Category: Business

New FBI rule gives gun dealers access to stolen firearm records; Springfield law enforcement and gun store owners weigh in

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A new ruling by the FBI gives federal firearm licensees access to FBI records of stolen firearms.

Before this new ruling, firearm dealers had to use their best judgment when buying guns from strangers.

“People that bring in a used gun, I have no way of knowing if it’s stolen or not and if I do purchase it, and it is stolen, I lose the money I put into it and the gun,” 417 Guns owner Brent Ball said.

We asked how he verifies whether a gun is stolen or not without the database tool. Ball said he was in law enforcement for many years and tries to use his best judgement when buying firearms, but there’s not been a way to verify whether it’s stolen or not until now.

“If I’m not comfortable with the situation, I have them leave. I don’t need that business,” Ball said.

Major Tad Peters with the Springfield Police Department said this new ruling is a good thing, especially since the city has experienced issues with stolen firearms before.

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What with today’s decision reversing Chevron deference, I see no way that the bureaucrap’s rule on unfinished receivers stands.

BLUF
Fortunately, we will not have to wait too long to see if Cargill stands alone or reflects a broader trend of checking ATF claims of authority. On April 22, 2024, the Court granted certiorari in Garland v. VanDerStok, a case challenging the ATF’s “frame or receiver” rule as beyond the scope of the agency’s authority. A decision in VanDerStok will likely come during the Court’s next term.

Garland v. Cargill: The Court’s Textualists Stick to Their Guns

Because it involves guns, Cargill v. Garland has been seen by supporters and opponents alike as a Second Amendment case. That is not really correct. Rather, it presents a question of basic statutory interpretation. And in answering that question, Cargill is a triumph of textualism and separation of powers concerns over purpose-driven interpretation and legislative intent.

For the majority, the words on the paper are what matter, even if the Congress that wrote them might have done things differently. It does not matter if something walks like a duck and quacks like a duck if it doesn’t have the features that Congress used to define a duck.

On the separation of powers front, Cargill is a victory for congressional lawmaking authority. Administrative agencies such as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) cannot step in and rewrite statutes by administrative fiat just because Congress is not acting as quickly as they might wish.

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Overturning the Chevron Deference Could Mean a Regulatory Revolution

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/23pdf/22-451_7m58.pdf

Business groups have long argued that federal agencies have too much power in their rulemaking. The Supreme Court agrees.

The Supreme Court on Friday overturned the legal precedent known as the Chevron deference in a 6-3 decision, which will reshape the way that federal agencies interpret laws and craft rules that regulate a wide range of businesses.

For decades, courts have turned to regulatory agencies to fill in the legal gaps when areas of the law are ambiguous–this is the so-called Chevron deference, which emerged from case law.

The Chevron deference resulted from a 1984 case filed by Chevron, a big oil company, which argued that the Environmental Protection Agency’s interpretation of the Clean Air Act was overly broad. Chevron lost the case after a judge found that federal agencies are considered to be the authority on a statute if it’s ambiguous. That decision brought forth the Chevron doctrine, or the Chevron deference.

The high court revisited Chevron through a pair of companion cases: Relentless v. Department of Commerce and Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.

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CFIUS Clears Sale of The Kinetic Group to CSG

Represents Final Regulatory Approval Required to Close the Transaction

Board of Directors Continues to Recommend Stockholders Vote in Favor of Merger Agreement Proposal at Special Meeting on July 2, 2024

ANOKA, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Vista Outdoor Inc. (“Vista Outdoor,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) (NYSE: VSTO) and Czechoslovak Group a.s. (“CSG”) announced today that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) has cleared CSG’s proposed acquisition of Vista Outdoor’s The Kinetic Group business (the “Transaction”). Vista Outdoor and CSG received written notice from CFIUS that CFIUS has concluded its review and investigation of the Transaction and has determined that there are no unresolved national security concerns. CFIUS clearance was the final regulatory approval required under the merger agreement with CSG for the closing of the Transaction.

Michael Callahan, Chairman of the Board of Directors, said “We are very pleased that CFIUS has carefully vetted the Transaction and, as we expected, determined that there are no unresolved national security concerns.”

CFIUS is an interagency committee of the U.S. government authorized to review certain transactions involving foreign investment in the United States to determine the effect of such transactions on U.S. national security.

“The CFIUS process involved a thorough review and investigation of the Transaction by numerous U.S. Government departments and agencies with a range of national security and other mandates,” Callahan said. “We believe the end result supports our view that CSG—which has deep expertise in supply chain excellence and ammunition manufacturing and strong support for NATO and allied nations—will be an excellent owner of The Kinetic Group. CSG is fully committed to supporting our American workforce, American hunters and domestic and allied military and law enforcement partners.”

The closing of the Transaction remains subject to receipt of the approval of Vista Outdoor’s stockholders and other customary closing conditions. The special meeting of Vista Outdoor stockholders to, among other things, consider and vote on a proposal to adopt the merger agreement with CSG is scheduled to be held virtually on July 2, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. Central Time.

