge William D. Stiehl granted the State of Illinois’s Motion to Dismiss yesterday in the NRA-ISRA challenge to Illinois carry laws. The case, Shepard v. Madigan, was brought in US District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Judge Stiehl granted the state’s motion to “dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim”. At the same time he denied the plaintiffs’ motions.

The NRA has indicated that they will appeal the ruling:

“Late today, a federal district court in Illinois wrongly ruled that the Second Amendment does not protect a right to carry firearms for self-protection outside the home. The NRA funded this challenge to Illinois’ ban on citizens’ ability to carry firearms legally outside their homes and businesses for self-defense, and will also be supporting an immediate appeal to the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals–and to the Supreme Court if necessary.

The decision in the case of Shepard v. Madigan misreads the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment decisions and will continue to deprive law-abiding Illinoisans of the right to protect themselves effectively against crime on the streets.  It also conflicts with a growing body of case law elsewhere in the country, where courts have increasingly recognized that the right to bear arms for self-defense doesn’t end at Americans’ front doors.

“The NRA’s legal efforts will not end until the right to carry firearms for self-defense is fully recognized throughout our land,” said NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox.

Judge Stiehl found that intermediate scrutiny was the appropriate standard of scrutiny in this case. He then pointed to the 4th Circuit’s ruling in Masciandaro. However, unlike the judges in Woollard and Bateman, he read it differently, saying:

The defendants assert that the State of Illinois has significant governmental interests in protecting the safety of the public by restricting the availability and use of handguns in public. The Supreme Court has previously recognized that under intermediate scrutiny cases, the government’s interest need not be compelling. Schenck v. Pro-Choice Network, 519 U.S. 357, 376 (1997). As the Fourth Circuit noted in United States v. Masciandaro, 638 F.3d 458, 473 (4th Cir. 2011), “[l]oaded firearms are surely more dangerous than unloaded firearms, as they could fire accidentally or be fired before a potential victim has the opportunity to flee.” The State of Illinois has determined that, for purposes of protection of its residents, a citizen’s interest in carrying a firearm in public should be subject to the governmental interest in safeguarding the welfare of the public at large from the inherent dangers in a loaded firearm. This Court FINDS that the state has, therefore, established a substantial interest in the regulations at issue.

It seems to me that Judge Stiehl was grasping for straws in this decision. It will be interesting to see what the 7th Circuit makes of his logic. 

The full opinion can be found here.

UPDATE: Prof. Eugene Volokh of UCLA Law and the Volokh Conspiracy examined the decision yesterday. He offers the opinion that Judge Stiehl misreads the 7th Circuit’s Ezell opinion regarding intermediate scrutiny.

I’m not claiming that Ezell clearly selected “a more rigorous” standard than intermediate scrutiny for law-abiding-citizen Second Amendment claims — it may be that its selection of that standard is limited to restrictions that interfere with gun possession in the home. (The Ezell plaintiffs “claim[ed] that the range ban impermissibly burdens the core Second Amendment right to possess firearms at home for protection because the Ordinance conditions lawful possession on range training but makes it impossible to satisfy this condition anywhere in the city.”) But I am saying that Ezell did not select “intermediate scrutiny” as the general standard for law-abiding citizen Second Amendment claims outside the home, and the district court was mistaken in concluding that Ezell did so. Rather, the district court should have recognized that the issue had not been decided by the Seventh Circuit, and the court should have accepted the responsibility for itself making the choice, rather than asserting that the choice was made for it.

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The Third Win This Week!

March 8, 2012 by

In what amounts to the third legal victory for gun rights this week, the Washington Supreme Court unanimously denied Seattle’s petition for review of Seattle’s ban on guns in parks. Lower courts had found that Seattle’s gun ban violated Washington State’s preemption law and overturned the park ban.

From the Second Amendment Foundation:

SAF HAILS WA HIGH COURT DENIAL OF SEATTLE GUN BAN APPEAL

For Immediate Release: 3/8/2012

BELLEVUE, WA — The Second Amendment Foundation is delighted that the Washington State Supreme Court has unanimously denied the City of Seattle’s petition for review in the case of Winnie Chan v. City of Seattle, a legal action brought by SAF, the National Rifle Association and five individual plaintiffs.

The decision affirms the state’s long-standing preemption law and two lower court rulings, thus preventing the city from banning firearms from city parks property.

It was the third straight loss for the city, which had first attempted to ban firearms from park facilities under former Mayor Greg Nickels, in open defiance of Washington State’s model preemption statute. Following its initial loss in King County Superior Court, the city, under Nickels’ successor, Mayor Mike McGinn, appealed its loss to the State Court of Appeals. That court also ruled unanimously against the city, which petitioned the state high court last year for review.

“We are proud that the State Supreme Court panel, led by Chief Justice Barbara Madsen, unanimously rejected Seattle’s flagrant attempt to override state law and violate the civil rights of citizens living in or visiting the city,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Mayor McGinn and the City Council should be ashamed that they pursued this pipe dream in an effort to turn the city into a banana republic. By letting the appeals court ruling stand, other anti-gun officials in city and county governments are on notice that they simply cannot ignore state law.

“We are equally proud of our partners in this important legal action,” he continued. “We were joined by the NRA, Washington Arms Collectors, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and five courageous citizens. Our plaintiffs were willing to stand up to the city and public officials who seem determined to transform Seattle into a political gulag where a civil right can be dismissed at will in the interest of political correctness.

