Buckeyefirearms.org: Top 10 News Items of 2020

In 2020, we published approximately 300 news articles, along with other types of content. Over the years, we have published approximately 13,200 articles, covering elections, legislation, and all manner of events and information of interest to Second Amendment supporters.

Ours is an international audience. Beyond the U.S., we receive the most visits from Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, India, South Africa, France and the Philippines.

One quarter of visitors to our website are women. We have visitors of all ages, but most are aged 25 to 64, with 25-34 being the highest percentage of users (yes, the Millennials we're always told by the media hate gun rights). Three-quarters of our visitors access our website on a mobile device or tablet.

We received the most visitors from the following ten cities, in order from 1 to 10: Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, Boston, New York, Dallas, Atlanta, Toledo & Philadelphia.

As content editor for BuckeyeFirearms.org, I always find it interesting to look back over the year to see which articles captured the most interest.

Here are the Top 10 news items on our site in 2020.

1. ATF Continues Rogue Assault on Common Pistols, Rule of Law
2. Ohio Department of Health stay-at-home order exempts guns & ammo retailers
3. A Viable Choice for Home Defense: The Marvelous MSR
4. 3 New Gun Control Bills Introduced in Ohio House
5. Does wearing a mask make concealed carry illegal in Ohio?
6. How to Spot a Bad Guy - A Comprehensive Look at Body Language and Pre-Assault Indicators
7. Why is the Ammo Gone?
8. Surviving Mob Attacks on Your Vehicle
9. Best 9mm Carry Ammo
10. How to react if approached about carrying a firearm in a store

2020 as the Year of the Pandemic and Civil Unrest is certainly reflected in our Top 10 news articles, with #2, #5, #7, and #8 addressing concerns about shut-down orders, masks, ammo shortage and mob attacks. But the most-read article came at the tail-end of the year, reflecting the fact that 2020 was also the Year of the Election.

As it became increasingly clear that Joe Biden will become president in January, gun owners began to take stock of what that will mean for their rights. ATF Continues Rogue Assault on Common Pistols, Rule of Law sounds warning bells that the ATF's abuses during the Trump administration (the banning of bump-stocks, with President Trump issuing a 2019 order saying, in effect, "Mr. and Mrs. America, turn them all in.") can be expected to continue and get worse.

Given the continued push to enact gun control in the wake of terrible mass killings, and gun rights advocates' own attempts to protect the right to bear arms for those who wish to defend themselves, it should come as no surprise that the 2020 Top 10 features an article on gun control efforts here in Ohio.

What articles and topics will claim the top ten spots in 2021? What articles will make national (or international) news? Only time will tell!

Chad D. Baus served as Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary from 2013-2019. He is co-founder of BFA-PAC, and served as its Vice Chairman for 15 years. He is the editor of BuckeyeFirearms.org, which received the Outdoor Writers of Ohio 2013 Supporting Member Award for Best Website, and is also an NRA-certified firearms instructor.