The Board continues to recommend Vista Outdoor stockholders vote in favor of the proposal to adopt the merger agreement with CSG. Vista Outdoor is confident that the Transaction will maximize value for our stockholders by

  • Providing for a $2 billion purchase price, representing a $90 million increase from the original $1.91 billion purchase price,
  • Allowing stockholders to benefit directly from additional excess cash generated by the Company prior to closing,
  • Delivering $18.00 in cash consideration per share at closing, representing a $5.10 increase from the original cash consideration of $12.90 per share, and
  • Enabling stockholders to capture the long-term intrinsic value that is embedded in Revelyst’s business plan as a standalone public company……..

One Million Gun Sales for 58 Months Straight.

May marked the 58th month in a row that the number of firearms sold—as reflected by the volume of National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) requests processed by the FBI—exceeded one million. The news wasn’t all good, though. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) estimates, based on NICS figures, that sales decreased by 7.2 percent when compared to purchases made in May of 2023.

The total number of firearms sold last month nationwide came in at roughly 1,089,117, according to NSSF’s figures. During the same reporting period in 2023 the total was 1,174,142.

Declines in demand are frequent this year as a new normalcy returns after the pandemic buying boom. Comparing April’s 2024 and 2023 figures, for example, the drop was more significant at 11.2 percent, according to NSSF’s calculations. Volumes were estimated at 1,442,061, respectively. In February, however, decline was only .01 percent.

It’s important to keep in mind 24 states currently have at least one qualified alternative permit, which under the Brady Act allows the permit-holder—who has undergone a background check to obtain the permit—to purchase a firearm from a licensed dealer without a separate additional background check for that transfer. The number of NICS checks in these states does not include these legal transfers based on qualifying permits and NSSF does not adjust for these transfers.

The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting NICS purpose code permit checks and permit rechecks used by states for CCW permit application checks, as well as checks on active CCW permit databases. Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide an additional picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions for sales or transfers of new or used firearms.

With a contentious Presidential election on the horizon, enthusiasts can expect to see an increase in foot traffic through the doors of their favorite FFLs as sales rebound toward November.

Gov. Jeff Landry Signs Bill Making Louisiana 16th State to Block Credit Card Tracking of Gun Purchases

Gov. Jeff Landry (R) signed legislation SB 301 last week to prohibit credit card companies and other financial institutions from tracking firearm and firearm-related purchases in Louisiana.

Landry’s signature made Louisiana the 16th state to ban such tracking efforts.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation’s Darren LaSorte applauded Landry:

Governor Jeff Landry’s signature on the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act is a powerful statement that the Second Amendment rights of Louisianans are not negotiable. This law will protect Louisiana’s citizens from unlawful intrusion on their private purchases when purchasing firearms and ammunition with a payment card.

“‘Woke’ Wall Street banks, credit card companies and payment processors won’t be able to collude with government entities to spy on Louisianans’ private finances when they exercise their rights,” LaSorte added. “No American should fear being placed on a government watchlist because they choose their Constitutionally-protected rights to keep and bear arms.”

The other 15 states that have barred credit card tracking of firearm and firearm-related purchases are Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Iowa, Kentucky, Wyoming, Indiana, Utah, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, and West Virginia.

On the other hand, California’s Democrat-controlled legislature passed a bill requiring credit card companies to track firearm and firearm-related purchases in their state. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed the legislation, which takes effect in 2025.

Judge Grants Preliminary Injunction Against ATF Rule on Gun Dealers

A federal judge in Texas has granted a preliminary injunction against the ATF’s new rule on who is “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms, but his ruling won’t apply to every gun owner across the country. Instead, U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk has limited the scope of the injunction solely to the named plaintiffs in the case.

Still, given that those plaintiffs include the states of Texas, Utah, Louisiana, and Mississippi along with Gun Owners of America, the Tennessee Firearms Association, and the Virginia Citizens Defense League, millions of gun owners who could otherwise be subjected to an ATF investigation or federal charges simply for offering a firearm for sale can rest a little easier for the time being.

In his ruling, Kacsmaryk held that the plaintiff’s argument that the new ATF rule violates the Administrative Procedures Act is likely to prevail at trial. According to the judge, the new language from the ATF goes far beyond the small changes in statute that were approved by Congress as part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

Here, the Final Rule clashes with the text of the BSCA in at least three ways. First, it asserts that there is no “minimum number of firearms to actually be sold to be ‘engaged in the business’” for the purposes of the licensing requirement. . “[A] single firearm transaction”— or even a mere offer to engage in a transaction — may suffice.

[W]hile selling large numbers of firearms or engaging or offering to engage infrequent transactions may be highly indicative of business activity, neither thecourts nor the Department have recognized a set minimum number of firearms purchased or resold that triggers the licensing requirement. Similarly, there is no minimum number of transactions that determines whether a person is “engaged inthe business” of dealing in firearms. Even a single firearm transaction, or offer to engage in a transaction, when combined with other evidence, may be sufficient to require a license.

But the BSCA says otherwise: The term “engaged in the business” means . . .

as applied to a dealer in firearms, as defined in section 921(a)(11)(A), a person whodevotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of tradeor business to predominantly earn a profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms, but such term shall not include a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personalcollection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms[.]

