2013 - The Year In Review

by Chad D. Baus

While there is far too much to cover in a single article, we reflect on some of the important events of 2013.

January:

The year begins where 2012 ended, as the country continues to discuss yet another horrific mass murder which occurred in a place where guns are banned. Images from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT and news of 20 children being ruthlessly murdered continue to grip the country and dominate the 24-hour news cycle.

Buckeye Firearms Foundation makes national and international news - from Great Britain and the Netherlands to Russia and Iran - with its announcement that over 1200 teachers have applied for the recently-launched Armed Teacher Training Program.

The White House announces plans to take advantage of strong emotional reactions to the Sandy Hook massacre by attempting to force through legislative bans on so-called "assault weapons" (modern sporting rifles), "large" (standard) capacity magazines, and on the "gun show loophole" (private sales of lawfully-owned property between individuals). Democrats in the House and Senate announce committees which will study and announce their own gun control initiatives.

Gun sales and concealed carry license applications, already at record highs throughout the Obama presidency, see exponential increases. Demand exceeds supply.

Many NRA-certified instructors begin offering free or discounted classes for school teachers, staff and administrators. Demand exceeds supply.

Montpelier (Williams Co.) Schools becomes the first district in Ohio to publicly announce plans to arm staff members. Other Buckeye State schools are soon found to be taking similar action - some announce their plans publicly, while others have their security plans outed by the media.

Buckeye Firearms Association provides Ohio mayors proof that they've been misled by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group which claims to concern itself with "illegal guns" but which, in emails obtained by BFA through a public records request, secretly works to oppose legal gun ownership. Eleven Ohio mayors drop out.

President Barack Obama signs 23 executive actions and presidential memoranda intended to assure the public that he is "doing something" to prevent another school massacre. In point of fact, the actions amount to little more than orders to tell his administration to do a job they already should have been doing, and to spend even more money his government doesn't have. Meanwhile, the president attempts to assuage fears about his goals by claiming to shoot skeet "all the time" at Camp David.

A massive vendor boycott, coming in response to Reed Exhibition's decision to ban anything related to the modern sporting rifle from their Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, forces the company to "postpone" the event indefinitely.

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D) introduces legislation which calls for banning more than 150 types of firearms. Government officials would be exempt.

Attorney General Mike DeWine, weeks after announcing his support for arming school employees in late 2012, continues his leadership on the issue by debunking a claim made by Ohio School Board Assoc. attorney regarding the legality of armed teachers.

Buckeye Firearms Association draws attention to the fact that convicted rapist Jerome McCorry is behind the organization of gun control demonstrations at Dayton gun shows, and questions the media for having repeatedly failed to note his sex offender status. The article quickly went viral, receiving over 21,000 reads in the first 24 hours. It has also generated follow-up reporting from radio host Dana Loesch and nationally-read bloggers, including PJMedia's Instapundit and Michelle Malkin's Twitchy.com.

February:

Convicted rapist Jerome McCorry is discovered to be listing Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer and Chief Deputy Scot Landis as members of his gun control group, The Adam Project. Plummer tells BFA he resigned three years earlier.

An armed guard disarms an attacker with a gun in an Atlanta school after the attacker injures one 14 year-old boy.

Attempting to answer "Skeet-gate" critics demanding proof to President Obama's claim to be a regular skeet shooter at Camp David, the White House releases a photo of President Obama firing a shotgun that functions exactly like the rifles he is attempting to ban - one shot with each pull of the trigger. Much criticism follows the release of the photo - many note the president's poor shooting stance, while some question whether the photo has been doctored. Meanwhile, BarackObama.com asks for gun violence stories, but only shares ones that promote gun control.

Vice President Joe Biden offers some ill-advised "advice" to those who have to protect their homes and families from intruders, telling them to walk outside and fire "two blasts" from a double-barreled shotgun.

Plans for more school districts to place armed staff members in schools are published by the media.

Several Ohio sheriff's join a national movement among law enforcement officers speaking out against Barack Obama's gun control proposals and saying they will refuse to enforce an unconstitutional ban if enacted.

NSSF announces that NICS background checks for gun purchases jump more than 94% in January. The massive increase in first-time gun purchasers helps create a severe ammunition shortage.

State-level gun control proponents introduce "safe storage" and "assault weapons" ban legislation.

Hundreds of Ohioans who love the Constitution join thousands upon thousands at more than 100 "Day of Resistance", or .223 rallies, events in all fifty states to express their support for the Second Amendment on Saturday, February 23.

