NSSF Supports 3-Gun Nation

NEWTOWN, Conn --(Ammoland.com)- 3-Gun Nation has reached a sponsorship agreement recently with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, further solidifying the organization’s already strong commitment to the advancement of the shooting sports.

Formed in 1961, the NSSF is the trade association for the shooting, hunting and firearms industry and has more than 5,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsman’s organizations and publishers within its membership rolls.

“We are extremely pleased at this new partnership with 3-Gun Nation,” said Chris Dolnack, Senior Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer, NSSF.

“This is one of the ways we help fulfill our mission of promoting, protecting and preserving hunting and the shooting sports. We know this program will help promote this new popular shooting activity as they use today’s most popular firearm—the modern sporting rifle.”

The NSSF is also a leader in contemporary education programs as well as initiatives geared toward increasing participation in hunting and shooting.

“NSSF has done an outstanding job of late with their newest education program, ‘Modern Sporting Rifle,’ which gives a solid perspective on the validity of the modern, semi-automatic rifle platforms, such as the AR-15, and their place within the shooting sports—both competitive shooting and hunting,” said Chad Adams, VP, 3-Gun Nation.

The NSSF also administers First Shots, NSSF’s acclaimed education and training program that introduces new shooters to the sport; and Task force 20/20, a recruitment program geared toward increasing hunting and competitive shooting participation 20-percent by 2013.

“3-Gun Nation is more than a TV show—it’s a movement,” Adams said. “In that regard, we fully plan on partnering with NSSF on programs such as First Shots and Task Force 20/20 in any and every way possible. We’re going to cover those great programs, educate the shooting public, and do everything we can to help NSSF grow the shooting sports.”

Multi-gun, or 3-gun, is a unique sport within the discipline known as practical shooting. Considered the fastest growing segment within the shooting sports, 3-gun challenges competitors with rifle, pistol and shotgun, maneuvering through unique stages of fire as fast as their skill will allow.

The next stop on the 3-Gun Nation Tour is during the Fort Benning 3-Gun Challenge, Dec. 3-5, at Fort Benning, Ga., home to the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit. Following the FB3G-3GN Shoot-Off, a check for $5,000, presented on behalf of the NSSF, will go to the winner.

The National 3-Gun Association, through media properties “3-Gun Nation Television” and 3GunNation.com, was formed with one mission: to promote practical shooting by shining a light on amateur and professional shooters alike, as well as the guns, gear and lifestyle that define the high-octane sport of 3-gun competition. Bringing never-before-seen cash payouts to the table, 3-Gun Nation is quite simply changing the game.

The entire list of events and dates for the 2011 3-Gun Nation Tour will be released soon. For 2011, 3-Gun Nation is moving to Saturday mornings at 7:30 AM EST, in addition to the current airing on Thursdays at 3 PM EST. To see the 2010 3-Gun Nation Championship, where one winner will take home $25,000 from Leupold Tactical Optics, tune in to Versus Monday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 AM or Thursday, Dec. 2 at 3 PM EST. For more information, visit www.3GunNation.com.

By: Ammoland.com

Quiet First Hearing for Adams’ Gun Control Proposal

Contrary to expectations, no one from the National Rifle Association or any other Second Amendment organization threatened to sue Portland when the City Council held its first hearing on Mayor Sam Adams' gun control proposals on Thursday afternoon.

Instead, Adams' proposals to require gun owners to keep firearms away from minors and report all loses to the police drew praise from many of those testified before the council.

Instead, the strongest criticisms were aimed at his proposals to impose curfews on juveniles convicted of gun-related crimes and exclude both them and adults with firearm convictions from certain parts of town.

Former state Rep. Joann Bowman complained such restrictions would likely be applied disproportionately to minorities. She urged the council to instead support community solutions to the root causes of gangs and violence.

"When police start stopping black kids at night, you can't tell me they'll only stop those convicted of gun crimes," Bowman said.

Bird case prompts bill to change law regarding gun use

A state lawmaker has filed a bill to explicitly permit residents to ward off trespassers by exhibiting a firearm.

"We want to make it very clear to the courts that protecting our property is an absolute right," said state Rep. Betsey Patten, R-Moultonborough, who filed the bill at the Statehouse Monday while group outside the Capitol protested the imprisonment of a Moultonborough resident for criminal threatening for brandishing a firearm when a woman trespassed on his property.

Patten acknowledged that if the bill were to become law it would not help Ward Bird who is serving a three- to six-year sentenced in State Prison.

In an nine-page opinion authored by Associate Justice Gary Hicks the New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld Ward's conviction late last month ruling that, "a rational juror could have found that the defendant's belief that it was necessary to wave his pistol to terminate (the victim's) trespass was not objectively reasonable."

"Considering the evidence and all inference to be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the state, a rational juror readily could have found that the defendant's actions of waving and pointed a gun toward the victim, while yelling "get the f¿ of my property," constituted felony criminal threatening," the Supreme Court ruled.

Bird's supporters claim he never leveled the gun at the woman, but rather took it out of back holster and checked it to assure the safety was on.

Patten said Rep. Leo Pepino of Manchester was the prime sponsor of House Bill 160 that was approved last year and becomes law in January 2011. That law relative to physical force in defense of a person reads, "A person who responds to a threat considered by a reasonable person as likely to cause serious bodily injury or death to the person or another by displaying a firearm or other means of self-defense with the intent to warn away the person making the threat shall not have committed a criminal act."

Patten said her proposed legislation mirrors Pepino's, yet specifies defense of private property instead of a person.

Meanwhile, Patten said, she has obtained the necessary paperwork for Bird to apply for a pardon from Gov. John Lynch and the Executive Council. A pardon request requires an investigation by the Department of Justice and solicits recommendations from the prosecutor, the trial judge and the alleged victim among others.

Even if pardoned, Bird's guilty conviction would still stand, but he would be able to walk free.

On Monday morning Patten drove Bird's daughter, Aberdeen and a fellow Moultonborough Academy student Matt Tolman to Concord when she filed the legislation. The pair received excused absences from school to participate in a civics lesson, Patten explained. She said in talking with Academy Principal Andy Coppinger she has learned that many students are interested in the outcome of the Bird case and said because they feel they have a "vested interest" she hopes the process will be a learning one for the communities youngsters. Bird is the father of four children.

About two dozen of Bird's supporters gathered outside the State House on Monday to protest his imprisonment while Patten went inside to file her legislative service request.

By: Bea Lewis, Laconia Citizen

In U.S., Continuing Record-Low Support for Stricter Gun Control

PRINCETON, NJ -- For the second year in a row, a record-low 44% of Americans say laws governing the sale of firearms should be made more strict, while 42% say gun laws should be kept as they are now. Twelve percent say gun laws should be made less strict.

Americans' support for stricter gun control laws has gradually declined over the last two decades, from 78% when this question was first asked in 1990 to 49% in 2008, and 44% in 2009 and again this year. As support for stricter gun laws has decreased, support for keeping gun laws as they are now has increased, from 17% in 1990 to 42% now. The percentage of Americans favoring less strict gun control laws has remained relatively stable over the last 20 years, and is now at 12%.

These results are based on Gallup's annual Crime Poll, conducted Oct. 7-10 this year.

Americans are also less likely to say there should be a law banning the possession of handguns except by the police and other authorized persons. The current 29% who favor such a law is within one percentage point of the low of 28% recorded last year, down from 60% when Gallup first asked this question in 1959 -- the only time when a majority favored such a ban. Support has been below 40% every year since 1993.

By: Frank Newport, Gallup.com