The President has correctly stated that the violent crime plaguing our nation is the result of complex conditions that simply cannot be addressed by superficial treatment of serious social issues.

We agree that keeping violent felons from so readily obtaining illegal firearms is one extremely worthwhile goal. Preservation of our precious American heritage of enjoyment of firearms by law-abiding citizens in the contexts of hunting, target shooting, collecting, personal protection, and other lawful purposes, is equally important.

We must all work together as never before to preserve the traditions of our American way of life for the law-abiding, yet diminish our tolerance for those who exhibit a reckless disregard for human life and values. We stand ready to participate in any constructive way to add our knowledge and technical expertise to what is emerging as one of the most critical debates of our time. View PDF