February 15, 2013
The nation's total violent crime rate hit an all-time high in 1991. Thereafter, it declined 18 of the next 20 years, 49 percent overall, to a 41-year low in 2011. That included a 52 percent decrease in the nation’s murder rate, to a 48-year low, nearly the lowest point in U.S. history. The FBI has preliminarily reported that in the first half of 2012, the murder rate dropped another 2.7 percent.
FULL STORY
February 15, 2013
Semi-automatic firearms were introduced more than a century ago. The first semi-automatic rifle was introduced in 1885, the first semi-automatic pistol in 1892, and the first semi-automatic shotgun in 1902. Semi-automatics account for about 20 percent of the 300 million privately-owned firearms in the United States and the percentage is quickly rising, because semi-automatics now account for about 50 percent of all new firearms bought annually. Americans bought about five million new semi-automatics in 2012.
FULL STORY
February 5, 2013
Like other gun control supporters, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) campaigned for banning handguns in the 1980s.1 Since the early 1990s, however, she has campaigned for banning a variety of firearms—mostly rifles—she calls “assault weapons,” along with any firearm magazine that holds 11 or more rounds of ammunition, which she calls “large.” Feinstein sponsored the federal “assault weapon” and “large” magazine ban imposed from 1994 to 2004.
FULL STORY
January 24, 2013
Since 1966, the National Rifle Association has urged the federal government to address the problem of mental illness and violence. As we noted then, “the time is at hand to seek means by which society can identify, treat and temporarily isolate such individuals,” because “elimination of the instrument by which these crimes are committed cannot arrest the ravages of a psychotic murderer."
FULL STORY
January 17, 2013
The National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which became operational in 1998, verifies that a person seeking to buy a firearm from a gun dealer is not prohibited from doing so by federal or state law. The National Rifle Association supported its establishment. Gun control supporters opposed NICS, preferring to require a gun purchaser to wait several days after stating the desire to buy a gun, before receiving it from a firearm dealer.
FULL STORY
January 17, 2013
The number of privately owned guns in the U.S. is at an all-time high, upwards of 300 million, and now rises by about 10 million per year. Meanwhile, the firearm accident death rate has fallen to an all-time low, 0.2 per 100,000 population, down 94% since the all-time high in 1904. Since 1930, the annual number of firearm accident deaths has decreased 81%, while the U.S. population has more than doubled and the number of firearms has quintupled. Among children, such deaths have decreased 89% since 1975. Today, the odds are more than a million to one, against a child in the U.S. dying in a firearm accident.
FULL STORY
January 15, 2013
For over a decade, cities and anti-gun organizations sought access to confidential law enforcement data on firearms traces, both for use in lawsuits against the firearms industry and for use in questionable studies used to support their goals. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) compiles these records when it traces firearms in response to requests from law enforcement agencies.
FULL STORY
January 14, 2013
In the late 1980s, gun control groups realized that they had failed in their original goal—getting handguns banned—and began campaigning against semi-automatic firearms they called “assault weapons,” most of which are rifles.
FULL STORY
January 11, 2013
The Internet has had an immeasurable impact on how we communicate.
That has included how goods and services are advertised and made available to consumers. For gun owners, it has meant more easily available information about firearms and accessories, but unlike almost all other products and contrary to claims made by anti-gun politicians, how firearms are bought and sold has not changed.
FULL STORY
January 8, 2013
2013 NRA-ILA Firearms Fact Card. A brief summary of the history of and key issues involving the Second Amendment.
FULL STORY
July 26, 2012
Recent calls for federal regulations and restrictions on ammunition sales ignore the failure of such laws in the past. They also ignore the impracticality of imposing and enforcing similar controls in today's huge ammunition market. The National Shooting Sports Foundation estimates that 10-12 billion rounds of ammunition are produced domestically each year, while billions more are imported.
FULL STORY
June 3, 2011
Semi-automatic firearms were introduced more than a century ago. The first semi-automatic rifle, a Mannlicher, appeared in 1885; the first pistol, a Schonberger, in 1892; and the first shotgun, the legendary Browning Auto-5, in 1900.
