Ten Threats To Our Ohio Gun Rights In 2009

By Alex Payton

What follows is the third annual list of the ten greatest threats to our gun rights. To some degree, all of the threats that were previously listed are still threats to our Ohio gun rights. Some of those threats have become even more powerful and there are new threats that we are facing.

In order to defend our rights, we have to know who or what threatens them. There are actually too many threats to mention, but the following is a list of ten of the more potent threats to our Ohio gun rights.

Honorable mentions
Every individual or entity that made the Top Ten gun last year is still a threat. These threats to our civil rights include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, IANSA Director Rebecca Peters, Representative McCarthy and the Co-Sponsors of a tactical rifle ban renewal, Senator Sherrod Brown and Representative Dennis Kucinich.

10. Toby Hoover (down six places from last year)

Toby Hoover is the president of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, an anti-gun organization that tries to disarm law-abiding citizens in the name of "safety". Hoover has lost just about every battle when it comes to gun rights the last several years. However, she will continue to try to defeat ANY pro-gun legislation and will further align herself with powerful anti-gun organizations such as the Brady Campaign.

Toby Hoover and other anti-gunners have been rejuvenated by the election of possibly the most anti-gun president in the history of the United States. Time will tell if this will give Hoover the power to finally pass extremely anti-gun laws in Ohio.

9. John Murphy (new to the Top Ten)

John Murphy is the executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association. Murphy has aggressively opposed the Castle Doctrine and other pro-gun legislation. His opposition to the Castle Doctrine shows that he feels that when it comes to self-defense, Ohio's citizens should NOT be innocent until proven guilty. This is especially true in cases where people defend themselves from thugs who are invading their home.

Murphy and his organization can be very influential and powerful. We can definitely count on Murphy to oppose any efforts to improve Ohio's Castle doctrine, self-defense laws, and any type of pro-gun legislation.

8. The American Hunters and Shooters Association (new to the Top Ten)

The American Hunters and Shooters Association is an anti-gun organization that portrays itself as a pro-gun organization. Unfortunately, they played the role too well in the last election and tricked some gun owners into voting for Barack Hussein Obama, who is extremely anti-gun. The Buckeye Firearms Association first warned you about the American Hunters and Shooters Association in June of 2006 in an article called A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing.

The American Hunters and Shooters Association will use the next few years to strengthen their ties with antigun legislators and to raise money for their cause. They will continue to play large role in getting antigun candidates elected in future elections unless Second Amendment advocates can reveal their true colors to the average gun owner.

7. The Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Association of Police Chiefs (new to the Top Ten)

Time and time again, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Association of Police Chiefs have tried to use their political clout to crush legislation that has even a hint of being pro-gun. The Fraternal Order of Police took a hard line stance against the initial concealed carry law, and opposed any attempts to improve the law. The Ohio Association of Police Chiefs also openly opposed any form of concealed carry for anyone who is not a law enforcement officer.

Neither organization has ever taken a stance in support of the Second Amendment rights of the average citizen, but has taken numerous opportunities to oppose them. Recently, the Fraternal Order of Police tried to kill the Castle Doctrine.

Just like John Murphy, both organizations carry a large amount of political clout. Politicians hate to be seen as an opponent of the police. It is a sure bet that the Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Association of Police Chiefs will attempt to defeat any pro-gun legislation in the future.

Note: The criticism of the Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Association of Police Chiefs is not meant to bash police officers who put their lives on the line every day. The criticism is directly toward the administrators and decision makers in the Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Association of Police Chiefs who oppose our Second Amendment rights every chance that they get.

6. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson (down three places from last year)

Frank Jackson is an extreme threat to our Ohio gun rights because his extremely anti-gun views and the fact that he thinks that he is above the law. He continues to insist that Cleveland's strict local gun laws be enforced despite the passage of preemption laws and an Ohio Supreme Court decision. Due to Frank Jackson's orders, gun owners face arrest for not committing a crime.

Under Jackson's administration and despite a court order, the city refused to give a crime VICTIM his gun back. They tried to make him write a paper explaining why he thinks he should be allowed to have his own gun back. Thankfully, the Buckeye Firearms Association intervened and the victim had his property returned.

Jackson also worked to get legislation introduced at the state level that would forbid anyone under the age of 21 from possessing or using a gun in Ohio. If it had become law, it may have made it illegal in the state of Ohio for someone under the age of 21 to use a shotgun or muzzleloader to hunt.