Attorney General Mike DeWine announces his plan to focus the state law enforcement agencies on repeat criminals, not on guns. DeWine releases the 2012 Annual Concealed Carry report, which reveals that Ohioans obtained licenses at a record pace.

March:

As efforts to pass draconian gun control laws rage in some states, firearms manufacturers begin to announce plans to relocate their business (and the jobs they provide to the economy) to more gun-rights friendly parts of the country. many firearms-related companies also begin refusing to sell to government entities in anti-gun states.

School officials and law enforcement from multiple districts and jurisdictions train together in a 16-hour training course in Williams Co., OH school building.

NSSF reports NICS checks for firearms purchases saw a 29% increase in February.

Buckeye Firearms Association's Larry Moore announces that progress has been made in the effort to see pistol cartridge rifles approved for hunting white-tailed deer in Ohio.

The Senate Judiciary Committee passes anti-gun Sen. Dianne Feinstein's measure banning so-called "assault weapons" on a party line vote. Anti-gun U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) admits that Feinstein's proposed gun and magazine ban legislation is "just the beginning" of a broader gun control agenda that will eventually include handguns. Democrats tell the media that since passage of Feinstein's gun ban by the full Senate is unlikely, they plan to redirect their efforts to gun registration through so-called "universal" background checks.

A law enforcement officer tells media the Sandy Hook murderer chose the school because he knew there would be no resistance. In Ohio, a group of 400 teachers, administrators and school board members gather at a free Buckeye Firearms Foundation event in Columbus to listen to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman talk to them about violence. later that same day, more than 450 people attend the annual Buckeye Bash, an evening filled with auctions and raffles to raise money for the Foundation's educational activities, including the Armed Teacher Training Program.

Ignoring the will of the people, politicians in the state of Colorado force through a new gun control law, which many sheriffs say is completely unenforceable.

Fresh from his victory in Colorado, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg begins targeting Ohio's junior Senator, Rob Portman (R), in his effort to help secure enough votes to pass a "universal" check/ registration scheme.

The first Armed Teachers Training Program class, funded by Buckeye Firearms Foundation at a cost of $30,000, is conducted at Tactical Defense Institute in Adams County with two dozen school teachers and administrators from around the state.

HB 495, sponsored by Rep. Terry Johnson (R) and passed into law last December, becomes effective. The law eliminates the "demonstrated competency" requirement for second and future CHL renewals, making the CHL training similar to a hunting license. It fixes the definition of a "loaded gun" to match the commonly accepted definition, and allows law-abiding gun owners to have their firearms stored in their cars in the state-owned parking garages such as the one under the Statehouse.

April:

Under Barack Obama, the U.S. government reverses its long-held position regarding the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty be approved only through achieving "consensus" of all the member states. The treaty is passed within hours.

A killer calls the murder of an Ashtabula man just after Easter services "the will of Allah." Church officials at the gun-free zone express thanks the death toll wasn't higher.

Standing up to a blistering attack by anti-gun billionaire Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Rob Portman issues a strong statement condemning gun control proposals in D.C. and the U.N.

The Ohio Gun Collectors Association (OGCA) and OGCA Civil Rights Defense Fund provides significant donations to support future classes for Buckeye Firearms Foundation's Armed Teacher Training program.

In discussions over HB 8, which is intended to enhance school safety in the wake of the latest mass murder in a "no-guns" zone, Mike Weinman, director of government affairs for the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), proposes stripping ability of boards of education to arm school employees.

NSSF reports NICS checks for firearms purchases saw a 26% increase in March.

Barack Obama falsely tells attendees at a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee fundraiser that the AR-15 used in the Connecticut crime was a fully-automatic firearm, continuing the use of scare tactics the adminstration has become known for as they seek to pass new draconian gun control laws.

Sen. Rob Portman joins the successful filibuster of a bill which sought to end private sales at gun shows and online.

Convicted rapist Jerome McCorry announces his intent to stage another protest at a Dayton gun show, and in accompanying coverage local media again fail to report his status as a sex offender. McCorry cancels the event after Buckeye Firearms Association supporters demand local media tell the whole story.

Anti-gun legislators in the Ohio General Assembly announce the introduction of legislation that would implement a "universal" background check gun registration scheme in the Buckeye State.

Sens. Machin and Toomey promote a "compromise" amendment to anti-gun Sen. Chuck Schmuer's "universal background checks" gun registration bill they believe can survive a Senate vote. The amendment contains a variety of provisions for gun control, and other provisions to enhance gun rights. Some of the latter, however, are not what they seem. They are badly miswritten, and are in fact major advancements for gun control. Ohio Senator Rob Portman joins a Republican filibuster of the amendment, and the Senate fails to achieve the necessary 60 votes to overcome it. Schumer's "universal background checks" gun registration bill is withdrawn.

