A recent spate of crime on the campus The Ohio State University has brought the question of campus security once again to the forefront. And a letter to the editor of the OSU Lantern reveals that at least one college student has a better grasp on the problem than many legislators who spend their time just down the road from his campus.

By Dave Yost

It will be a long time before Second Amendment rights are finally treated with the same respect as the rest of the Bill of Rights. But we continue to tip-toe toward intellectual consistency, and the Ohio General Assembly will soon have an opportunity to take another small step.

The issue is called restoration, and I'm told a bill will soon be introduced to address it. The specifics of that bill should be debated vigorously, but the problem it's designed to fix should be fixed.

Under Ohio law, you lose certain rights when you're convicted of a crime - for example, felony prisoners cannot vote, and even a non-violent conviction can keep you from owning a gun. You're supposed to be able to get your rights back if a judge says it's OK - but in Ohio, that doesn't include your Second Amendment rights.

Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA) has not yet made any endorsements for any candidates in Ohio.

BFA has received many survey responses from candidates for various offices and is in the process of grading surveys and voting records. We will make our decisions carefully and issue our official endorsements soon.

The only "endorsement" the PAC has issued this year is for Ken Hanson, our legal Chair, who is running for a Board of Director position with the National Rifle Organization (NRA).

We understand that there is some confusion about whether or not we have endorsed in the GOP primary contest for State Auditor. We have not.

Friends of Seth Morgan issued a news release earlier today announcing that the Ohio Tea Party PAC had endorsed Seth Morgan for Auditor of State. The release included Buckeye Firearms Association in a list of coalition members. This left the impression that BFA endorsed Morgan. However, BFA did not cast a vote, and was not part of the 7/8ths majority that did vote in favor of the endorsement.

The Ohio Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving the city of Cleveland's ongoing fight to enforce its illegal local gun control ordinances.

Last November, a three judge panel in the 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals sided with Cleveland, declaring that Ohio R.C 9.68 - which became law in 2007 with passage of HB347 to preempt local gun control and ensure statewide uniformity of gun laws - is unconstitutional.

Judges Colleen Conway-Cooney, Ann Dyke (both Democrats facing re-election in 2010), and Melody Stewart (a Democrat facing re-election in 2012) reversed a lower court's decision to uphold the law.

At the time the ruling was announced, Buckeye Firearms Association Legislative Chair Ken Hanson told the media:

"The Supreme Court will reverse whatever reasoning they dreamed up."

That prediction is now one step closer to reality.

By Chad D. Baus

Gun owners and other voters opposed to the resurgence of Mike DeWine in Ohio politics have been put on quite a roller-coaster ride in recent weeks.

On January 25, Ohio GOP chair Kevin DeWine worked to orchestrate an unopposed primary for his anti-gun cousin Mike by enticing pro-gun candidate Dave Yost to drop out of the race for Attorney General.

Less than two weeks later, on February 8, pro-gun Hardin County attorney Steve Christopher announced his own grassroots campaign, buoying the hopes of DeWine opponents. The late entry gave Christopher just ten days to collect the 1000 valid signatures necessary to get his name on the ballot.

Proof of just how much grassroots opposition Mike DeWine has came as volunteers responded to the call. The Christopher campaign announced that more than 2,700 signatures had been collected and turned in by the Feb. 18 filing deadline.

News came over this past weekend, however, that the roller coaster has taken another nasty turn.

By Chad D. Baus

According to a recent cover story by Steph Greegor in Columbus' The Other Paper, two incidences of suicide that have been carried out at an Ohio shooting range in the past two years have at least one prevention advocate, with financial backing from the Obama administration's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Ohio Department of Health, calling for increased regulations.

By Nick Arnold

On February 20th, over 40 local patriots rallied at Black Wing Shooting Center in Delaware, OH to support the Ohio and national Second Amendment Marches.

Literature and promotional material regarding the marches and trip-planning information was disseminated to the participants. Buckeye Firearms Association volunteers Steve Loos and Sara Arnold, along with myself, welcomed guests and introduced the day's speakers.

By Lyle Denniston

The Supreme Court on Tuesday seemed poised to require state and local governments to obey the Second Amendment guarantee of a personal right to a gun, but with perhaps considerable authority to regulate that right. The dominant sentiment on the Court was to extend the Amendment beyond the federal level, based on the 14th Amendment's guarantee of "due process," since doing so through another part of the 14th Amendment would raise too many questions about what other rights might emerge.

When the Justices cast their first vote after starting later this week to discuss where to go from here, it appeared that the focus of debate will be how extensive a "right to keep and bear arms" should be spelled out: would it be only some "core right" to have a gun for personal safety, or would it include every variation of that right that could emerge in the future as courts decide specific cases? The liberal wing of the Court appeared to be making a determined effort to hold the expanded Amendment in check, but even the conservatives open to applying the Second Amendment to states, counties and cities seemed ready to concede some — but perhaps fewer — limitations.

By Chad D. Baus

As we reported last November, Attorney General Richard Cordray is a co-sponsor on an amicus brief in landmark gun rights case heard earlier today by the United States Supreme Court. The brief, which Cordray's office and its counterpart in Texas led the writing of and which was signed by 38 state attorneys general, argues that these rights should be protected from undue restrictions imposed by state and local governments.

As a Cleveland Plain Dealer story notes today, that puts the State of Ohio at odds with anti-gun city governments in places like Cleveland and Columbus.