Buckeye Firearms Association PAC Endorses Mike DeWine for Governor

COLUMBUS - Buckeye Firearms Association PAC has announced its endorsement of Mike DeWine for Governor and Jon Husted for Lt. Governor in the 2018 Ohio Republican Primary.

Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA) is a nonpartisan, single-issue nonprofit organization that represents over 4 million Ohio gun owners and works to defend and advance the right to keep and bear arms.

"This was an easy choice for Buckeye Firearms Association because Mike DeWine has done more over the past few years to advance and defend the right to keep and bear arms than any elected official in Ohio," said Jim Irvine, Chairman of BFA PAC.

"We need a governor who will lead on our issues. We look for actions more than words. We want candidates who are dedicated to the Constitution and will help us win political battles and actively push legislation. Mike DeWine and Jon Husted have both fought and won battles for our rights and we are proud to support them."

In the past seven years, Attorney General Dewine has established an impressive pro-gun record, fighting for the rights of gun owners in Ohio and other states:

• Joined the Attorneys General of 21 other states and the territory of Guam in signing a letter urging the U.S. Senate to take action on the National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act.
• Worked to expand the number of reciprocity agreements with other states, including Louisiana, New Mexico and Kansas, for Ohio's concealed handgun license-holders.
• Called for passage of HB 495, which eliminated the "demonstrated competency" requirement for second and future Ohio Concealed Handgun License renewals, making training similar to a hunting license, fixing the definition of a "loaded gun" to match the commonly accepted definition, and allowing 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.
• Testified in favor of HB 234, which contained a long list of improvements for gun owners.
• Backed legislation that would strengthen laws which target criminals who are the real problem behind gun violence.
• Supported efforts to arm teachers or school administrators in the immediate aftermath of the Sandy Hook massacre (and manytimes since then).
• Signed on to a letter opposing an ammo ban proposed during the Obama era.
• Filed an amicus, or "friends of the court," brief petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari and take up Friedman v. City of Highland Park and strike down Highland Park's ban on modern sporting rifles and magazines holding more than ten rounds.
• Voiced support for the deterrent effect of concealed carry on crime.
• Filed a joint amicus brief in Peruta v. San Diego petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn San Diego's unconstitutional laws which prohibit nearly every citizen from carrying a firearm outside their home.
• Sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to utilize the Congressional Review Act to reverse a last-minute Obama administration regulation that would have canceled the Second Amendment rights of certain senior citizens without due process.
• Worked with Senator Frank Hoagland to draft an amendment to a budget bill that would have changed Ohio law to allow the sale of new products such as the Mossberg Shockwave. Though the amendment was not included in the final bill, DeWine continues to work to find a solution.
• Filed a joint amicus brief in Grace v. District of Columbia in the U.S. Court of Appeals, successfully arguing that D.C.'s requirement that a person demonstrate so-called "good reason" to need a concealed carry license is the same as an outright ban on all concealed carry.
• Joined 20 other state Attorneys General in filing a joint amicus brief supporting the petitioning of the U.S. Supreme Court by plaintiffs, including the National Shooting Sports Foundation, to take up Kolbe v. Hogan, the case in which the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decided Maryland could ban semi-automatic modern sporting rifles on grounds they are "like" firearms in use by the military.