Why endorsements are important

By Jim Irvine

Guns are not a partisan issue in Ohio. There are Republicans such as Governor Bob Taft and Senator Mike DeWine who have worked to limit your rights. There are Democrats such as Chris Redfern and Mark Dann who have worked to restore your rights. A look at the voting on HB12 last session, and HB296, HB346, and HB367 this session further demonstrate that our issue does not fall strictly along party lines.

This November each party will have many excellent candidates on the ballot. Both parties will also have vehemently anti-gun, anti-freedom, anti-hunting and anti-self-defense candidates on the ballot. If you simply vote along party lines, for either party – you will vote for candidates who will work to take your rights away. Think about your vote - it matters.

Many volunteers have put a tremendous amount of work into the Buckeye Firearms Association endorsements. Our various endorsement related pages have been undergoing frequent changes over the past months and if you have not looked at them lately, now would be a good time. Endorsement information will stay at the top of our web site under “Election news” through November.

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We have recently added endorsements in each category. While there will be a few coming in the following week, we are almost done with this step. We have also added links to maps to help you determine what district you live in for each race. (We each live in multiple districts.) We will soon be adding PDF voter guides that you can download and print to show your friends. We are also working on a program that will allow you to enter your address and receive a personal voter guide for just your district.

The NRA reaches out to millions of people with a mailing just before the election. We simply can’t afford to mail every gun owner – so we depend on you to help us spread the word. If your local gun store or range does not have political endorsements displayed, ask them if they will post some. Post our endorsements at your shooting and hunting clubs. Wherever gun owners gather, we must spread the word about the good candidates.

Buckeye Firearms Association endorsements are “non-partisan.” Party does not matter to us - the issue does. When each party runs a good candidate, we classify them as “both good” and encourage you to make your decision based on other issues that are important to you.

There are many active shooters and hunters who simply don’t understand how important this year’s elections are. Ohio will elect a new slate to the five statewide offices. There is a real difference in their views on firearms, and we need your help to assure that we have true friends in each of these offices.

Our goal is to improve our laws relating to firearm use and ownership. To enable us to improve the law, we must be able to work with the legislature. Elections are how we influence who will make up the next legislative body, and demonstrate to politicians why it makes political sense to be friendly to gun owners. The more people who support (by voting for, volunteering for, and donating to) our endorsed candidates, the more clout we have to influence both elections and legislation. Like everything else in life, success does not come by waiting for someone else to do something; it comes by getting involved and doing the work yourself. No single person or group can get the job done, but all of us working together will have a tremendous impact.

I thank each of you who are making the effort – you are making a difference.

Candidate Voter Guide - Links to all endorsement pages