Live Q&As

One issue we see often is that the same mistake on a form repeated each time, like "Y" instead of "Yes" or an abbreviation of a county, gets misrepresented as "hundreds of violations" by anti-gun interest groups.  ATF says they have to note each one of the violations.  So the "number of violations" a dealer might have can be very misleading. 

I don't agree with the premise of your question and obviously a private entity can't appoint a director.

There are several pressing issues including seeking a federal study of  "microstamping."  Microstamping is a  patented sole-source concept that independent peer reviewed studies have shown is unreliable and easily defeated in mere seconds using common household tools.  It is being pushed by gun control groups as a panacea for gun crime but in truth it  does not work and would add at least $200 to the price of  a firearm.  We are urging congress to fund a comprehensive study by the National Academies of Science

NSSF publishes a lot of firearm safety material, as does the NRA.  I would urge you to visit nssf.org and click on "safety."  There are 10 basic rules and you can find them on our site, in any NRA course and in the manual that comes with newly manufactured firearms. 

Yes. I don't have a list handy but there are industry groups in places like Italy and Germany where there is a sizable industry presence. There are also groups of gun owners, hunters and shooters that advocate for gun ownership, etc. 

No.  We live in a democracy.   They have no more or less power than any other group.  If they are "powerful" it is because they represent the will of most Americans and the polling data confirms that fact.

I doubt it.   If the industry funded a study and it showed, as have the other studies, that it is a flawed and unreliable concept, then the Brady Center and MAIG, etc would attack the results as biased and "paid for by the industry"   It seems that an objective study funded by congress, like the NAS study of  "ballistics imaging" (another panacea), would be preferable.    

NSSF's position is that illegal straw purchasers should be subject to a mandatory minimum sentence with no parole.  Don't Lie for the Other Guy is a decade long joint effort between industry, thru NSSF, and ATF. You can learn more about the program by visiting don'tlie.org.  It is difficult to place a metric on the program -- how do you measure the event that never happened (the would be straw purchaser who heard the Don't Lie PSA and decided not to go into a gun store to straw purchase the firearm). Like efforts to reduce drunk driving, you are trying to reduce it but I don't think MADD, for example, thinks that their efforts will completely stop it.

The dealer can't get a new license. It is not accurate to say the dealer is getting "relicensed." 

Thank you for your comments regarding NSSF.  The industry is obviously heavily regulated and the record keeping requirements are extensive.  The only other industry I can think of that is like our industry in terms of retail sales is pharmacies.   

I don't think we know for sure.  We are concerned about the memo from ATF on the subject because the same flawed logic underlies the call for reinstating the failed ban on so-called "assault weapons" (semi-automatic rifles).  It could also be applied to ban the export of such firearms.  We have called for a congressional investigation of the matter.

First, no one is "relicensed."   According to the Post's story 7% of the licensees that were revoked were "relicensed"  (60 out of about 800 since 2003).  

I believe the case was settled and Red's is still operating under the same license.   NSSF did have discussions with Red's and their lawyers did contact us for information, e.g. Don't Lie materials, etc.