Todd J. Rathner

Todd J Rathner
Born (1965-11-06) November 6, 1965 (age 58)
Queens, New York, US
OccupationLobbyist
Employer(s)Rathner and Associates
Websitehttp://www.rathnerandassociates.com/

Todd J. Rathner (born November 6, 1965) is an American Second Amendment lobbyist and former member of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) Board of Directors, where he was elected in 1999 and served until 2022.

Rathner lives in Tucson, Arizona.[1] He grew up in New York and is the owner of the T. Jeffrey Safari Company.[2]

Rathner has been a Second Amendment lobbyist for over 15 years and served on the NRA Board of Directors and the following NRA committees: Executive Committee, Legislative Policy Committee and the International Affairs Committee. Rathner is the Director of Legislative Affairs for Knife Rights.[3][4][5][6][7]

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.[8]

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.[9][10] 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.[11][12] Rathner talked at length in regard to the NFAFA, the organization's aims, and accomplishments on the Arizona-based Gun Freedom Radio show that aired on 06/25/16[13]

Rathner gained additional notoriety following the April 12, 2015, death of Freddie Gray, an African American man who died in the custody of the Baltimore Police Department after being arrested for purportedly carrying an illegal knife. Rathner's efforts to overturn knife laws such as the one under which Gray was arrested quickly gained national attention.[8] In June 2016 Rathner successfully lobbied the New York State Senate to pass S6483-A/A9042-A, revising the state's much-publicized and highly controversial law banning the possession of gravity knives.[14][15][16]

In 2017, Rathner was instrumental in the passage of Texas House Bill 1935 into law that allows the open carry of blades longer than 5 1/2" in public. The bill was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and became effective on September 1, 2017.[17][18]

In February 2022, Rathner resigned from the NRA Board of Directors.[19]

Awards and recognition

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  • Named Conservationist of The Year by Arizona Game and Fish Commission 2002.[20]

References

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  1. ^ Korte, Gregory (4 May 2013). "Protesters confront NRA board member at gun meeting". USA Today. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  2. ^ "Big Game Hunting". Safari. 2008.
  3. ^ Sobieck, Ben (June 11, 2010). "Knife Rights Appoints Todd Rathner as Director of Legislative Affairs". Blade.
  4. ^ "Knife Rights Appoints Todd Rathner as Director of Legislative Affairs". Knife Rights. June 5, 2010.
  5. ^ "Nomination of Directors". America's First Freedom. 5 (9): 62. 2004.
  6. ^ Rau, Alia Beard (July 13, 2011). "Guns in Arizona: Gun lobby has firm grip on state". Arizona Republic. Arizona. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  7. ^ Lacey, Marc (2010-12-04). "Pushing a Right to Bear Arms, the Sharp Kind". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  8. ^ a b Etter, Lauren (May 6, 2015). "Knives Are the New Guns in Lawmakers' Second-Amendment Expansion". Bloomberg.
  9. ^ Williams, Lee (9 October 2013). "New gun rights group launched for NFA owners". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  10. ^ "Veteran Activist & Lobbyist Launches Gun Rights Organization – NFA Freedom Alliance". Ammoland. October 7, 2014.
  11. ^ "What is 'Shall Certify' legislation?". NFA Freedom Alliance. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  12. ^ Todd Rathner, Doug Ritter, Herb Stupp (September 27, 2015). 30th Annual Gun Rights Policy Conference (Television production). Arizona: C-Span.
  13. ^ Gun Freedom Radio Episode 43 Hour 2 "The DC Project" aired 06/25/2016.
  14. ^ "Knife Rights' Fix for Bogus NYC Gravity Knife Arrests Passes Senate 61-0". 2016-06-15. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  15. ^ The Editorial Board (2016-05-31). "New York's Outdated Knife Law". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  16. ^ Vlahos, Kelley Beaucar (2015-05-11). "2nd Amendment advocates push to repeal switchblade, other knife laws | Fox News". Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  17. ^ "Texas law will allow open carry of knives, swords". 2017-07-11. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  18. ^ "Borrowing strategy from NRA, activists quietly overturn knife restrictions across U.S." 2018-09-15. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
  19. ^ Aila Slisco (February 18, 2022). "NRA Board Member, Wayne LaPierre Ally Resigns After 23 Years". Newsweek.
  20. ^ "Past Award Recipients" (PDF). Arizona Game and Fish Department. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
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