Six State Agencies Earn Acclaim

At a ceremony March 19 during the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in Washington, D.C., NSSF President Bob Delfay presented awards to the six agencies for having introduced 20% or more of their staff to target shooting, archery, or hunting in the past year. The awards went to Arizona Game & Fish Dept., Colorado Division of Wildlife, Kentucky Dept. of Fish & Wildlife Resources, Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, Ohio Division of Wildlife, and Wyoming Game & Fish Dept.

These agencies are to be congratulated for their exemplary efforts in encouraging and fostering greater participation in outdoor recreation by providing their employees the opportunity to Step Outside and experience America's traditional outdoor sports," Delfay said.

(posted March 2001)
 

Gary Indiana Lawsuit Shot Down Second Time

Following that decision, however, the city filed an amended complaint in an attempt to salvage its case, and the industry immediately filed for dismissal. Without even waiting to review the industry's full argument, Judge Richards ruled against the city, stating that it had failed to "correct the deficiencies of the original Complaint."

Responding to the city's reaction that it might appeal its latest setback, NSSF Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane noted, "Unfortunately for the citizens of Gary, their mayor has wasted tax dollars only to be told a second time that his politically motivated suit is completely baseless. Hopefully, the politicians have learned their lesson and will not waste even more money pursuing a frivolous appeal."

(posted March 2001)
 

Gays Protest Massachusetts Gun Law

The Pink Pistols, an organization of gay and lesbian gun owners, is specifically targeting a 1998 law that completely revamped the state's gun licensing regulations, and also placed strict manufacturing standards on new handguns. The licensing provisions give local police widespread discretion to deny licenses based on racial and sexual biases, the group says.

Since 1998, police chiefs have been emboldened to take a much more aggressive stance to deny applicants," said Pink Pistols spokesman David Rostcheck. The group also claims that the manufacturing standards requiring a 10-pound trigger pull on handguns discriminate against smaller women, the elderly and disabled because of their physical inability to pull that heavy a trigger. The group is launching a campaign that includes educating the media, partnering with public officials, and possibly filing a lawsuit, and also plans to make the law an issue in elections.

(posted March 2001)