National Shooting Sports Foundation
AbbreviationNSSF
Formation1961
TypeIndustry trade group
Lobby group
Legal statusFoundation
HeadquartersNewtown, Connecticut
Location
  • 11 Mile Hill Rd, Newtown, CT 06470
Websitewww.nssf.org

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is an American national trade association for the firearms industry that is based in Newtown, Connecticut. Formed in 1961, the organization has more than 8,000 members:[1]

The NSSF helps write safety and instruction standards.[2] The NSSF sponsors the annual Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, the (SHOT Show).[3] The NSSF has advocated in favor of gun rights, including arguing against limits on high capacity magazines and the broad use of the term "assault weapon".[2] It has also supported legislation allowing concealed carry and has offered proposals to prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating chemicals in ammunition as well as other sports such as fishing where lead is routinely used for its density.[4] Steve Sanett is president since 2008.[5]

SHOT Show

The NSSF owns and sponsors the SHOT Show trade fair, held annually in Las Vegas. SHOT Show is the largest gun show in the United States, attracting over 50,000 attendees to its 630,000 square feet of exhibition space in Las Vegas.[6] It is among the top 25 trade shows in the country.[1]

Industry and NSSF history

The state of Connecticut has a long history in the manufacture of guns, going back to Eli Whitney and Samuel Colt. Since 2000, as the national interest in hunting has declined according to one report, gun manufacturers have increasingly relied on the sale of high-powered semi-automatic rifles. In that context, NSSF has concentrated on marketing semi-automatic rifles.[5]

Between 2000 and 2003 the Federal Trade Commission conducted an anti-trust investigation of gun industry players including the NSSF. It was alleged that they were boycotting Smith & Wesson due to that company's agreement with the Clinton administration to require background checks on purchasers and provide gun locks. The probe was suspended in 2003 by the Bush administration, with the NSSF's general counsel claiming it had been politically motivated.[7]

In response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that occurred in Newtown on December 14, 2012, 3 miles (4.8 km) from the organization's headquarters, the NSSF expressed its sympathies on its website and declined to immediately comment.[8] The following month, Sanetti noted that his employees were personally affected by the Newtown massacre,[9] saying in a speech at the 2013 SHOT Show: "Who among us has not been moved by that unspeakable tragedy that was inflicted by a deranged man upon the children of Newtown, Conn., our very home as the NSSF?"[10]

Legislation

The NSSF supported the Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act of 2014 (S. 2363; 113th Congress). The NSSF thanked Senator Thad Cochran for co-sponsoring the bill.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Valentine, Matt (Sep 12, 2013). "The Gun Lobbying Group You Don't Hear About". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on September 13, 2013. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b Nate Rawlings (15 December 2012). "In the Shadow of Sandy Hook, a Powerful Pro-Gun Organization Keeps Silent". Time. Newtown, Connecticut. Archived from the original on 18 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  3. ^ The History of The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), NSSF.org, Retrieved December 20, 2012.
  4. ^ Lydia DePillis (14 December 2012). "The Second Most Powerful Gun Lobby Is in Newtown, Connecticut". newrepublic.com. The New Republic. Archived from the original on 16 May 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  5. ^ a b Wilkie, Christina and Saki Knafo, "National Shooting Sports Foundation, Newtown Gun Lobby, Keeps Military-Style Guns Legal", 12/22/2012. Retrieved 2012-12-23.
  6. ^ "Las Vegas Celebrates Trade Show Success". Trade Show News Network. Tarsus Media. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 21 July 2023. The Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show (SHOT Show) welcomed over 52,000 professionals and delivered the largest event in its history, marking the second year of the expanded showfloor across The Venetian Convention and Expo Center and CAESARS FORUM.
  7. ^ "US regulators call off antitrust probe of gun industry". TerraNet Portal. 3 August 2003. Archived from the original on 18 November 2004. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  8. ^ Larry McShane (15 December 2012). "Gun lobby thrives just 3 miles from Sandy Hook school where shooter killed 26". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  9. ^ Knafo, Saki (15 January 2013). "National Shooting Sports Foundation Breaks Silence On Gun Control, Newtown Shooting". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 19 January 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  10. ^ Daly, Michael (24 January 2013). "National Shooting Sports Foundation Fights Gun Control From Newtown". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 1 November 2016. Minutes from the scene of the Sandy Hook massacre, a leading gun-industry trade association is rallying against those 'seeking to destroy the Second Amendment.'
  11. ^ "Firearms Industry Thanks U.S. Sen. Cochran for Co-Sponsoring Bipartisan Sportsmen's Act". Sacramento Bee. PRNewswire. 19 June 2014. Archived from the original on 20 June 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.

External links

Gun politics interest groups in the United States
Authority control databases
Categories