“And finally,” Gottlieb stated, “we are all very proud of our legal team led by Steve Fogg and Molly Malouf at Corr Cronin. They did a marvelous job, not only for their clients, but for the citizens of this state, whose civil rights apply everywhere, whether the City of Seattle likes it or not.”

You will note that both the Second Amendment Foundation and the NRA were parties in the original case. It is good to see that they can work together when needed.

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Eat Your Heart Out, Violence Policy Center!

January 18, 2012 by 2 Comments

The Violence Policy Center loves to moan and groan about how the NRA gets so much money from the firearms industry. Sturm, Ruger and Company, in a drive to break the one million firearm sales mark for one year, pledged to donate $1 for each firearm sold over a one year period. Through three quarters, Ruger has sold 871,200 firearms and donated an equal amount to the NRA. They have just decided to raise their pledge to $1.2 million.

Eat your hearts out Josh Sugarmann and Kristen Rand because the Joyce Foundation is never going to match this!

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This Is What The NRA Does Well

November 21, 2011 by 2 Comments

While I have often been critical of the NRA when they have meddled in court cases or have brought cases with not enough focus, I have also recognized that they are very good in the electoral and legislative arenas. A prime example of their legislative expertise can be seen in the items included of interest to gun owners in the recent minibus appropriations bill.

Friday, November 18, 2011

The final conference report on the combined Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science (CJS) and Transportation/Housing/Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations bills—also known as the “Mini-Bus,” was passed by both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate, and has been signed into law.

One of the most important ways that Congress has protected the Second Amendment is through a number of general provisions included in various appropriations bills. Many of these provisions have been included in the bills for many years—some of the provisions go back almost three decades. This conference report is no exception, as it contains 12 provisions that strengthen the Second Amendment and protect the American people.

Specifically, the conference report makes PERMANENT the following protections:

  • Firearms Database/National Gun Registry Prohibition. No funds may be used to create, maintain or administer a database of firearms owners or their firearms. This prohibition has been in place since Fiscal Year 1979, and prevents the federal government from establishing a national gun registry.
  • Former Firearms Dealers Information Retrieval Prohibition. No funds may be used to electronically retrieve personally identifying information gathered by federal firearms licensees. The provision prohibits the creation of a gun registry from dealers’ records that are required by law to be surrendered to the federal government when a dealer goes out of business. This provision has been included since FY 1997.
  • Information Gathering Prohibition/24-Hour Destruction of Records. A prohibition on the use of funds to retain any information gathered as a part of an approved instant background check for more than 24 hours. This provision protects the privacy of law-abiding gun buyers by prohibiting gun buyers’ personal information about legal gun purchases from being retained by government authorities for more than 24 hours after a firearm background check. It has been included since FY 1999.


In addition, the conference report adds two NEW provisions designed to bolster our gun rights and protect the Second Amendment from unelected bureaucrats who would twist the law to facilitate their gun-control agenda.

  • Prohibit Funding for “Gun Walking” Operations. No funds may be used to knowingly transfer firearms to agents of drug cartels unless U.S. law enforcement personnel control or monitor the firearms at all time. This amendment is designed to prevent the Justice Department (or any government entity) from spending taxpayer dollars on “gun walking” programs like Operation Fast and Furious.
  • Shotgun Importation Protections. Prohibits the Department of Justice from requiring imported shotguns to meet a “sporting purposes” test that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) has used to prohibit the importation of shotguns with one or more features disliked by the Agency, such as adjustable stocks, extended magazine tubes, etc.


Finally, the conference report RETAINS the following provisions:

  • Curio and Relic Definition. A prohibition on the use of funds to change the definition of a “curio or relic.” This provision protects the status of collectible firearms for future generations of firearms collectors.
  • Physical Inventory Prohibition. Prohibition on a requirement to allow a physical inventory of Federal Firearms Licensees. The Clinton Administration proposed a rule in 2000 to require an annual inventory by all licensees. While the Bush Administration eventually withdrew the proposal, Congress has still passed this preventive provision every year since FY 2007.
  • Business Activity. A prohibition on the use of funds to deny a Federal Firearms License (FFL) or renewal of an FFL on the basis of low business activity. This provision prohibits BATFE from denying federal firearms license applications or renewals based on a dealer’s low business volume alone.
  • Firearms Trace Data Disclaimer. A requirement that any trace data released must include a disclaimer stating such trace data cannot be used to draw broad conclusion about firearms-related crime.
  • Firearms Parts Export to Canada. A prohibition on the use of funds to require an export license for small firearms parts valued at less than $500 for export to Canada. This provision removed an unnecessary and burdensome requirement on U.S. gun manufacturers that was imposed under the Clinton Administration.
  • Importation of Curios and Relics. A prohibition on the use of funds to arbitrarily deny importation of qualifying curio and relic firearms. This provision ensures that collectible firearms that meet all legal requirements for importation into the United States are not prevented from import by executive branch fiat.
  • Transfer of BATFE Authority. A prohibition on the use of funds to transfer any duty or responsibility of the BATFE to any other agency or department. This provision was written in response to a Clinton Administration plan to transfer firearms enforcement to the FBI or Secret Service. It also prohibits the Executive branch from skirting the will of Congress by allowing another agency to implement policies the BATFE is prohibited from implementing.