Congress says someone must repeatedly buy and resell firearms to be considered a gun dealer, while the ATF says merely offering a single gun for sale can suffice. Kacsmaryk rightfully held that it’s the language in the statute that matters most, and the agency has likely strayed so far from the text that its rule should be rendered null and void when the case is resolved on the merits.

The judge also took issue with the ATF rule’s suggestion that “actual profit is not a requirement of the statute —it is only the predominant intent to earn a profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms that is required,” pointing out that the current statute states “proof of profit shall not be required as to a person who engages in the regular and repetitive purchase and disposition of firearms for criminal purposes or terrorism. According to Kacsmaryk, that means that proof of profit is required if the feds want to charge someone with being an unlicensed gun dealer and there are no allegations of criminal activity or terrorism involved.

Lastly, Kacsmaryk found fault with the ATF’s presumptions on “when a person has the intent to ‘predominantly earn a profit’” and “that someone is ‘engaged in the business.’” Under the ATF’s rule, people are presumed to have those intentions unless they can prove otherwise, which the judge says “flip[s] the statute on its head by requiring that firearm owners prove innocence rather than the government prove guilt.”

I wish that the judge would have applied this injunction to all gun owners and not just the named plaintiffs in the case, but this is still a significant victory for those challenging the new rule. Texas v. ATF isn’t the only lawsuit to challenge the ATF rule either, so there’s a good chance that more gun owners will find relief as the other lawsuits move forward in the courts.

Uvalde Lawsuit Against UPS, FedEx the Dumbest Ones Yet

Lawsuits against companies that had no hand in something like the awful events of Uvalde aren’t surprising, but they’re stupid.

It’s idiotic.

But I thought we’d seen all the stupid we were going to see on that front. That’s a case of “shame on me” for underestimating the vile idiocy of the anti-gun movement. It seems they have found a new target.

On the day of the shooting, the gunman was armed with a weapon ordered online and shipped to Oasis Firearms in Uvalde where it was then picked up by the shooter.

The lawsuit claims the companies then shipped an enhanced trigger system to the gunman’s house. This allowed the gunman to convert it into a fully automatic or semi-automatic weapon.

The lawsuit cited the UPS conditions of carriage as proof of a violation. The UPS conditions state that, “Shipments must not contain goods which might endanger human or animal life or any means of transportation.”

The families also said that the shipment of the Hell Fire trigger to the gunman’s house was a violation of school zone area protections. The gunman’s house was less than 1,000 feet away from the Robb Elementary School zone.

Yep. This is pure idiocy.

The Hell Fire trigger has been on the market for over 30 years. It’s nothing but a trigger that allows people to fire semi-automatic weapons a bit faster, much like many other trigger modifications. These are not illegal and are perfectly acceptable to ship through either UPS or FedEx.

Moreover, it doesn’t violate the UPS conditions of carriage because the trigger won’t do any of those things. Not by itself, anyway.

“But it’s also a violation of school zone area protections.”

The courts have long found that people living less than 1,000 feet from a school zone don’t forfeit their Second Amendment rights simply because they live within walking distance of a school. That means people can lawfully buy guns and store them in their homes.

It also means that there is no reason for a carrier to question gun part going to a home within that area.

In short, UPS and FedEx had no reason to not ship the part to the individual who turned out to later become the Uvalde killer.

Let’s also be real here for a moment. UPS and FedEx aren’t gun companies. They don’t have any reason to stay in this fight. They make money shipping guns and parts, but do they make enough to deal with the negative publicity that might arise? Probably not. They’re far more likely to cave than a gun company might.

But let’s understand what this is really about. It’s not about UPS or FedEx doing anything wrong. They know this is a stretch. They don’t expect this to go to trial, even. Oh no, this is about something far different.

What these folks are trying to do is to use the legal system to bully UPS and FedEx into refusing to transport firearms or firearm parts. They want to see these carriers cut out every firearm-related company so that those companies will have a harder time shipping products to customers.

As a result of that, it becomes harder for law-abiding citizens to get not just parts but guns shipped to their FFL.

All of this isn’t about correcting wrongs committed prior to Uvalde. It’s about making it harder for you and me to exercise our Second Amendment rights. Who needs gun control if you can’t find a gun to buy in the first place?

That’s what this is about. Sure, this one lawsuit won’t necessarily change the landscape, but it’s never about one lawsuit. It’s about the death by a thousand cuts. It’s about making it just too difficult to deal with the firearm industry.

And the stupidity won’t end here, either. We’ll see more and worse.

When we were picking up an ammo order,  AK & I had the pleasure of meeting Carlo Fiocchi at the Ozark facility and having him give us a personal tour many years ago.

Fiocchi Ammo Review

When someone starts talking about exquisite Italian engineering, the average person will naturally think of names like Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Ducati. And although Italy is very well known for their luxury car brands, if you’ve ever put any number of rounds of Fiocchi ammo through your favorite Glock, Sig Sauer, or Smith & Wesson, you know that Italian ammo is good stuff!

Although many shooters know Fiocchi for their handgun ammo, the company also has an excellent line of centerfire rifle ammo and has made a huge impact in the world of sporting clays with their shotgun target loads as well as offering a comprehensive line of rimfire ammo as well.

