In Washington, D.C., all firearm industry eyes are on Wednesday morning’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with President Joe Biden’s nominee, David Chipman, to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). NSSF® adamantly opposes Chipman’s nomination as someone who is entirely unqualified to hold a position of public trust. During the committee hearing, Chipman will be forced to answer questions about his paid-for gun control agenda, including having called for banning AR-15 style rifles, implementing “universal background checks” and instituting national gun registries, as well as his denigration of gun buyers. Chipman is still employed by Giffords gun control group for whom he lobbied. He was also a lobbyist for Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown gun control group and still serves as an advisor. Industry members and supporters of the Second Amendment should click here and make sure their U.S. Senators know they disapprove of Chipman’s nomination. There is additional information on federal legislation outlined below.

I’m not a workout fanatic. Not even close. But around 2-years ago I made it a point to spend a little more time on a stationary bike. And believe it or not, I’ve been faithful to the pledge, and the results over time have been decent. Not great, decent.

I’ve had a number of people in the past few months tell me they thought I looked healthier. Well, it’s true. And I feel healthier, so it’s a good thing. Plus, the thing isn’t just a giant dust receptacle in the corner of the bedroom anymore. Nor is it a place where I hang clothes (Pro tip… it’s exceptional for hanging clothes.)

In a report released today titled, “Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful,” the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality laid out the Biden Administration’s (Administration) long-awaited plan for the Thirty-by-Thirty Initiative (30 by 30). This report, which contained many of the priorities previously outlined by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), sets the stage for future efforts to determine what lands will count toward the 30% goal of the Initiative, and what opportunities exist to build upon existing conservation programs.

Spring is upon us, so you know what that means. Spring cleaning. While many people loathe the task of cleaning out closets or the garage, I clean out my pantry and my freezer. No more open snack food; no more uneaten cereal. If it doesn’t rhyme with protein bar, it gets thrown out. As for my freezer, I use this time to evaluate the number of frozen ducks and I try to organize them in reverse date order. I must make way for a new crop of frozen birds this Fall to entire the tundra of my freezer. Occasionally I’ll find a pack that has been there since before my children were born. That’s an easy throw-away. But the oldest ducks must get thawed, cooked, and eaten first.

In Washington, D.C., gun control has all but stalled out in the U.S. Senate, forcing President Joe Biden to announce several executive orders to take action around the edges. The political calculus in the nation’s capital has changed as the blistering pace of firearm sales in 2020 hasn’t slowed down through the first quarter of 2021, including millions more first-time buyers in addition to last year’s more than 8.4 million.

Slowly, but surely, the world is coming back to normal. As much as normal can be called normal I guess. But at the NASGW, we’re very excited that the Annual Expo is in fact going to take place this year. So it is indeed… GO TIME!

As you’ll read later in this InSight, registration for the 2021 NASGW Expo and Annual Meeting is going live any day. Our team is just buttoning up the final details. We’re excited to see you all in Columbus, OH, on October 26-29. It’s going to be a great reunion for many of us and I absolutely can’t wait.

Our show floor is filling up fast, in fact, we’re very close to sold out. If you don’t have a space, or you’ve been thinking about getting one, I’d encourage you to act fast. Folks are eager to get back to business and I’m certain we will run out of booth space. In that same vein, it’s never too early to start talking to your distributor partners and getting time on their calendar during that week. The week is literally back-to-back meetings with very little room for breaks. Spend a little extra time now planning so you can hit the ground running onsite in Columbus.

Orion Wholesale is pleased to announce a new headquarters facility in the Greater Louisville area just across the Ohio River in southern Indiana. The 130,000 square foot distribution facility and corporate offices are set to open in the fall. The expansion will enable Orion Wholesale to serve its dealer base and vendors well beyond 2021. The new construction will add sales offices, conference rooms, product training rooms and state-of-the-art warehousing that will add the ability to streamline inventory, shipping and receiving processes.

Think back to when you were a kid. I surely can’t remember saying to my parents that I can’t wait to go to the doctor to get a shot. I surely can’t remember a time as an adult saying it either – until now. I’ve never been so excited in all my life. I’ve received my double vaccine dose, I’ve laminated my COVID card, and I can finally rid myself of those awkward elbow bumps and start hugging and handshaking again.

NSSF’s Government Relations Team dedicates its time and resources to supporting legislation beneficial to our industry and fighting those bills that infringe on our rights to legally conduct business and compromise everyone’s Second Amendment rights. Team members attend legislative hearings on the federal, state and local levels year-round across the nation, keeping their finger on the pulse of those issues affecting us.