Vice President Biden reacts by stating that more executive actions will be taken by Obama. The White House quickly issues a correction.

In response to a recently-passed gun control law, New York state residents begin receiving letters from the New York State Police ordering them to surrender their firearms or move them out of state.

After detonating an explosive device at the Boston marathon, Chechen terrorists engage police in a running gun battle on the streets of the city, exposing the fallacy of Massachusetts' gun control laws.

Reports of Ohio school employees receiving firearms training continue to be published by the media.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Ohio Senator Jim Hughes (R-Columbus) today announced new legislation aimed at reducing the number of gun crimes in the state of Ohio. The Violent Career Criminal Act would change current gun specification sentencing laws and increase some penalties for offenders with two or more violent felony convictions. A study commissioned by DeWine found that people with two or more violent felony offenses, who make up only .91% of Ohio's adult population, are responsible for 57% of Ohio's violent felony convictions.

May:

Reports suggest that more churches are joining schools in allowing access by concealed handgun licensees.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine releases the concealed handgun license (CHL) statistics for the first quarter of 2013. Almost every record regarding concealed carry was broken. Demand was up a whopping 87% over the same period last year, which had been the all-time record for a first quarter. Demand even exceeded the initial surge from the very first quarter of the CHL law back in 2004.

NSSF reports NICS checks for firearms purchases saw a 27% increase in April.

A report issued by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS-a component of the Justice Department) shows that firearm homicides in general, and violence at schools, have decreased substantially during the last two decades; the percentage of homicides committed with firearms has decreased; and only a tiny percentage of state prison inmates imprisoned for gun offenses obtain their guns from gun shows. The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin notes the report is "wonderful news for the country and rotten data for anti-gun advocates."

Letters of gratitude for Senator Rob Portman's stand against efforts to pass gun control pour in to editorial pages across the state.

The Obama Administration announces that it will sign the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty soon after it is opened for signature in June.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg uses the opportunity of having been invited to deliver a commencement speech Kenyon College in Ohio as a political opportunity to slam members of Congress for failing to pass background check (gun registration) legislation.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia dismisses a lawsuit brought by the radical anti-hunting Center for Biological Diversity and six other groups demanding the Environmental Protection Agency ban traditional ammunition containing lead components.

June:

Buckeye Firearms Foundation changes the name of the Armed Teachers Training Program to Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response or "FASTER," to be emphasize the fact that the key element in active killer situations is time.

"Politifact Ohio" tries and fails to disprove Buckeye Firearms Association Chairman Jim Irvine wrong in his observation that "the idea that a protection order protects someone from another is a myth. It's like putting a 'no guns' sign on your building and thinking bad guys cannot get inside."

Buckeye Firearms Foundation announces that it has committed $100,000 and commissioned six more teacher classes as part of its FASTER (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response) training. In all, the classes will train 144 teachers from dozens of Ohio schools.

Buckeye Firearms Association announces its endorsement of House Bill 203, (Concealed Carry & Self-Defense Law Reform). The organization also offers proponent testimony for SB 60 (Close Media Access to CHL Records Loophole).

NSSF reports NICS checks for firearms purchases saw a 16% increase in May.

Video recorded by observers shows Toledo police doing all they can to prevent gun "buyback" participants from getting top dollar for their unwanted firearms.

A BATFE study shows that criminals obtain the vast majority of their guns by stealing them - not from gun shows or through a flawed background check system, as anti-gun rights extremists claim.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, is caught padding its list of "victims of gun violence" with criminals including the Boston Marathon terrorist and other attackers killed by victims who were defending themselves.

July:

What was once Handgun Control Inc. became the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. Then came Americans for Gun Safety. Then it was American Hunters and Shooters Association. In July 2013, the latest group formed by people with anti-gun rights records and designed to masquerade as a pro-gun outfit is launched under the name American Rifle and Pistol Association.

The State of Illinois becomes the last state in the union to offer a legal way for law-abiding residents to bear arms concealed for self-defense.

In northeast Ohio, another school modifies its school safety plan to include a new policy authorizing employees to carry guns on school property to protect students. In northwest Ohio, teachers, administrators and law enforcement personnel from various districts and jurisdictions gathered to listen to Lt. Col. Dave Grossman present information on violence and school safety.

