NSSF Legislative Alert – Protect Pro-Gun Provisions in Todays Conference Report

by Ammoland

NSSF Legislative Alert – Protect Pro-Gun Provisions in Todays Conference Report

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn –-(Ammoland.com)- The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) — the trade association for the firearms industry — is encouraging all sportsmen, gun owners and firearms enthusiasts to contact members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees today and urge them to vote to protect House-passed pro-gun provisions in an upcoming Conference Report on H.R. 2112.

This is the legislative vehicle for the annual Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act that funds the ATF.

Here’s the background:

The House-passed CJS Appropriations bill made permanent nine separate pro-gun, pro-industry protections, such as the “Tiahrt Amendment” — detailed below. Unfortunately, anti-gun politicians in the Senate successfully blocked a bipartisan amendment offered by Sen. Orin Hatch (R-Utah) that, like the House-passed bill, would have made these needed provisions permanent law. The Senate version makes these protections good for only one fiscal year, meaning anti-gun politicians can come back year after year and try to strip away these pro-gun provisions.

The fight now moves to conference where the House and Senate versions will be reconciled. This will happen today at 5 p.m..

Please contact both the Senate and House conferees TODAY (202-224-3121) and urge them to keep the House-passed firearms provisions in the upcoming Conference Report on H.R. 2112:

Senators:
Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Thad Cochran (R-Miss.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.).

Representatives: (Partial List)
Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.), Bill Young (R-Fla.), Frank Wolf (R-Va.), Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), Tom Latham (R-Iowa), Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.), John Culberson (R-Texas), John Carter (R-Texas), Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) and Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.).

The House-passed CJS appropriations bill would make permanent the following vital pro-gun, pro-industry protections:

  1. 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. This provision has been included since FY 2005.
  2. Firearms Database Prohibition. A prohibition on the use of funds to create, maintain or administer a database of firearms owners or their firearms. This prohibition has been in place since FY 1979 and prevents the federal government from establishing a national gun registry.
  3. 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, beginning in FY 2007.
  4. 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. It has been included since FY 2006.
  5. 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 business activity. This provision prohibits ATF from denying federal firearms license applications or renewals based on a dealer’s low business volume alone. Congress added this general provision in FY 2005.
  6. Information Retrieval Prohibition. A prohibition on the use of funds to electronically retrieve personally identifying information gathered by federal firearms licensees. This 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.
  7. Information Gathering Prohibition. A prohibition on the use of funds to maintain any information gathered as a part of an instant background check or to maintain information for more than 24 hours. This provision protects the privacy of law-abiding gun buyers by prohibiting information about legal gun purchases from being kept by government authorities. It has been included since FY 1999.
  8. 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. This provision has been included since Fiscal Year 1997.
  9. Importation of Curios and Relics. A prohibition on the use of funds to arbitrarily deny importation of qualifying curio and relic firearms. This provision insures that collectible firearms that meet all legal requirements for importation into the United States are not prevented from import by executive branch fiat. This provision has been included since FY 2006.

Visit NSSF’s Government Relations site at nssf.org/GovRel.

About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 6,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

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