No Standing

On Monday United States District Judge Janet C. Hall ruled that the National Shooting Sports Foundation lacked legal standing to challenge Connecticut’s recently enacted firearms laws and dismissed its lawsuit. NSSF is the trade association representing the arms and ammunition manufacturers and dealers who profit from the sale of the high-capacity magazines and military-style weapons forbidden by the new gun laws, passed after the killing of 20 young children and  6 educators in Newtown, Connecticut. Newtown is also home to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

On Wednesday, Newtown authorities released recordings of the 911 emergency calls from inside Sandy Hook Elementary School during the mass shooting of first-graders. The neighbors at the NSSF didn’t comment on that.

Assault Rifles Stolen From Bass Fishing Shop

Thieves broke into a Bass Pro Shop in Macon, Georgia and stole 17 AR-15 military-style rifles. Now 17 Georgia homeowners cannot protect their families from the roving packs of savage Largemouth Bass menacing the Peach State. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a $5,000 reward for info on the bandits, matched by the arms dealer’s lobby, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, for a total of $10,000. That’s about 3/4 of the retail value of the firearms and the amount of first-place prize money at a medium-sized bass shooting tournament.

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Las Vegas Tribute to Newtown Victims

The city of Las Vegas pays tribute to the slaughtered children of Newtown, Connecticut this week by hosting that New England town’s resident gun lobby, the National Shooting Sports Foundation.  60,000 gun worshippers are expected to attend the memorial for the 20 children and six educators shot to death by a single military-style firearm.

The NSSF represents gun and ammunition manufacturers and dealers, and lobbies against laws banning high-capacity gun magazines, something the Las Vegas police chief favors. The organization also maintains that military-style weapons belong in civilian hands since they drive massive industry profits and are fun to use.

More:

“Gun Group Chief Says Industry Didn’t Cause Newtown,” Ken Ritter, AP via ABC News

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Newtown’s Gun Lobby in DC

This morning the NRA attempted to defend its insane proposals to put guns in all American schools and keep military-type weapons and magazines on the streets, the gun lobby’s reaction to the horrifying slaughter of 20 small children and 6 educators in Newtown Connecticut. But Newtown itself is home to another gun lobby group, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, and its last registered DC office is at 20 F Street NW (above) near the U.S. Senate, where it rents space.

The NSSF represents gun and ammunition manufacturers and dealers, so it’s no surprise that it has lobbied Congress against restrictions on military-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. It even claims that the AR-15 is a legitimate hunting firearm.

Sandy Hook’s Dangerous Neighbor

In Newtown Connecticut, if you drive 3 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School heading towards Rock Glen State Park, you’ll reach the headquarters of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. NSSF is the association representing 7,000 firearms manufacturers, gun dealers, and shooting range businesses across the country.  Here’s what NSSF has to say about the massacre of 20 neighborhood kids and 6 local educators:

“DEAR NSSF MEMBERS AND INDUSTRY ASSOCIATES . . . We at the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute have been deeply shaken and saddened by the horrible events that took place in Newtown last week. There are not many degrees of separation in small communities like Newtown, and so, not surprisingly, we had family, friends and acquaintances that were affected. We are weighed down by their heartbreaking stories and the sorrow that has blanketed our community. Our hearts go out to the families of the victims of this terrible tragedy.

Last Friday, we posted on the NSSF and SAAMI websites that out of respect for the families, the community and the ongoing police investigation, it would be inappropriate for our organizations to comment or participate in media requests. That remains our position at this time.”

That’s it. Heartfelt.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation Government Relations division had lots more to say when opposing laws against high-capacity magazines of the type used to slaughter kids three miles from the NSSF doorstep. A similar bill will be reintroduced in Congress. A Connecticut state bill banning high-capacity magazines was defeated last year due to pressure from the gun lobby.

More:

“The Second Most Powerful Gun Lobby Is in Newtown, Connecticut,” Lydia DePillis, The New Republic

“Gun lobby thrives just 3 miles from Sandy Hook school where shooter killed 26,” Larry McShane, New York Daily News

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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