Chairman's Message: 

Leadership Through Creative Problem-Solving

When uncertainty looms, leaders must become the driving factor for inspiration and motivation. We do so by clearly defining the vision, removing obstacles, and driving the direction of our teams.  We will all face setbacks this year, but how do we turn these hurdles into an opportunity to grow?  By encouraging creative problem-solving, developing a culture of resilience, and empowering our employees to take decisive action. 

Creative problem-solving allows an organization to remain flexible in a rapidly changing market.  It also forces collaboration, open conversations and develops opportunities of improvement with well-rounded solutions.

FEATURED ARTICLES

I wanted to take a minute to bring to your attention a couple things in this issue of InSight that I think are relevant to a lot of companies on our mailing list. I know we’re all busy watching the absolutely remarkable situation in Washington, D.C. right now, but here’s a couple things that maybe haven’t caught your attention because of all that.

First, I want to talk to distributors and manufacturers alike about a change in the parcel market that is going to impact the cost of shipping items. Both UPS and FedEx have apparently updated their dimensional surcharges for items over 48 inches.

As mentioned over the last few months NASGW has completed the buyout of our technology partner on the SCOPE platform, meaning NASGW now owns this industry data asset outright. This is a big step for this organization and will allow our team to be more nimble and progressive when it comes to updates, improvements, and automations. With this transition we recently migrated NASGW to a new and improved system. You may have noticed some slight user experience changes or the forced password change. Our team is currently completing this transition which includes remapping some of our data feed. We appreciate your patience as we wrap up this initial step and look forward to getting going on a list of improvements to help streamline your SCOPE experience. Stay tuned for more to come soon. 

Last year was a banner year for the Second Amendment Foundation as the organization celebrated victories in two cases and 13 procedural wins in support of our right to keep and bear arms! During 2024, SAF scored victories against “sensitive places” laws, “assault weapons” bans and young-adult carry restrictions, to name a few.
Case Wine:

• Hunter v. Cortland Housing Authority: Challenge to Cortland Housing Authority's lease which prohibited weapons on the premises and inside the homes of tenants. SAF secured a permanent injunction to secure residents’ Second Amendment rights, forced the housing authority to remove the onerous firearms ban provision from its lease agreement, and recovered a significant award of attorneys’ fees.

President Donald Trump was just four days into his second term when he used the world stage to call out American banks for their track record of discriminating against lawful American businesses. That criticism tracks with what numerous businesses in the firearm and ammunition industry have experienced not just over the past four years of the Biden-Harris administration but also going back to the Obama presidency.

While speaking at the World Economic Forum 2025 in Davos, Switzerland, the president didn’t mince words.

“You and Jamie [JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon] and everybody else, I hope you start opening your banks to conservatives,” President Trump said directly to Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan. “What you’re doing is wrong.” Dimon in 2021 testified at a Congressional hearing and stated under oath that JP Morgan Chase would not lend to manufacturers of Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs). “We do not finance the manufacture of military style weapons for civilian use,” Dimon said at the time.

Trumps latest term in office has started out fast and furious. As our political leaders in DC and at the state level continue to introduce new bills impacting the Shooting Sports Industry, be sure to stay on top of these new developments using the NASGW Bill Tracker.

The NASGW Bill Tracker monitors pending legislation that directly affects the firearms industry, at the Federal and State level. The bills are reflective of the current legislative sessions based on jurisdiction and include defeated, passed and pending bills until the current legislative session ends. Sort bills by their current progress, category, state or region and bill year. Stay informed about current legislation in the works before it impacts your business. 

Click below to view the latest bills of interest. 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

• 9th Circuit Judge Highlights Procedural Machinations for Routing 2A Challenges
• American Consumers Drove GDP Growth in Q4
• "Political Grief," Gun Control, and Guilt by Association
• The Promise of AI in Sales
• Shot Show Celebrates Industry Strength and Momentum
• Fed Holds Interest Rates; inflation "Somewhat Elevated"

UPCOMING EVENTS

April 24-27, 2025

NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits

Atlanta GA

May 13, 2025

NSSF Marketing & Leadership Summit

Clearwater Beach, FL

June 23-25, 2025

POMA Annual Meeting

Oregon, OH

October 15-17, 2025

NASGW Expo

Grapevine, TX