2024 - BFA in the News

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May 31, 2024

Cleveland.com - Delinquent: As car thefts surged last year, some victims, like Sandy, took matters into their own hands

On a snowy night last January, Sandy (not her real name) was cooking in her apartment on Cleveland’s East Side when she heard a security alarm outside.

Stepping onto her back porch, she saw a local security guard confronting three juveniles, who appeared to have broken into her Kia. One youth seemed to reach for his waistband, she recalls.

Sandy reentered her apartment, where she lived with her 8-year-old son. She grabbed her gun, returned outside and fired two shots – a warning to scare away the thieves, she says.

The intruders ran.

Sandy approached her car and assessed the damage. A window had been broken, the steering column ripped off. Then she looked at the ground. A trail of blood was melting in the snow.

Police, tipped off to the shooting, arrived. Sandy, shaken up, recounted the incident and relinquished her gun. Officers placed her in the back of a zone car. …

Following Sandy’s arrest, she was booked in the county jail and posted bond four days later. She began a monthslong wait for prosecutors to make their decision.

Because the car thieves never flashed a gun at her, the odds of escaping an indictment were against her.

“Technically, you can’t defend property in Ohio,” says Dean Rieck, executive director of the pro-gun organization Buckeye Firearms Association. “If someone is driving down the street in your car, you can’t shoot them legally.”

May 20, 2024

The Columbus Dispatch - In Ohio, gun rights supporters and gun control advocates agree on one thing

Columbus, which is Ohio's largest city, has seen 42 unintentional shootings since 2015, which is more than any other city in the state, (Everytown for Gun Safety) data shows.

A possible solution is one of the few things Second Amendment supporters and gun control advocates actually agree on — the need to safely store a firearm, especially in homes where young children live.

Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said the group supports the idea of safe storage, just not a state or local mandate.

If children injure themselves or someone else with an unsecured firearm, Rieck said child endangerment laws already exist to hold someone responsible. Plus, Rieck said, Ohioans who don't already lock up their guns with kids around won't be more likely to do so because of a law.

"They're trying to reach an audience that is not reachable. ... This is not someone who is going to follow a storage law," he said. "We oppose legal mandates, but obviously, if you have small children in a household you need to store guns safely ... that's just the responsible thing to do."

While Rieck doesn't support Columbus' law, Buckeye Firearms Association has endorsed legislation at the Ohio Statehouse promoting safe storage.

Senate Bill 189, introduced in January by Democratic senators Vernon Sykes of Akron and Hearcel Craig of Columbus, would offer up to a $250 tax credit to buyers of a gun storage device and another $250 to Ohioans who take a firearms safety course.

Rep. Darnell Brewer, D-Cleveland, and Rep. Sean Brennan, D-Parma, introduced House Bill 186 in September, which would alter state law so Ohioans would not have to pay state or local sales tax on gun locks or gun safes and lock boxes. Along with Buckeye Firearms Association, the legislation is supported by the National Riffle Association and Sandy Hook Promise, a gun control advocacy organization formed after the deadly 2012 shooting at a Connecticut elementary.

"It's a carrot rather than a stick," Rieck said of the bills. "We want people to be safe, to get training and to obey the law."

May 14, 2024

News 5 Cleveland - Ohio Democrats move to ban semi-automatic weapons, GOP lawmakers sticking to their guns

Ohio Democrats, without any success in recent years, continue to propose legislation to curb gun violence. The latest bill would ban "weapons of mass casualty," or semi-automatic firearms that can or could be adapted to fire more than 31 rounds. Unsurprisingly, the Republicans are sticking to their guns.

"For weapons that spray multiple rounds at the same time, I think they belong on a battlefield," Michelle Lee Heym, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, said.

She is supportive of House Bill 443, which would ban the use of “any mass casualty weapon," defined in the bill as a semi-automatic firearm that is designed or specially adapted to fire more than 31 cartridges without reloading, other than a firearm chambering only .22 caliber short, long, or long-rifle cartridges.