FULL STORY
July 29, 1999
In 1966, Lorain County, Ohio, coroner Dr. Paul Kopsch, Lorain Police Sgt. Daniel Turcus, Jr., and Dr. Kopsch`s special investigator, Donald Ward, began designing special-purpose handgun ammunition for law enforcement agencies` use. The objective was to provide police with handgun ammunition capable of penetrating hard materials such as automobile doors, cinder blocks and walls.
FULL STORY
May 6, 2013
H.R. 1825 recognizes the rightful place of recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting on Federal lands, supports Executive Order 13443 that directs Federal land management agencies to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting on Federal lands, and ensures sound scientific management of wildlife and their habitat.
FULL STORY
July 31, 2012
Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) have proposed an amendment to the "Cybersecurity Act" to ban standard capacity magazines.
The amendment would ban import, possession, and transfer of magazines that accept (or could be readily converted to accept) more than ten rounds and that are manufactured after the enactment of the amendment. Pre-ban magazines could be possessed by the current owner, but not transferred or imported. The ban only excludes tubular magazines designed to accept .22-caliber ammunition.
FULL STORY
April 6, 2012
An important provision of federal law, intended to protect the right of law-abiding gun owners to transport firearms throughout our nation, has been ignored by anti-gun local officials and effectively gutted by the courts. H.R. 4269, introduced by U.S. Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Ted Poe (R-Texas) and Bill Owens (D-N.Y.), would rewrite the law to give it the effect Congress intended when it was passed more than 25 years ago.
FULL STORY
March 13, 2012
On March 12, S. 2188, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2012,” was introduced by U.S. Senators Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Joe Manchin (D-W.V.). A nearly identical bill, H.R. 822, passed the House of Representatives on Nov. 16, 2011, by a vote of 272-154.
FULL STORY
March 6, 2012
In 2010, the BLM closed 400,000 acres of publicly-owned, national monument lands in three states to recreational shooting activities. BLM is currently proposing to close an additional 600,000 acres in southern Arizona. In response to this, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) introduced H. R. 3440, the “Recreational Shooting Protection Act.”
H. R. 3440 prevents a ban on recreational shooting on BLM monuments. The bill requires congressional approval for any recreational shooting closures or restrictions proposed on BLM-managed national monuments. This bill further directs the BLM to manage national monument land in a manner that supports, promotes, and enhances recreational shooting opportunities.
FULL STORY
February 28, 2012
Self-defense is a fundamental right. The U.S. constitution, the constitutions of 44 states, common law, and the laws of all states recognize the right to use arms in self-defense. RTC laws respect the right to self-defense by allowing individuals to carry firearms for protection.
FULL STORY
February 28, 2012
On February 28, Representative Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) introduced H.R. 4089, the “Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012.” This is a compilation of four different bills (H.R. 991, H.R. 1558, H.R. 2834 and H.R. 3440) that promote America’s hunting heritage. The bill will positively impact sportsmen throughout the country. For this reason, the NRA fully supports this bill.
FULL STORY
February 13, 2012
H. R. 2834 / S. 2066 recognizes the rightful place of recreational hunting, fishing, and shooting on Federal lands, supports Executive Order 13443 that directs Federal land management agencies to facilitate the expansion and enhancement of hunting on Federal lands, and ensures sound scientific management of wildlife and their habitat.
FULL STORY
February 3, 2012
A compilation of the news reports about the criminal acts committed by members of "Mayors Against Illegal Guns."
FULL STORY
October 21, 2011
H. R. 991, introduced by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) would allow the Secretary of the Interior to issue import permits for polar bear trophies legally taken in Canada before the Secretary of the Interior changed the listing of all polar bears globally to the status of "threatened."
FULL STORY
October 21, 2011
H.R. 1581, the Wilderness Area and Roadless Area Release Act, sponsored by Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), will make public hunting lands not suitable for wilderness designation available to millions of Americans that are unfairly closed out from them now.
FULL STORY
October 21, 2011
S. 901 and H.R. 1997, introduced by Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), are designed to ensure that our public lands are truly that: open to the public and available for reasonable and responsible public use, including hunting.
