Registration has opened for this year's NASGW Expo in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Now is the time to purchase your badges, book your hotel rooms, buy your tickets to the Annual Awards dinner, and register for Range Day. We've also opened up available sponsorship opportunities to purchase through our website. So if you are planning on attending this year, don't wait. Register today! 

It isn’t just the 2^nd Amendment under assault in our nation today.Throughout history the elimination of individual rights is almost always preceded by limitations to free speech and debate. We talk often about the importance of the 2^nd amendment but all freedoms equally hang on the 1^st amendment.

The anti-gun movement, emboldened by some recent success, seems reinvigorated in pushing corporations to discriminate against younger customers and now to limit speech and content. This is a dangerous tactic in that they seek to limit our ability to communicate and educate people on the misinformation they are spreading. Websites like YouTube and Facebook have now taken measures to restrict content, pages, and channels that focus on firearms. This is a significant challenge to our industry and our ability to educate the public about a lot of very important topics, which include firearms safety.

Over the past few weeks, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) and partners from the sportsmen’s conservation community worked closely with Congressional leadership to ensure that several funding priorities for the sportsmen’s community were included in the FY2018 Omnibus appropriations bill.“The inclusion of provisions such as a fix to fire-borrowing, reauthorization of the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act with enhanced sportsmen’s access, improvements to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, and addressing disease risks for the benefit our nation’s wild sheep populations, are all victories for the outdoor conservation community as a whole,” said CSF President Jeff Crane. “CSF and partners have been working closely with Members of the House and Senate to ensure that these crucial provisions are included.”Top provisions that were successfully added to the Omnibus package include:

I want to call your attention to an issue that will be of interest to your members if they are dealing with the driver shortage that we are hearing abut from many NAW members. Under current Federal regulations, drivers have to be at least 21 years of age to obtain commercial drivers’ licenses for   interstate  commerce.  However, most states allow drivers from 18 to 21 years of age to obtain commercial licenses for   intrastate  commerce.  The obvious result of these conflicting rules is that a licensed commercial driver under the age of 21 has to stop his truck at the state line.California Congressman Duncan Hunter has introduced a piece of legislation that would address this problem by removing the Federal regulation and permitting drivers from 18 to 21 years of age to obtain commercial licenses for   interstate  commerce.  His bill is titled   The   Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE Safe) Act.Our colleagues at IFDA brought this bill to our attention last week, and asked if we would join them and send a letter of support to Rep. Hunter, which we have done.  And I am now following IFDA’s lead and bringing the issue to your attention.If you want to learn more about the regulation or Rep. Hunter’s legislation, and send a letter of support if the issue is of interest to your members, the following links will take you to relevant documents.And, if you do send a letter to the Hill, please send a copy to Jon Eisen at IFDA (cc’d on this message) and me.

Provided by: Orchid Advisors & FFL BizHub

A large number of state legislatures returned to their respective State Capitols this year and have wasted no time introducing new firearm legislation and moving forward with carryover legislation.  There are well over 3,000 bills pending amongst the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the Federal government that in some way, shape, or form impact firearms and ammunition possession, transfer, ownership, and use. Fortunately, there’s a tool available to help you sort through the flurry of activity and keep a close eye on legislation that impacts your business. The OA/NASGW State Firearms Restriction App, available on the www.FFLBizHub.com website, is a great potential resource for you in this constantly moving environment.

The American Suppressor Association (ASA) would like to thank NASGW and its members for your support. For those that may be unfamiliar with the ASA and its mission, it is the unified voice of the suppressor industry. Its mission is to unite and advocate for the common interests of suppressor manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and consumers. To accomplish this mission, its principal initiatives focus on state lobbying, federal lobbying, and public education.The ASA is the country’s leading subject matter experts on suppressors and suppressor related advocacy. It has helped draft state and federal legislation, including the Hearing Protection Act, hosted countless suppressor demonstrations for legislators, is spearheading efforts to legalize commercial suppressor exportation through non-legislative means, and has actively lobbied in 28 states, as well as in Washington, D.C.Earlier this year, ASA Executive Director, Knox Williams, Director of Outreach, Owen Miller, and representatives from ASA member companies met with BATFE executive leadership. The ASA made an information request for updated registration and transfer statistics on National Firearms Act (NFA) firearms from ATF. ASA combined this information, along with information published in the ATF’s annual   Firearms Commerce in the United States  reports to form its analysis. Suppressors account for approximately 82% of the tax-paid transfer applications received and processed by the NFA Division in 2017. This provides a fairly accurate barometer of suppressor sales across the industry. 

Are you playing for the name on the front of the jersey, or the one on the back? There are probably thousands of coaches in the country who’ve asked this question of their players.

I suspect if you’ve played a sport of any kind, or were involved in any group activity, then you know someone who’s forgotten this important lesson. There’s always someone who thinks the name plastered on the back is far more important than the one on the front.

October 16th might seem like a long time from now, but it will be here before you know it. Our team at NASGW has been working hard to finalize all of the details for this years Expo in Pittsburgh PA, in order to provide you with a successful and productive experience, and to make this year's registration process as easy as possible. Stay tuned for our announcement about the registration launch for the 2018 NASGW Expo. This year, when you register, you will also have the ability to register for our 2^nd annual Range Day, secure sponsorship opportunities, and of course, book your hotel accommodations. This year's Range Day will be held at a location much closer to downtown, will be open to NASGW media members, and we will be providing transportation to and from the range. We encourage you to schedule some time on Tuesday to stop by Range Day to chat directly with manufacturers and get hands-on experience with products. 

Provided by: Orchid Advisors

Helping Firearm Distributors and Dealers Understand State Firearm Laws

Researching, interpreting, and tracking firearm laws across the United States can be maddening. If you sell firearms over the counter or distribute them across state lines, then this article is for you. While the following does not purport to address every nuance of the law, it was written to grossly simplify state firearm laws and aid in the compliant sale of such products.

All of you are well aware of the heated national discussion surrounding school shootings and gun policy. President Trump hosted a roundtable discussion, CNN held a town hall meeting, and the media outlets have been filling the 24-hour news cycle with anyone claiming they have the answer to prevent violence. In most cases, the proposed answer is more anti-gun legislation, or the finger just gets pointed at our industry.In this national discussion, we all need to individually be a part of advocating effective actions to address this.