"I don't think they understand how firearms work," Rob Sexton with the Buckeye Firearms Association said.

This bill is a massive overreach, Sexton added.

"What House Bill 433 would actually do is ban the possession of a firearm unless the entire national firearms industry redoes its manufacturing practices to somehow ban their ability to accept magazines that are larger," he said.

He thinks this bill infringes on both the Second Amendment and the free market. Responsible gun owners shouldn't be punished due to people like the Dayton shooter, he added.

That being said, he isn’t worried about this bill moving forward.

March 8, 2024

News 5 Cleveland - Decision by liberals on Ohio Supreme Court allows for warning shots to be fired in self-defense

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Thursday that firing warning shots can be considered "self-defense," giving a win to gun rights advocates. But the Second Amendment supporters were surprised to learn that the decision was made by three liberal justices and one conservative.

During an altercation at a gas station in 2021, Tyler Wilson fired a warning shot at Billy Reffett's car, claiming he was acting in self-defense. Wilson claims Reffett threatened him and pulled a gun on him.

But a Clark County judge said Wilson wasn’t protecting himself because he didn’t aim the gun at the supposed assailant, so the judge didn’t allow him to argue self-defense in court, seemingly saying that if Wilson was really scared for his life, he should have shot Reffett. His defense attorney didn't fight back for him.

Wilson was acquitted of attempted murder but was found guilty of felonious assault. He was sentenced to more than a decade in prison.

The Second District Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court 2-1, denying his request to overturn. He argued that his attorney was ineffective.

Buckeye Firearms Association's Rob Sexton believes these rulings are unconstitutional.

"If you're in fear for your life or trying to protect yourself or other loved ones from harm, that a warning shot can be an element of self-defense," Sexton argued.

The Ohio Supreme Court agreed and just overruled that judge.

The court was split in a 4-3 decision, saying that warning shots can be considered self-defense, even if you aren’t trying to kill or injure someone.

Sexton was surprised when he read the opinion — not because of the ruling — but because of who made it.

"Knowing that the High Court has agreed with that, even those that you would typically assume would not be necessarily pro-Second Amendment, makes a stronger case for future self-defense claims," he said.

Jan. 16, 2024

Ohio Capital Journal - Columbus continues gun safety fight with state of Ohio after getting court win

The City of Columbus has officially requested the Ohio Supreme Court to allow it to put forward gun safety regulations. This comes after a lower court gave them one win in their effort to combat gun violence.

Lawsuit after lawsuit, Columbus finally gets to keep one of their city-wide firearm regulations.

“The Constitution clearly articulates the rights of Ohioans to possess, carry, buy and have firearms to protect themselves,” Buckeye Firearms Association’s Rob Sexton said. “It is crystal clear.”

The courts have made the right call, Sexton added, saying the current lockbox requirement that Columbus and Cincinnati ban, one that Cleveland also wants, is unconstitutional, the lobbyist said.

Klein disagreed. Cities know what is best for their communities, which is why Ohio is a home rule state, the attorney said.

Sexton argued it doesn’t work like that.

“Ultimately, when it comes to home rule, it just doesn’t trump your right to protect yourself,” Sexton said.

Jan. 4, 2024

News 5 Cleveland - New study claims permitless carry didn't increase gun violence, but police argue against it

A new report from the state found that gun violence has actually decreased since a controversial firearm law took effect, but police warn it doesn't tell the full story.

Gun owners in Ohio were able to legally carry a firearm without a permit as of June 2022.

Police and gun safety advocates testified that it could cause an increase in gun violence. Now, the data is in.

The new study from the attorney general's office and Bowling Green State University proves police were wrong about fears of increased crimes, Buckeye Firearms Association's Rob Sexton said.

"This latest study on permitless carry demonstrates yet again that you can trust law-abiding people," Sexton said.