To put it bluntly, Fiocchi makes quality ammo at a price point most every shooter can afford. In this Fiocchi ammo review, we will take a look at what makes Fiocchi an excellent choice for your favorite handgun or rife as well as digging into the storied history of Italy’s oldest ammunition factory.

What is the quality of Fiocchi ammo?

Fiocchi ammunition is good ammo, extremely high-quality, and is perfect for plinking, competitive matches, or long-distance target shooting. I have not experienced any jams of failure to fire (FTF) malfunctions while using Fiocchi ammo. No matter if you enjoy rimfire shooting, sporting clays, or centerfire rifle/pistol, factory Fiocchi loads are perfect for any situation.

Where can I buy Fiocchi Ammo?

Check out our entire selection of Fiocchi Ammo for sale online! Don’t hesitate to purchase rounds like 5.56 NATO in bulk to save even more money on Fiocchi ammunition!

Fiocchi Ammo History and Important Information

Fiocchi Munizioni (Fiocchi Ammunition) was established in 1876 by Giulio Fiocchi in Lecco, Italy. It is one of Italy’s oldest and largest ammo manufacturers and supplies centerfire, rimfire, and shotgun ammunition to civilians, hunters, and law enforcement.

Although Fiocchi is not Europe’s oldest ammo manufacturer (that tile goes to Sellier & Bellot), Fiocchi has developed a reputation as one of the world’s finest loaders of metallic cartridges. In 1989 they received NATO qualifications to produce 9x19mm NATO ammunition to CIP specs, and their 5.56x45mm NATO qualification came 10 years later in 1999.

Although the ammo factory in Italy remains the home of Fiocchi ammo, access to the American market has been a tricky path Fiocchi has had to traverse.

During the 1950’s, Fiocchi in partnership with Smith & Wesson, owned a factory in Alton, Illinois. However, Fiocchi decided to sell their portion of the factory back to Smith & Wesson and it wasn’t until 1980 when Carlo Fiocchi helped put Fiocchi ammunition back into American shooting goods stores.

Fiocchi ammo for sale

Shop Fiocchi Ammo

On his honeymoon, Carlo traveled in the United States with the interest of locating a site for a new Fiocchi ammunition plant. Carlo was able to convince the then president Paolo to build a manufacturing plant in Ozark, Missouri near Springfield.

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The new Minutemen buy guns

As we approach 60 consecutive months of more than a million gun sales, it’s time to review the state of gun ownership in America, and enjoy the tears of anti-liberty/gun cracktivists.

According to a report by the National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF), the number of people who became first-time gun owners since 2020 has reportedly grown to over 22.3 million people, or the population of Florida.

Keep in mind every federal background check prior to purchase, can account for more than one gun. Why would so many Americans become new gun owners? In a word: Democrat/socialist/communist (D/s/c) policies:

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Number Of First-Time Gun Owners Since 2020 Now Equals Population Of Florida

There has been a drastic surge in the number of Americans becoming first-time gun owners over the past four years according to a press release.

The National Sports Shooting Foundation (NSSF) pointed to data showing a major trend in gun ownership. The number of people who became first-time gun owners since 2020 has reportedly grown to over 22.3 million people, which is equal to the population of Florida.

The impetus behind the rapid increase in first-time gun ownership is attributed to numerous factors, including COVID-era lockdown measures, soft-on-crime prosecutors and skyrocketing violent crime rates, according to the NSSF.

The report highlights Chris Cheng, a competitive shooting champion who testified before Congress about the rise in gun ownership.

“The past year-and-a-half or so with COVID-19 has been a pressure cooker … When you couple that with calls to defund the police and taking law enforcement officers off the street … it makes citizens like me less safe,” Cheng said during his testimony, according to the report. “If I can’t have law enforcement there, then it is a rational conclusion that individual citizens like myself would opt to utilize my Second Amendment right to purchase a firearm and use that firearm in lawful and legal self-defense.”

More than 52% of American voters indicated that they or someone in their home owns a firearm, according to an NBC News national poll released in November 2023. Researchers also found that 48% of firearm owners were concerned that the government would not take enough action to restrict access to firearms while 47% worried that the state would go too far in regulating guns.

Bank of America Walks Back Gun Lending Ban

One of the country’s largest financial institutions is reversing course on AR-15s and other popular firearms.

Bank of America backed off its blanket ban on lending to companies that manufacture what it has labeled “military-style firearms,” Bloomberg first reported Friday. Going forward, the bank will resume lending to firearms companies on a case-by-case basis subject to “enhanced due diligence,” according to its latest Environmental and Social Risk Policy (ESRP) Framework.

Bill Haldin, a spokesperson for Bank of America, confirmed the change in policy in a statement to The Reload.

“Certain client relationships or transactions that carry heightened risks go through a due diligence process that involves senior level risk review,” he said. “We recently detailed that in our updated risk policy framework.”

