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Bullet Points
Vol. 2 - No. 29

· JUSTICE DEPT. AFFIRMS INDIVIDUAL RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS . . .
The U.S. Justice Department is drafting a formal legal opinion asserting the federal government’s position that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does in fact insure an individual right to own a gun. That view was earlier espoused by Attorney General John Ashcroft during his Senate confirmation hearings, and again in a letter from Ashcroft to the National Rifle Association last May. Although in his letter Ashcroft commented that the Constitution does not prohibit Congress from enacting some firearm restrictions, he stressed that “ . . . the Second Amendment clearly protect(s) the right of individuals to keep and bear arms. Like the First and Fourth Amendments, the Second Amendment protects the rights of ‘the people,’ which the Supreme Court has noted is a term of art that should be interpreted consistently throughout the Bill of Rights,” Ashcroft said. The new government position is a complete reversal from the Clinton Administration’s that aggressively promoted the view that the Second Amendment conferred only a collective right to own guns through the establishment of state militias and was not an individual right.

· MAJORITY OF WORLD’S SMALL ARMS OWNED BY CIVILIANS . . .
As the United Nations pursues efforts to initiate global gun controls, a report presented to a U.N. conference in New York debating the issue reveals that more than half (56 percent) of the world’s estimated 551 million firearms are legally owned by private citizens rather than by governments. Fewer than a million arms, 910,000, or 0.2 percent, are in the hands of rebels or anti-government insurgents, the report showed. Government military forces account for approximately 226 million arms (41 percent), and police forces hold some 18 million (3 percent). The authors of the report, while calling it the most comprehensive ever compiled, have admitted its estimates are conservative at best, noting major problems in figuring the number of illegal guns worldwide as well as the number of legally owned firearms in major countries like China, India and Pakistan. “A comprehensive total, including those missing categories, would be greater by tens to hundreds of millions more,” the report said. It estimated that some 250 million firearms are legally owned in the United States. The U.S., according to the report, has more than half of the world’s 600 firearm makers and leads all nations in the manufacture and export of small arms and ammunition. The American firearm industry employs some 16,700 workers and contributes about $3 billion a year to the U.S. economy the report said. Among the 28 countries studied in the report, the U.S. has the strictest requirements “applying to arms brokers.” Worldwide, the manufacturing of small arms has declined from 6.3 million a year to 4.3 million due to shrinking demand in a saturated market, the report claimed.

· U.S. GUN MAKERS AGREE TO VOLUNTARY MARKING PROPOSALS . . .
One of the issues currently before the United Nations regarding the international commerce in firearms is the adoption of some form of standard identification system to better determine a firearm’s country of origin. The U.S. has long had extensive regulations on the marking of firearms manufactured domestically as well as imported. Those include requiring the name of the company, place of manufacture, and a serial number not easily susceptible to eradication. In working with the U.N. on the issue, a number of major American arms companies have tentatively agreed to support a similar, voluntary system worldwide. Any agreement would allow individual countries to determine the exact marking system to be used, but it would include the current U.S. requirements and would require manufacturers to maintain records for inspection by international authorities. Individual manufacturers would be free to adopt the standards as part of a voluntary, self-regulating effort. Both NSSF and SAAMI have participated in meetings on the marking issue leading up to the U.N. Conference.

· NASR ANNOUNCES NEW SHOOTING RANGE PARTNERSHIPS . . .
In its ongoing efforts to assist shooting range managers in dealing with key environmental issues, the National Association of Shooting Ranges, a division of NSSF, has recently formed new critical alliances with sportsmen’s groups and regulatory authorities in Michigan and New York. In Michigan, NASR will be working with the Michigan United Conservation Clubs and the state’s Department of Natural Resources and its Department of Environmental Quality. In New York, the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association and Region 2 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are joining the effort. The thrust of the partnerships is to provide range operators with clear guidelines on implementing best management practices in order to run their ranges in an environmentally sound manner, including how to deal with the potential environmental impact of spent lead on range sites. A thorough explanation of current environmental regulations and evaluating a range’s compliance are part of the partnerships program, as are outreach efforts to better educate range managers on all aspects of their operations. “The importance of regulators, sportsmen’s groups and the industry working together on these issues can not be overemphasized,” said Rick Patterson, NASR chairman. “There is no ambiguity about what ranges need to do to be effective stewards of their property,” Patterson said. In announcing Michigan’s partnership program, Russ Harding, director of the state’s Dept. of Environmental Quality, made it clear that “The National Association of Shooting Ranges will be a key player, bringing their expertise and helping build on the strong conservation ethic we have in Michigan.” For information on how your state association can create a partnership, contact Rick Patterson at rpatterson@nssf.org.

· NEW BOOK EXPOSES MYTHS OF GUN CONTROL . . .
A new book by the editor of Front Page Magazine, an on-line news service, debunks the widespread, clichéd arguments used by anti-gun activists to promote more gun control laws. In “The Seven Myths of Gun Control,” journalist Richard Poe outlines seven of the most common arguments in favor of gun control and rebuts them through statistics, court case histories and the growing body of research compiled over recent years by a legal scholars and other experts. Those myths include the following: guns increase violent crime; using a gun against a criminal attack endangers you more than the criminal; guns pose a special threat to children; the Second Amendment applies only to state militias; the Second Amendment is an obsolete relic from a bygone era; guns should be regulated the same as automobiles; and reasonable gun control measures are no threat to law-abiding gun owners. The book can be ordered on line at www.frontpagemag.com.

· NSSF’s MEDIA EDUCATION SEMINAR SERIES IN SEATTLE . . .
With top-tier journalists from New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston responding positively to recent Media Education Seminars, NSSF will bring the successful series to the West Coast next Monday, July 23, in order to provide journalists in greater Seattle with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of firearms through hands-on instruction from champion shooters. The seminar will be at the Firearms Academy of Seattle. Glock, Smith & Wesson and Sigarms have been key industry partners at the seminars to date. For more information about the Media Education Seminars, contact Bill Brassard at NSSF at 203-426-1320 or seminar consultant Michael Bane, 303-258-9695.



Vol. 2 - No. 28 BULLET POINTS

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