The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) is a law enforcement agency within the United States Department of the Treasury. ATF enforces the federal laws and regulations relating to alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives, and arson by working directly and in cooperation with federal, state, local, and international law enforcement.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), a component of the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice, is the United States' primary source for criminal justice statistics. BJS collects, analyzes, and publishes information on crime, criminal offenders, victims of crime, and the operation of justice systems at all levels of government. Annually, the agency publishes findings of major BJS statistical series, describes BJS data collection programs, and summarizes programs to help states and localities develop automated information systems.

The National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The primary responsibilities of CDC include: detecting and investigating health problems; conducting research to enhance prevention; and developing and advocating sound public health policies.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice. At present, the FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crimes. The FBI is also authorized to provide other law enforcement agencies with cooperative services such as Uniform Crime Reports and the National Crime Information Center.

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is a part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NCHS is the federal government's principal vital and health statistics agency. NCHS data systems include data on vital events as well as information on health status, lifestyle and exposure to unhealthy influences, the onset and diagnosis of illness and disability, and the use of health care. NCHS is located in Hyattsville, Maryland, with offices in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Established in 1989, the American Shooting Sports Council (ASSC), the self-described "organized voice of the firearms industry," was established to provide "a viable voice in the hearings preceding debate of statutes affecting the industry." ASSC claimed 17,000 members including manufacturers of firearms, gun dealers, and wholesalers. In 1999 ASSC opened back-channel communications with a consortium of lawyers representing several cities which had launched lawsuits against gun manufacturers. An NRA led counter-attack against this turn of events resulted in the ASSC being folded into the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), an industry group more acceptable to the NRA.

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization founded in 1974 by conservative activist Alan Gottlieb "to defend the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution and to provide aid and information to individuals throughout the Nation seeking to maintain the right to keep and bear arms." The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) is the 501(c)(3) educational arm of CCRKBA and was founded by Gottlieb in 1974. Periodicals owned by SAF include Gun Week and Women & Guns magazine. Gottlieb is also a founder, along with Ron Arnold, of the Wise Use movement.

Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization formed in 1975 to "preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights" of gun owners. Associated with GOA are: Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund, Gun Owners of California, and The Gun Owners Foundation.

Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) was founded in 1989 by Aaron Zelman. The organization works to "expose the propaganda and myths used by all anti-gunners, but particularly by some Jewish anti-gunners." The central JPFO argument is the allegation that America's gun control laws are taken literally from the gun control laws of Nazi Germany and that gun control, by definition, leads to genocide.

The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is the best known and most powerful organization working against firearm restrictions in America. The NRA is a 501(c)(4) lobbying organization with an estimated 2.8 million members that describes itself as "the foremost guardian of the traditional American right to �keep and bear arms.'" The NRA's 1996 revenue totaled $128 million while carrying a continuing deficit of $46.5 million. The NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) advocates "legislation to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially with reference to the rights of the individual American citizen to acquire, possess, transport, carry and enjoy the right to use arms." The NRA's 990 IRS form reported ILA's 1996 budget as more than $9 million. Other related NRA organizations include the NRA Special Contribution Fund, International Shooter Development Fund, American Firearms & Shooting Foundation, Firearms Civil Rights Legal Defense Fund, National Firearms Museum Fund and The NRA Foundation.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is the leading trade association of the firearms industry. The NSSF was formed in 1961 as a non-profit communications and marketing organization that manages a variety of programs designed to promote a better understanding of the shooting sports, as well as to encourage participation in the shooting sports. In 1993, the NSSF created the Women's Shooting Sports Foundation (WSSF). In addition to NSSF support, WSSF receives funding from the NRA and such manufacturers as Browning and Winchester.

NSSF president and CEO Bob Delfay is also the president and CEO of the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI). Founded in 1926, SAAMI was originally created to deal with standards and specifications for firearms and ammunition. In the 1990s SAAMI began to "take on an expanded role in legislative and media relations."

In March 1999 the NSSF established the Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Fund (HSSHF) with the dual missions of: 1) educating the public on behalf of "ethical and responsible" gun users, and 2) operating a legal defense fund to respond to "legal, legislative and regulatory attacks." HSSHF is funded by gun manufacturers from a voluntary one percent contribution on hunting-and shooting-related sales.