The about-face comes as Republican-led states are increasingly turning up the heat on financial institutions and other businesses that adopt environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies they argue target legal firearms and energy production. Gun commerce, in particular, has become a flashpoint in recent years as major banks like Bank of America, JPMorgan, and Citibank publicly cut off funding to businesses that sell certain firearms and accessories. In response, Republicans in states like Texas and Florida have shown an increased willingness to use new government regulations to combat those practices.

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Louisiana Passes Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act

BATON ROUGE, LA. (May 28, 2024) – Today, the Louisiana Senate gave final approval to the “Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act,” a bill to prohibit financial institutions from using a credit card merchant code that would enable the tracking of firearm and ammunition purchases.

Sen. Blake Miguez filed Senate Bill 301 (SB301) on March 1. The bill would prohibit any financial institution operating in the state from requiring or permitting “the assignment of a firearms code in a way that distinguishes a firearms retailer from other retailers.”

SB301 also prohibits all state and local government entities from keeping any list, record, or registry of privately owned firearms or the owners of such firearms. Financial institutions would be prohibited from denying a transaction based on the code. Those found guilty in a court of violating the law would be subject to a fine not to exceed $1,000 per violation, with the court determining the amount by factors “including the financial resources of the violator and the harm or risk of harm to the rights under the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the Constitution of Louisiana, resulting from the violation.”

On April 16, the Senate passed the bill by a vote of 28-11. Last week, the House approved the measure with some technical amendments by a vote of 74-26. Today, the Senate concurred with a vote of 27-9.

Over the 2023-2024 legislative sessions, at least 13 states have passed similar legislation.

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 FPC, NRA File Briefs With Supreme Court Over Mexico Lawsuit

The case involving Mexico’s lawsuit against U.S. gun manufacturers and retailers for violence south of the border is beginning to see some action from pro-gun rights organizations.

On Wednesday, both the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a review of lower court decisions regarding Mexico’s attempts to impose its gun-control preferences on Americans.

“Mexico’s frivolous lawsuit to impose its draconian disarmament policies is a bald attempt to wage war on peaceable Americans and our constitutionally protected rights,” FPC President Brandon Combs said in a release announcing filing of the brief. “As our brief makes clear, the Supreme Court should enforce the law, put an end to this radical anti-rights lawfare and protect the right to keep and bear arms.”

“Mexico’s attempt in this litigation to impose a foreign nation’s policy preferences on the American people through judicial fiat and exact a financial penalty that would cripple the American firearms ecosystem would be deeply troubling even if it stood alone,” the FPC brief stated. “It does not. To the contrary, this action is merely one of a phalanx of recent, abusive lawsuits brought by anti-Second-Amendment activists, organizations and governments.”

In the end, the brief requested that the Supreme Court grant a review and intervene in the important case to protect gunmakers and the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). In an earlier ruling, the First Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the PLCAA does not bar Mexico’s lawsuit.

“The situation has accordingly become dire, and the time for this Court’s intervention is now,” the brief stated. “In the four-and-a-half years since this Court declined to review the Connecticut Supreme Court’s decision in Soto, the chief development has been the contrivance of ever more devious and extreme methods of evading the Act Congress passed to save the firearms community from abusive litigation. If the Court allows the lower-court’s treatment of the PLCAA to ‘percolate for another four-and-a-half years, there may be nothing left of the firearms marketplace to save.”

In the NRA brief, the organization stated: “Mexico has extinguished its constitutional arms right and now seeks to extinguish America’s. To that end, Mexico aims to destroy the American firearms industry financially.”

“This case exemplifies why PLCAA was enacted,” the brief continued. “Mexico seeks billions of dollars in damages and the imposition of extensive gun controls in America while relying on shoddy data and false allegations to exaggerate the impact of Petitioners’ firearms on Mexican homicides.”

The lawsuit is named Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos

 

Hamlin Reaches Out To Staff Today

New NRA CEO and EVP Doug Hamlin sent out an email this morning to all NRA staff. It was part thank you, part what we need to do, part how he intends to manage, and part recognition that finances are tough.

There were some interesting points in what he said to staff that need to be emphasized. First and foremost, he said that he and all the NRA staff work for the members. That was nice to hear given the perception that many including Wayne only saw the members as sheep to be fleeced. Second, Hamlin emphasized that the NRA is not leaving Fairfax anytime soon. He encouraged employees in the Metro DC region to return to work in the headquarters building. Third, he said there would be new digital marketing initiatives to increase memberships and challenged employees to tell their friends to join. Finally, he said his objective was to restore trust in the NRA. He didn’t sugarcoat the fact that finances are tight.

The one thing I did disagree with him on is the assertion that the NRA is “the most significant conservative organization left on the battlefield.” I think we need to get away from the perception that the NRA is only for conservatives. While I am most certainly a conservative with libertarian leanings, I recognize that support for the Second Amendment and our civil rights is not limited to conservatives nor should it be. Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, if you support the Second Amendment then you are my friend.

You can read the whole email for yourself as I’ve posted it below:

From: Hamlin, Douglas
Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2024 9:28 AM
To: #All NRA Employees <#AllNRAEmployees@nrahq.org>
Subject: Full Speed Ahead!