In response to the announcement that the Obama Justice Department was refusing to return recently-acquitted Florida resident George Zimmerman's firearms, Buckeye Firearms Association announces its intention to raise funds to buy new equipment to protect himself. The announcement quickly gains national attention. A denial of service attack on the BuckeyeFirearms.org website fails to stop the effort, and over $10,000 is raised and sent to Zimmerman, who had been receiving death threats since he was forced to defend himself when attacked.

When questioned by a reporter, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence (OCAGV) Director Toby Hoover and Center for American Progress (CAP) anti-gun leader Lance Orchid both failed to apologize for using sentiment about the 2012 school shooting in Chardon, Ohio to trick Ohioans into joining gun control mailing lists.

August:

A Washington state man who took Vice President Joe Biden's ill-advised "advice" to those feel threatened in their home to fire "two blasts" from a double-barreled shotgun is arrested.

Columbus' 10TV files a report implying that Buckeye Firearms Foundation raised money for the George Zimmerman Second Amendment Fund under false pretenses, even after having been repeatedly advised that they were basing their report on a comment from a Zimmerman PR person who had not spoken with anyone representing the Foundation. A thank-you letter from Zimmerman's attorney is posted at Buckeyefirearms.org proving 10TV's report as bogus.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) releases the concealed handgun license (CHL) statistics for the second quarter of 2013. The second quarter surpassed the record numbers established in the first quarter and proves that was not just a one quarter fluke. Every record set in the first quarter was broken again.

"Preventing Gun Violence Through Effective Messaging,", an 80-page playbook designed to help anti-gun rights extremists learn why they continue to get beat, and how to change their message so as to fool the general public into thinking their mainstream views are actually supported by these anti-gun rights extremist groups, is leaked on the Internet.

Senator Rob Portman urges the nagging gun rights extremists funded by Mayors Against Illegal Guns to join him in supporting something that will work - including enforcement of current law, strengthening background checks by adding far better mental health records, and getting at the root cause of most gun violence by addressing the drug problem and gangs, and supporting prisoner reentry programs.

Buckeye Firearms Foundation publishes examples of some of the raging anti-gun mentality expressed in letters from those who objected to the Foundation's George Zimmerman Second Amendment Fund.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) announces that while all Ohio schools meet the legal requirement of having a school safety plan, many are outdated, incomplete or useless to law enforcement.

Buckeye Firearms Association announces that several leaders will travel to Colorado to assist in the effort to recall two state senators who did New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's bidding and passed new draconian gun control laws that many sheriffs say is unenforceable.

President Obama issues two new executive actions on gun control, targeting gun collectors instead of criminals. The orders prevent private entities from importing surplus weapons that are all more than 50 (and some well over 100) years old, and fall under the definition of "curio" or "relic" firearms (including the M1 Garand rifles and several other models). rifles (antique and modern) are used in murders far less than fists or baseball bats, etc., and the Obama administration offered no examples of even one of these collectibles having been used in a crime.

"What exactly happens when you throw a political rally an no one shows up - except your opposition?" CBS Columbus' Jim Heath says the question was answered at a rally organized by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) and President Obama's Organizing For Action (OFA) in Columbus. Pro-gun counter-protestors organized by Buckeye Firearms Association outnumbered a handful of MAIG supporters 10 to 1.

September:

Colorado voters send shock waves across the country by recalling two anti-gun state senators who had done Mayor Michael Bloomberg's bidding by passing new draconian gun control laws that many sheriffs say is unenforceable. Buckeye Firearms Association spent $7,000 to send three people to Colorado to help with the successful recall effort. Bloomberg personally gave $350,000 to support his candidates in Colorado. Bloomberg lost. America won.

A deranged man whom the government had awarded secret clearance kills twelve people at the "no-guns" Washington Navy Yard. Anti-gun rights extremists in the media and in Washington immediately run to the cameras to blame the AR-15 rifle - a gun that it turns out wasn't even used in the attack. Instead, the killer used a gun which was specifically exempted from the gun ban legislation proposed by Sen. Diane Feinstein earlier in the year as a response to the Sandy Hook massacre.

Secretary of State John Kerry signs the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty on behalf of the Obama administration. Notably, the ATT includes "small arms and light weapons" within its scope, which covers firearms owned by law-abiding citizens. Further, the treaty urges recordkeeping of end users, directing importing countries to provide information to an exporting country regarding arms transfers, including "end use or end user documentation" for a "minimum of ten years." Fifty United States Senators send a letter to Obama, promising to prevent ratification of the treaty.

Buckeye Firearms Association's Ken Hanson participates in a town hall discussion about so-called 'Stand Your Ground' laws. The debate was broadcast by Columbus' ABC affiliate.