5. The United Nations (new to the Top Ten)

It is not a secret that the United Nations is actively working on disarming the entire population of the world, including citizens of the United States. They believe that only the military and police forces should be allowed to own firearms.

For a period of time, John Bolton was the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. He was pro-gun and fought hard to keep the United Nation's grubby hands off of our guns. Unfortunately, he is no longer in that office. Now an anti-gun president will be making the nomination for our next ambassador, and he or she may actually fight with the United Nations to disarm us.

4. Eric Holder (new to the Top Ten)

Eric Holder is now the Attorney General of the United States. Holder served as a Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno. During that time, Holder worked extremely hard to restrict private gun ownership. He supported complete handgun bans, assault rifle bans, mandatory waiting periods, national gun registration, limiting the purchases of handguns to one a month, and wanted to shut down gun shows.

After 9/11, Holder wrote an op-ed supporting the ability of the government to prohibit anyone from buying a gun without a trial and even without being charged with a crime. Holder teamed up with Janet Reno to file a brief in the Heller case stating that the Second Amendment is NOT an individual right.

Holder has a history of trying to pass laws that would crush the Second Amendment and send gun owners to jail. However, he appears to have a soft spot in his heart for terrorists. He played a major role in getting former president Bill Clinton to pardon Marc Rich. Rich was convicted of helping Iranian terrorists arrange oil deals and obtains. He did this while Iran was holding American hostages.

The Attorney General can play a large role in the battle for our gun rights. Holder is a major threat to our gun rights since he will be in charge of such a powerful office.

3. Barack Hussein Obama (up five places from last year)

President Obama is possibly the most anti-gun president that has ever been elected. With a straight face, he claims to be a supporter of the Second Amendment while ignoring his extremely anti-gun record. What makes him even more dangerous is that people are taking him at his word despite all of the evidence that clearly shows that he is a liar.

Obama stated in writing that he supports a ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of handguns. He has made it no secret that he would try to enact another ban on tactical rifles and has supported higher taxes on guns.

I do not believe that we will see a door-to-door confiscation of handguns during Obama's adminstration. However, I predict that our gun rights will be attacked by burdensome regulation and high taxes.

2. The Anti-Gun Gun Owner (no change from last year)

Anti-gun gun owners are a strange breed and are difficult to understand. Some of them actively work to support the Second Amendment while attacking it at same time. The most common example of an anti-gun gun owner is someone who owns shotguns and rifles to hunt, but would not oppose a ban on tactical rifles or handguns.

What they don't realize is that the gun-grabbers will continue to confiscate and ban guns one type at a time until they are all banned. They will not stop at confiscating and banning only the types of guns that the anti-gun gun owner despises.

The anti-gun gun owner needs to wake up and realize that they are being used by the gun-grabbers in the battle for our Second Amendment rights. If you do not voice your opposition, you are actually helping them confiscate or ban someone else's handgun or AR-15. Once that happens, there will be no one to voice opposition when they come for your guns.

1. The Apathetic Ohio Gun Owner (no change from last year)

The apathetic gun owner continues to be the biggest threat to our Ohio gun rights. The apathetic gun owner enjoys the benefits of gun ownership, but does nothing to defend it. They just assume that it is someone else's job to defend the Second Amendment. They often feel that the government would never actually confiscate guns from law-abiding Americans. The fact that it has been done in the past does not mean anything to them.

The apathetic gun owner often does not vote and does not volunteer on the campaigns of pro-gun candidates. As a result, anti-gun candidates win elections and our Second Amendment rights continue to erode. He does not contact his representatives to urge them to pass pro-gun legislation, and wonders why antigun legislation is passed. The apathetic gun owner wants to know why somebody didn't do more to oppose anti-gun legislation without realizing that they are responsible since they did nothing.

They may now be stocking up on guns and ammo since they see the threat that Obama poses to our Second Amendment rights. However, they did not do anything to during the election season to defeat him. If only their apathy did not prevent them from taking Obama's threat to our rights seriously in the first place.

The apathetic gun owner does not actively support pro-gun organizations such as the Buckeye Firearms Association, the National Rifle Association, and the Second Amendment Foundation.

Without a doubt, the apathetic gun owner is the most dangerous threat to our gun rights. In order to fully restore our Second Amendment rights, all gun owners most actively fight for our Second Amendment rights.