To All:

I’m humbled and honored to be sending you this e-mail as your new EVP/CEO. It has been a tumultuous 5 years as we have battled for the survival of our beloved National Rifle Association (NRA). Every one of us has been in the trenches as we have fought the good fight and kept the faith. We have stood strong shoulder to shoulder working together on behalf of our members. I want to emphasize – WE WORK FOR OUR MEMBERS!

THANK YOU for not wavering as we have withstood extreme pressure and disinformation from the media, left leaning political forces, and the State of New York.

I’ve been a proud NRA Staffer for over 10 years. I do not assume my new position for any other reason than I love my country and will not stand idly by as we see our freedoms diminished. The NRA is the most significant conservative organization left on the battlefield. We are targeted because we win…and we are right in our cause!

As we move forward my primary objective is to restore the trust of our members, our industry, our donors, and our staff. We are in a tough spot financially but are going to make it. I will be spending a significant amount of time fundraising to keep our 153 years + operation on track. Once our members see we are making progress with the changes resulting from the efforts of our Board of Directors, they will come back in significant numbers. I ask you to go out and recruit new members. Tell your friends to join!

There has been a lot of talk about moving our operations away from Fairfax, Virginia. We will not be moving at this time. I hope those of you in the DC, Maryland, Virginia region will come to our office as much as possible. 

My leadership style is one of consensus building. I do not like to be micro-managed and that’s how I will interact with the leadership team. Having said that I’m not afraid to make tough decisions and get involved when and where needed.

We will be moving quickly on some digital marketing initiatives to stir up some positive public relations that will hopefully stimulate new memberships. Stay tuned for more information on our plans as we develop them.

In closing thank you for your dedication to our cause. Our mission to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens is more important now than ever before. Hold your heads high as we continue to do the important work of the NRA…together.

Doug Hamlin

Executive Vice President/CEO

National Rifle Association

Analysis: Is the NRA on Track to Reform Now?

The reformers are ascendant at the National Rifle Association, but have they made enough progress to fix things before the wheels fall off?

The first substantial sign that reforms had gained real sway with the NRA membership came at the beginning of the month when a slate of them won board seats, with several landing among the most-voted-for candidates. In the five years since longtime NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre was accused of diverting millions of the charity’s dollars toward lavish personal expenses, the board election was the first direct, concrete sign members were fed up with the ordeal and wanted the significant change the reformers promised.

Most of the rest of the board seems to have gotten the message, too. While only five of the 76 board members ran on a reform platform, they took three of the four top positions in the leadership elections. The candidates put up and endorsed by the reformers won the First and Second Vice President positions. Most importantly, they picked Doug Mills as the permanent replacement for Wayne LaPierre as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President.

The group also secured a majority on the nominating committee, which decides who gets on the board election ballots and who gets put up in future leadership positions. They also got a number of members on the executive committee, which effectively operates the NRA between full board meetings.

That’s a remarkable turnaround from just a year ago, when nearly all of the vocal reformers had been wiped off the board, and LaPierre remained in charge.

However, the NRA’s problems have also deepened in that time. Shortly after LaPierre resigned, a jury in the group’s corruption case found he’d taken upwards of $5.5 million from its members to spend on lavish personal jet travel while the NRA failed to safeguard its assets. Those members have continued to flee, resulting in plummeting revenue that’s left the organization on the brink. Despite being forced to cut back on most core services and programs, its legal fees have continued to flow into the coffers of controversial outside counsel Bill Brewer at a furious pace.

Its political relevance has faded, too. It can no longer support the staff needed to lobby effectively at the state and federal level, and its Political Victory Fund has uncharacteristically fallen behind the fundraising pace of the gun-control groups. While it was still able to bring Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump to speak at its annual meeting, and it has already agreed to host another event with him over the summer, there’s little chance it will be able to spend even half of what it did to help elect him in 2016.

There’s a ticking clock element to this turnaround attempt, too.

The second phase of the NRA’s corruption trial is set to begin in less than two months. That gives the group very little time to change course on either its legal strategy or internal practices. And, given at most 36 of the 76 board members voted for the reform leadership candidates and a member of the old leadership team won the president’s race, they are likely to face at least some internal opposition to major changes.

There’s also the fact that the reform candidates who won weren’t the ones who’ve spoken out publicly against LaPierre’s corruption or the dodgy path past leadership took the group down. Nor are they outsiders being brought in to clean things up. Instead, like Doug Hamlin himself, many have been with the organization throughout this ordeal. If they’ve done anything to change course up to this point, they’ve done it out of public view, which may make some reform supporters skeptical of how far they’re willing to go.

Still, less than a week into the NRA’s new leadership regime, there are already signs of substantive changes.

The last thing the NRA’s old leadership tried to do before losing control was move the group’s headquarters from Virginia to Texas. But when reformers pressed them at the members’ meeting last Saturday, they were unable to articulate what purpose the move would serve or how much it would cost. Hamlin announced on Thursday that the move was being put on hold and encouraged more staff to work from the group’s headquarters.