October:

The FBI releases its national crime report for 2012. By a slight margin, the nation's violent crime rate decreased in 2012--relative to 2011--making it the lowest it has been since 1970. Compared to 1991, when it hit an all-time high, violent crime is down by 49 percent. The nation's murder rate was unchanged in 2012; still lower than any time since 1963 and at nearly an all-time low. Having spent the year pushing for new gun control laws and driving sales of firearms through the roof, he Obama administration and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg say nothing about the drop in crime.

Senator Rob Portman (R-Oh) joins a bipartisan group of more than 50 U.S. Senators in reiterating to President Obama that the Senate overwhelmingly opposes the ratification of the U.N. Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) and will not be bound by its obligations.

Akron Police Chief James Nice explains to local media that background checks won't work to stop criminals, and "gun buybacks are a farce"

The Ohio House Policy and Legislative Oversight Committee holds a second hearing on House Bill 203 (Concealed Carry & Self-Defense Law Reform). Buckeye Firearms Association testifies in support of the bill, and also for HB 234 (Allow Noise Suppressors While Hunting). In all, TEN gun rights-related bills are heard in various committees in a two-day period.

Reports of ammo shortages continue, with concentrations around areas where there are the largest numbers of gun owners/shooters and ranges.

ABC News reports that Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said the U.S. and the rest of the democratic world is at a security crossroads in the wake of last month's deadly al-Shabab attack at a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya – and suggested an answer could be in arming civilians.

Buckeye Firearms Association endorses several local candidates for the November 5, 2013 election.

The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing chaired by Sen. Dick Durbin titled, "'Stand Your Ground Laws': Civil Rights and Public Safety Implications of the Expanded Use of Deadly Force." The first witness, Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), offers a full-throated attack on the right, decrying SYG laws as "unjust and inherently biased." Fudge also accuses law enforcement of racial bias in administering such laws, stating, "[t]he enforcement of stand your ground laws too often rely on the decisions of those with cultural biases on when a person's life is in danger."

November:

The Columbus Dispatch reports that, by almost a 2-to-1 ratio, Columbus City Schools voters want an armed police officer in their school.

The Ohio House Policy and Legislative Oversight Committee holds a two more hearings on House Bill 203 (Concealed Carry & Self-Defense Law Reform). In the third hearing, opponents claim mayhem will ensue, and, when confronted with testimony he gave five years ago on another pro-gun rights bill predicting that never came to pass, Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police spokesperson John GilChrist denies his own testimony. After hearing further testimony from Buckeye Firearms Association, the committee passes the bill in its fourth hearing, and the bill passes on the floor by a bi-partisan 63-27 vote.

The editor of Guns & Ammo magazine apologized to readers and resigned after he published a column advocating gun control.

Akron Police Chief James Nice tells local media that focusing on gun ownership will never curb gun violence.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) releases the concealed handgun license (CHL) statistics for the third quarter of 2013. Demand continued at a record setting pace, setting new records for the most number of initial licenses issued and most number of licenses renewed during a third quarter.

Buckeye Firearms Association offers testimony on Rep. Ron Maag's HB 231 (Eliminate 'No-Guns' Victim Zones).

A public records request by Gun Rights Examiner to review signatures opposing adoption of HB 203 reveals that among the far less than 10,000 signatures the Ohio Black Legislative Council claimed, 'Saddam Hussein' and 'Osama Bin Ladin' are listed among those who signed anti-self-defense rights petition.

Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Ed FitzGerald selects 2010 BFA PAC "D"-rated Senator Eric Kearney to join him on his quest to oust Republican Gov. John Kasich next year.

The Sandy Hook report is released, reinforcing the fact that time is the key element in active killer events.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine is quoted as saying he believes concealed carry is becoming mainstream in society.

December:

Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus (CSC) Co-Chair Bob Latta (R-Ohio) introduces HR 3590, a new bipartisan version of the Sportsmen's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act of 2013.

NSSF announces that NICS background checks for gun purchases in November are the second-highest on record.

Buckeye Firearms Foundation releases a survey revealing that nearly two dozen Ohio schools have authorized the carrying of guns to improve kids' safety.

President Obama "Organizing for Action" (OFA) sends an email urging supporters to hold events advocating gun control on December 14, the one-year anniversary of the murders at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in Newtown, Connecticut. Public opinion polls continue to show falling support for gun control.

The Washington Post publishes an article entitled, "In Ohio, momentum favors gun rights movement." Buckeye Firearms Association's Linda Walker is quoted.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, and BFA PAC Vice Chairman.