National Shooting Sports Foundation
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| Abbreviation | NSSF |
|---|---|
| Motto | To promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports |
| Formation | 1961 |
| Type | Industry trade group, and lobbying |
| Legal status | Foundation |
| Headquarters | Newtown, Connecticut |
| Website | 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: firearms manufacturers, distributors, retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen's clubs and media.
The NSSF mission is "To promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports". In addition to promoting gun ownership and the shooting sports, the NSSF helps write safety and instruction standards. The NSSF sponsors the annual Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, the (SHOT Show). The NSSF has advocated specific positions on gun rights, including arguing against limits on high capacity magazines and the broad use of the term "assault weapon". 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.
"SHOT Business" is the publication of the NSSF.
Steve Sanetti, the president since 2008, is a former Army captain and former president of Sturm, Ruger & Co. where he "helped direct 'the successful coordinated response to municipal lawsuits that threatened the firearms industry in the late 1990s,' according to a 2008 press release".
Doug Painter, a former NSSF president, was featured in a video released by the group in 2009. According to the Sunlight Foundation, the NSSF spent $1.7 million on lobbying efforts from 1998 to 2012. The NSSF launched its voter education website Gunvote in 2012.
The largest gun show in the United States is the annual SHOT Show, sponsored by the NSSF. It attracted over 60,000 attendees to its 630,000 square feet of exhibition space in Las Vegas. It is among the top 25 trade shows in the country.
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.
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