Buckeye Firearms Association endorsees have been elected by Republicans and Democrats to a majority of leadership positions in their respective caucuses for the 128th General Assembly.

By Gerard Valentino

Most people in the gun movement were familiar with the famous Spartan 300 long before the recent movie again made their heroic deeds the stuff of legend. Other legitimate freedom fighters throughout history, however, aren’t as well known.

One person in history stands with the 300 as a key player in the fight for freedom long before the American Revolution turned the sacrifice of such heroes into reality. That man was a brief part of the movie Braveheart - Robert the Bruce.

Hunters took 20,659 deer during Ohio's four-day muzzleloader season, December 27-30, with Tuscarawas County again leading the state with 934 deer checked. Last year, a preliminary total of 21,473 deer was taken during muzzleloader season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

By Jeff Knox

The repercussions from Hurricane Katrina continue to roll in like the tidal surge that flooded New Orleans. The latest storm takes aim at guns and gunowners. As news trickles out of a final resolution in the lawsuits filed over the government’s illegal confiscation of firearms during the days after the flood, new reports of unprovoked attacks on African-Americans by white, neighborhood militias during the storm’s aftermath are beginning to surface. In a feature article in the liberal magazine "The Nation," titled “Katrina’s Hidden Race War,” writer A. C. Thompson suggests that a group organized to provide security for the Algiers Point neighborhood actually engaged in open warfare against unarmed, innocent blacks trying to reach an evacuation point on the other side of the neighborhood. In the article, Thompson combines first-person accounts of the victims of one attack, the statements of members of the neighborhood security group, African-American residents of the Algiers Point neighborhood, records from area hospitals, the coroner’s office, and generous helpings of hearsay and speculation to suggest that members of the security group engaged in racially motivated murder.

If there is any truth in these accusations, the perpetrators should be rooted out and punished. The Second Amendment is about defense of person, community, and country, not sport-hunting of humans. Anyone who accepts the responsibility of carrying a gun also accepts the responsibility of using it wisely. Governor Bobby Jindal should immediately launch a full investigation to either condemn or exonerate the members of the Algiers Point Militia.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that a Metroparks visitor carrying a concealed gun fatally shot a rottweiler that attacked his leashed dog at Tyler Field off Valley Parkway in the Cleveland area.

By Jim Irvine

The Ohio Attorney General's office has released the concealed handgun license (CHL) statistics for the third quarter of 2008. We have now seen six straight quarters of increased demand over the same period a year prior.

In the typically slow third quarter, the 7,632 regular concealed handgun licenses issued was a whopping 58% increase over the same period in 2007. Add to that another 9,130 renewals and 13 Temporary Emergency Licenses (TELs) and it is clear that demand for CHL's continues to be strong and getting stronger.

In fact, the evidence is that even five years later the CHL is still one of the most successful government programs going. Over 250 people every business day applied for a new or renewal CHL in Ohio. New licenses are still averaging over 100 every business day.

By Jim Irvine

The Columbus Dispatch editorial "Kowtow to the NRA – Sheriffs got a raw deal when lawmakers backed down on concealed carry fee" demonstrates that the Dispatch editors are still more interested in spreading lies to prop up their failed ideas rather than accepting the truth and reporting the news.

It is important to note that the Dispatch has been contacted many times by Buckeye Firearms Association leaders about gun-related stories full of errors, omissions, or lies. That they continue to write stories that are factually inaccurate proves they are intentionally attempting to mislead their readers about firearms and the legislative process.

By Larry S. Moore

The Columbus Dispatch reported recently that the defeat of HB446, the so-called "puppy mill" bill that sought to increase fees and impose new regulations on dog breeders and kennel owners, had ruffled some feathers in the Statehouse.

Although the Dispatch acknowledges that the U.S. Sportsman's Alliance had been long-engaged in the debate, reporter Jim Siegel editorializes in his news article that Sen. Gary Cates and bill sponsor Rep. Shawn Webster were "blindsided" when another gun and hunters' rights group voiced opposition.

"This is not a gun issue, per se. I could not have foreseen last-minute involvement by the NRA in this," Cates said. "I would have been just as surprised if the Chamber of Commerce had weighed in."

Hohenwarter said he was contacted by at least one senator, and by an Ohio-based gun-advocacy group. He also talked to Connie Nolder, a friend and lobbyist for the National Pet Breeders Alliance.

"The breeders and their lobbyist brought the NRA to the table as an attempt to kill the bill," Cates said. "I guess they felt that was the only way they could stop this thing was to pull in some heavyweights."

Recently, I wrote Senator Cates to express my deep concerns regarding his comments. I have decided to share my letter as a means of answering questions for anyone else who may wonder why Buckeye Firearms Association , the USSA and yes, the NRA, had a duck in this hunt.