FULL STORY
October 14, 2011
H.R. 58/S. 1691, introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK) in the House and by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) in the Senate, would remove several antiquated and unnecessary restrictions imposed on interstate firearms business since 1968.
FULL STORY
September 27, 2011
Finding a place to hunt is one of the biggest concerns of hunters and NRA-ILA is actively working on multiple fronts to promote solutions to this growing problem. One such solution is called "Open Fields."
FULL STORY
September 26, 2011
The expansion of America’s urban and suburban areas has crowded out many shooting areas and made it increasingly difficult to find a place to shoot. Senators Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and James Risch (R-Idaho) have introduced S. 1249, a bill that would help remedy this problem by promoting the construction and maintenance of target ranges on public lands. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Reps. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) and Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) have introduced a companion bill, H. R. 3065.
FULL STORY
September 20, 2011
In response to an August 2010 petition to the Environmental Protection Agency asking the agency to ban traditional lead ammunition and fishing equipment, U.S. Representatives Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), Mike Ross (D-Ark.), Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) have introduced H.R. 1558, the “Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Protection Act.” Companion legislation, S.838, has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and John Thune (R-S.D.).
FULL STORY
June 28, 2011
In recent years, one of gun owners’ top priorities has been to remove restrictions on where law-abiding persons may legally carry a firearm for self-defense. The removal of the restriction on carry in national parks and national wildlife refuges was a major step forward in the effort to remove unneeded restrictions on the fundamental right to self-defense.
FULL STORY
May 4, 2011
H.R. 420/S. 798, the "Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act of 2011," introduced by U.S. Representative Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.) in the House and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) in the Senate, would provide a 90-day amnesty period during which veterans and their family members could register firearms acquired overseas between June 26, 1934 and Oct. 31, 1968, without fear of prosecution. Congress granted a limited amnesty in 1968, but most veterans did not receive enough notice to participate.
FULL STORY
April 19, 2011
Some believe that S. 34 (Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.) and H.R.1506 (Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y.) are intended to prevent "terrorists" from buying guns.
FULL STORY
March 23, 2011
In February 2011, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) introduced the Collectible Firearms Protection Act, S. 381 and H.R. 615, respectively. The bills propose to amend the Arms Export Control Act to guarantee that U.S.-made military firearms that were previously exported to a foreign government, and which under that law are eligible for re-importation into the U.S. as “curios and relics,”1 will not be blocked from importation.
FULL STORY
March 16, 2011
Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) have introduced H.R. 1093, the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform Act of 2011." The bill would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena. These bipartisan bills are a vital step to modernize and improve BATFE operations.
FULL STORY
March 7, 2011
H.R. 645, the "Second Amendment Enforcement Act," introduced in the House by Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.), would end D.C.`s prohibition on using guns for self-defense in one`s home and conform other D.C. gun laws to federal laws, while retaining stiff penalties for illegal gun possession, gun crimes. It would do none of the things claimed by anti-gun groups. Rep. Ross introduced similar legislation in the 110th Congress.
FULL STORY
February 22, 2011
H.R. 822, introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms for lawful purposes.
FULL STORY
February 10, 2011
In February, Rep. Mike Ross (D-Ark.) introduced H.R. 645 the "Second Amendment Enforcement Act," to eliminate harsh gun control laws imposed by the District of Columbia after the Supreme Court`s decision in D.C. v. Heller (2008).
FULL STORY
January 21, 2011
On January 18, Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 308, the “Large Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act.” On January 25, Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) introduced the companion bill in the Senate, S. 32. The bills would ban the manufacture and importation of new magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, and make it illegal for the tens of millions of Americans who already own these magazines to sell or otherwise transfer them, even through inheritance. Gun owners use the magazines for self-defense and target shooting, and as key parts of collectible firearms, as well as for other lawful purposes.
FULL STORY
January 20, 2011
Forty four states have "Right to Keep and Bear Arms" provisions included in their constitutions. Those provisions are listed here.
FULL STORY
January 20, 2011
Firearm Quick Facts briefly addresses topics of interest to gun owners, students and other members of the public.
FULL STORY