Hamlin also split up the role of John Frazer, who was found by the jury to have knowingly signed off on materially false statements about the group in government documents, and appointed a different person as the NRA’s general counsel. He also brought back Joe Debergalis to run the NRA’s general operations. Degbergalis was removed at the end of last year to make way for former spokesperson and longtime LaPierre ally Andrew Arulanandam to take the role, which put him in line to become interim CEO after LaPierre resigned.

Hamlin has also taken a different approach to discussing the NRA’s struggles. While previous leadership largely deflected questions about them, he has acknowledged the issues head-on in an email to the NRA staff and comments to The Reload. He has promised a “new NRA” with a greater commitment to transparency and good governance.

“I think that we’re going to be more transparent, just like we were in this board meeting today,” he told The Reload shortly after his election on Monday. “And we’re going to be good stewards of their money. And we’re going to be responsible managers and regain their trust over time.”

His statements indicate that he and the other reformers plan to institute other changes in an effort to regain the members they lost during the ordeal.

“Once our members see we are making progress with the changes resulting from the efforts of our Board of Directors, they will come back in significant numbers,” Hamlin said in the email to staff that was obtained by The Reload.

But the NRA needs to do much more, and there’s not a lot of time to do it. Actions will speak louder than words, as they always do, and we’ll be here to document them if and when they happen.

April Was 57th Month in a Row With More than 1 Million Firearm Purchases

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) reported on Tuesday that more than one million firearms were purchased by Americans in April, marking the 57th consecutive month in which more than a million firearms were purchased by the citizenry.

Said Mark Olive, NSSF’s managing director for public affairs:

Over 1.2 million Americans showed President Biden exactly where they are when it comes to his promises of increased gun control should he be elected for another term.

President Biden has used every tool at his disposal to attack the firearm industry, from publishing Constitutionally dubious and overreaching administrative rules that bypass Congress to create criminal law, to weaponizing the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to throttle firearm and ammunition manufacturers and exporters.

Americans reject these misdirected and politically motivated maneuvers to infringe on their Second Amendment freedoms and punish the industry that makes it possible to exercise the rights to keep and bear arms. By the millions, for 57 months straight, Americans choose to lawfully purchase, keep and use the firearms of their choosing.

What’s remarkable is that the data used by NSSF, the NICS database that tracks background checks, is incomplete. Many states still don’t require background checks for private transfers, and the black market in used or stolen guns is likely more active than ever as the government ramps up its attack on legal ownership.

Two years ago it was revealed that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) had collected and then stored on its computer network nearly a billion firearms purchase records. These records contain pertinent and personal information on private buyers of firearms, so the ATF knows where the guns are and who owns them.

The ATF is now pushing credit-card companies to track and report on purchasers using a credit card to make a firearm or ammunition purchase. This is ostensibly to help reduce gun violence.

John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center pointed out the absurdity of the idea that tracking firearms purchases through credit-card usage will help reducing gun violence:

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Well, it tells me that the NRA BoD aren’t really capable of making the hard decisions necessary to clean the slate. It’s more likely now that State Supreme Court Judge Cohen will take matters in hand which could have been avoided if the BoD had the guts to take care of business.

An Open Letter From NRA Staffers To The Board

I received this open letter to the NRA Board within the last hour. It is reportedly from current and former NRA staffers who are fed up with Charles Cotton, Bill Brewer, and most of the upper management of the NRA. The level of detail in the letter is enough to convince me it is real such as Sonya Rowling being forced to cut a check to Brewer by Andrew Arulanadam. I learned of that just earlier this afternoon.

Here is the letter in its unedited entirety. Given it is an open letter, it is meant for sharing. You might want to share it with each and every Board member that you know. I know they sent it to the NRA email address for the Board but I doubt it will be routed to Board members before their 9am CDT meeting tomorrow in Dallas.

Dear NRA Board of Directors,

We are writing as current and former NRA staff members. We choose to remain anonymous due to the almost certain retaliation from NRA executives and the Brewer firm. Since 2018, our association has been in complete peril, and no one has asked the NRA’s staff for their input. We are the ones who work day in and day out to accomplish the NRA’s mission of promoting the safe and responsible use of firearms and defending the Second Amendment. Meanwhile, it has become clear that NRA’s executives and officers are focused on ensuring a steady revenue stream for the Brewer firm. We pose this question: When will we stop the bleeding, and when is enough, enough?

Over the past six years, the NRA has become unrecognizable. The NRA of 2018 is far different from the NRA of 2024, and this convention hall is proof. This deterioration is due to the NRA’s poor leadership. President Cotton, Andrew Arulanandam, Randy Kozuch, Tyler Schropp, Doug Hamlin, and Sonya Rowling have not, and arguably never have, acted in the best interest of NRA members. The NRA’s recent misfortunes are often blamed on the New York Attorney General. While we are no fans of Letitia James, 90% of the NRA’s issues are now self-inflicted. Yes, AG James has had a gun pointed at the NRA from the start of her campaign, but NRA’s leadership continues to hand her magazines with ammunition.

We will briefly discuss each leader, avoiding rehashing old issues.

