Todd J. Rathner

Todd J. Rathner (born November 6, 1965) is a member of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) Board of Directors, where he has served since he was elected in 1999.

Career

Rathner currently serves on the following NRA committees: Executive Committee, Bylaws and Resolutions Committee, Legislative Policy Committee, International Affairs Committee, President's Committee on Ways and Means, and Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Committee.

Rathner is the principal of Rathner and Associates, an Arizona lobbying and political consulting firm, specializing in tax, land use and legislation related to individual rights, especially the right to bear arms, hunting, and self-defense.

On October 6, 2014, Rathner announced the formation of the NFA Freedom Alliance (NFAFA), an organization dedicated to protecting NFA gun owners, dealers, and manufacturers interests by influencing public policy primarily through lobbying.[1] One of the primary stated goals of the NFAFA is to enact "Shall Certify" legislation in all 50 states to mitigate the effects on NFA gun owners of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives 41P Proposal. NFA gun owners are defined as those who own silencers, short barreled rifles, short barreled shotguns and machine guns.[2]

Rathner serves as the Director of Legislative Policy for Knife Rights, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights of knife owners and manufacturers.[3]

Rathner is also the former chief lobbyist for the American Silencer Association.

As an Arizona lobbyist, in 2010 Rathner played a critical role in enacting Arizona's "Constitutional Carry" law, which allows law-abiding citizens to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. This makes Arizona the third state, behind Vermont and Alaska, to enact such a law.

Rathner is a civil rights activist who defends the individual right to keep and bear arms as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution in the Bill of Rights. Rathner also works to uphold the rights of hunters around the world to continue hunting. He is the owner of The T Jeffrey Safari Company, which arranges African hunting safaris primarily in Namibia and South Africa, as well as hunting safaris in Australia and New Zealand.

In 2000, he organized and led the grassroots campaign to enact Arizona's Firearms Pre-emption Law which prevents cities and towns in Arizona from enacting firearms laws or regulations and leaves the regulation of firearms to the Arizona legislature.

Rathner is a registered lobbyist in the Arizona Legislature; he was instrumental in the drafting and passage of the Arizona Shooting Range Protection Bill and the Ben Avery Shooting Range Protection Bill. These laws have secured the future of shooting ranges in Arizona and the Ben Avery Shooting Facility in particular. In addition Rathner has worked on numerous legislative measures to make life easier for law-abiding gun owners and hunters in Arizona.

Rathner has worked on numerous political campaigns to elect pro-Second Amendment candidates to various government offices.

Rathner currently works with various organizations to help ease firearms restrictions on American hunters who travel to hunt. These include bans on the transportation of firearms as checked luggage on commercial airliners. Rathner publishes The T. Jeffrey Safari Company blog which covers numerous topics related to hunting including issues critical to international hunters, especially those who hunt in Africa.

Rathner has also worked to assure the right of law-abiding citizens of the United States to utilize public land for hunting and recreational shooting.

He is a frequent guest on nranews.com and Liberty Watch Radio.

Personal life

Born in 1965 in Flushing, Queens, New York, he currently resides in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife and two children.

Rathner grew up hunting and target shooting with his father, uncle and cousins and continues to do so today. He is a two time graduate of Gunsite Training Center in Paulden, Arizona.

Awards and recognition

Instructor certifications

References

  1. ↑ "Veteran Activist & Lobbyist Launches Gun Rights Organization – NFA Freedom Alliance". Ammoland. October 7, 2014.
  2. ↑ "What is 'Shall Certify' legislation?". NFA Freedom Alliance. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Knife Rights Appoints Todd Rathner as Director of Legislative Affairs". Knife Rights. June 5, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Past Award Recipients" (PDF). Arizona Game and Fish Department. Retrieved October 24, 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, November 18, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.