President Cotton has overseen many of the NRA’s poor decisions over the years on the Audit Committee, the SLC, and as President. It’s time to change his title from president to king because he is acting as a monarch. King Charles has been positioning himself to become executive vice president and chief executive officer. Anyone familiar with his record at the NRA knows he is not the right fit for EVP. The new NRA EVP needs to be unapologetically pro-gun, innovative, politically connected, and experienced in turning around failing organizations. King Charles is not that person. His primary focus is on maintaining his relationship with the Brewer firm. Recent reports confirmed by the Brewer firm show that King Charles and Bill Brewer even fly on private jets together. The firm claims this saves the NRA money, but this is unlikely. While the firm may not directly bill the NRA for the jet, there is nothing to stop them from increasing their billable hours. This is reminiscent of the MMP yacht situation. King Charles and Bill Brewer are the only ones pushing for the move to Texas because they are both based there. No other staff member, including NRA’s Interim CEO Andrew Arulanandam, plans on moving to Texas. King Charles’s goal is to secure a high salary for a few years as his retirement fund.

Andrew Arulanandam cannot make a good decision to save his life. Since taking his position on February 1, the NRA has continued to decline. Arulanandam exists in his position solely to follow King Charles’s orders and maintain the relationship with the Brewer firm. In fact, Arulanandam reportedly forced Sonya Rowling to pay Brewer millions of dollars today before tomorrow’s board meeting. If King Charles becomes EVP, Arulanandam will be rewarded and return to his high-paying job as executive director of General Operations, with an updated salary and maximized pension at retirement.

Randy Kozuch has been consistently overlooked throughout his career at the NRA. Kozuch is not a leader, and most of the ILA staff don’t respect him. Kozuch is a yes-man. Shortly after becoming executive director of ILA, Wayne asked him for millions from the ILA budget to keep the NRA afloat. Kozuch complied, and his newly hired ILA Finance Director quit after the first week due to discomfort. This wasn’t the first time the NRA asked ILA for millions, and Kozuch complies every time. King Charles, Bill Brewer, and Arulanandam don’t respect Kozuch; he is just the perfect puppet to help pay off Brewer’s excessive bills.

The other executives are equally ineffective. Tyler Schropp, the highest-paid executive at the NRA, can barely raise money without Wayne. Doug Hamlin operates entirely in the red and doesn’t know how to run an organization. Sonya Rowling is only in her position because she is a “whistleblower,” which looked good for the Brewer firm to show a course correction. However, she is inexperienced and would run the organization into the ground without realizing it.

Finally, the Brewer firm is the most ineffective and corrupt part of the NRA. Bill Brewer excels at one thing: losing. He flaunts the money he has taken, pulling up to the hotel this weekend in an Aston Martin while losing consistently. And he is Angus McQueen’s son-in-law. The NRA has funded the McQueen/Brewer family feud for too long, at the expense of our members who faithfully support us.

Board members, when is enough, enough? You are the only ones who can stop this. Charles Cotton is not fit for EVP. Andrew Arulanandam is not fit for EVP. No one at the NRA is currently fit for EVP. The Texas move is a waste of money and unnecessary. The Brewer firm is ripping the NRA off for every dollar we have. The NRA is failing. Revenue is failing, membership numbers are falling, ILA’s power is a fraction of what it used to be, and other training organizations are outpacing us. It is so bad that NRA is liquidating investments to continue paying Brewer. We beg you, as you go into the meeting tomorrow, to stop the bleeding and hold Charles Cotton, Andrew Arulanandam, and the other officers accountable.

Save the National Rifle Association of America.

Alabama Governor Signs Privacy Bill for Gun and Ammo Sales
Supporters say the law will eliminate concerns that merchants will collude with the government to take your guns.

Without comment, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed a new law this week prohibiting merchants from assigning a merchant code to gun and ammo sales. In a statement, Lawrence Keane, the senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade group for the gun industry, said his organization helped lawmakers craft the Second Amendment Financial Privacy Act.

“Alabamians won’t need to worry that ‘woke’ Wall Street banks, credit card companies and payment processors will collude with government entities to spy on their private finances for exercising their rights,” Keane said.

In addition to eliminating merchant codes, which financial institutions use to track goods and services, the law also prohibits any list or registry of privately owned guns. “No American should fear being placed on a government watchlist simply for exercising their Constitutionally-protected rights to keep and bear arms,” Keane added.

According to the NSSF, Alabama joins 14 other states that have already enacted such laws and bills are making their way through statehouses in two other states. On the flip side, the group said California and Colorado are the only states requiring that financial institutions track gun and ammo sales.

In March, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, was joined by 31 other lawmakers urging the Department of Treasury to provide guidance directing financial institutions to code gun and ammo sales, arguing that it would allow authorities to flag suspicious or fraudulent purchases. Before 2022, they said there were no merchant codes for gun and ammo sales despite coding for every other type of merchant.

The concept was reportedly proposed by financial columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin, who penned the book Too Big to Fail about the 2008 financial crisis. He argued that the market could better address gun violence issues like mass shootings after multiple failed attempts by Congress. However, groups like the NSSF argue that such plans lead to the targeting of pro-gun and conservative groups.

Alabama lawmakers filed the bill at the beginning of April and after multiple readings, it was delivered to the governor by the end of the month. Ivey signed it on May 7 and it was immediately enacted.