Our friends at Black Wing Shooting Center are raffling off a new 2012 Harley-Davidson FXS Blackwing motorcycle.

Tickets are only $25 each and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Buckeye Firearms Association, along with Wounded Warrior Project, Simon Kenton Council Boy Scouts, and the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

For more information, see the poster below or visit Black Wing Shooting Center at 3722 Marysville Road, Delaware, Ohio 43015. Or call 740-363-7555.

by Chad D. Baus

The Dayton Daily News is reporting that according to a DDN analysis of permit data, opinion polls and interviews with firearm and criminal justice experts, more women in the Miami Valley are choosing to purchase and carry handguns for protection, reflecting a national trend.

From the article:

More than one in five who have applied to carry concealed handguns in Butler, Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Warren counties are women, and owners of local gun stores and shooting ranges say women are increasingly participating in training and target practice.

Although violent crime continues to decline in the region, experts said more women are choosing to pack heat because it is becoming more culturally acceptable, and they are also worried about their safety.

"We are seeing more women and that's a good thing because they are the ones who need it," said John Thyne, principal owner of Peabody Sports in Kettering.

After citing national statistics which show an upward trend in firearms ownership overall, and according to Gallop more sharply among women (23 percent of women say they own a gun, up from 13 percent in 2005), the article continues:

Under Ohio law, concealed-carry permits are not public records, but the Dayton Daily News was able to obtain data about the number of permits issued by gender. However, not all sheriff’s offices could produce the same type of information.

In 2011, women accounted for 459 of the 2,029 new and renewal concealed-carry permits issued in Montgomery County, according to the county sheriff’s office.

The share of permits held by women increased to 22.6 percent last year from 18.4 percent in 2010. Warren County issued 349 active concealed- carry licenses to women in 2011, up from 328 in 2009, according to the Warren County Sheriff's Office.
About one in five concealed-carry permits ever issued in Greene and Miami counties were for women, according to permit data.

In 2011, about one in four concealed-carry permit applications in Butler County were from women, according to Daily News tabulations. Of the 1,623 conceal and carry permit applications in 2011, 436 were for females.

The article notes that while violent crime is down across the country, about 49 percent of the victims of violent crime are women, according to the National Crime Victimization Survey.

Vitriolic anti-gun mayor Michael Bloomberg (I-NYC) and his gun control group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), are paying for their 30 seconds of fame. According to a New York Times piece before the game, Bloomberg [was scheduled to] join his gun-grabbing cohort, Mayor Tom Menino of Boston (D), in a Super Bowl-themed ad calling for more gun control laws.

Despite his billions in personal wealth, Bloomberg's MAIG [took] the frugal route in airing this ad, as the Times piece notes, "The ad will be shown regionally [specifically only in Washington, D.C.], rather than nationally, meaning that, according to Mr. Bloomberg's press office, the spot will cost only 'hundreds of thousands of dollars,' rather than the average of $3.5 million that NBC is charging for a 30-second national advertising buy."

In a bit of irony, apparently among the football-themed props in the ad will be bowls of popcorn and chips, normal Super Bowl fare for millions of football fans, but the type of food that Bloomberg and his health police condemn through the city's bans and regulations on certain types of foods they feel city residents shouldn't be allowed to consume.

While MAIG's claim to support laws that will lead to a reduction in crime rings hollow, perhaps a better expenditure of their time would be to focus their "crime-fighting" efforts on their own members.

On Thursday, February 2, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee regarding his role in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' gun running operation known as "Fast and Furious."

During the hearing, Holder continued to deny any foreknowledge of the botched operation. Representative Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House committee, led the charge in questioning Holder on his involvement and knowledge. When Issa asked Holder if he had been briefed on the wiretaps presented in this case, Holder responded, "These wiretaps are very voluminous, read well kinds of things. I have not read them."

The U.S. Attorney General has an obligation to the American people to know what is going on under his watch, but throughout the hearing Holder continuously tried to distance himself from the activities of his staff.

Happy Jack's pleads guilty to multiple charges

NEW CARLISLE, OH – An investigation into the selling of venison by Happy Jack's deer processing recently resulted in a guilty plea in the Miami County Municipal Court, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

Division of Wildlife law enforcement received information that Happy Jack's was selling deer meat contrary to Ohio Administrative Code. The Division of Wildlife initiated a plain clothes investigation. On multiple occasions during the investigation Happy Jack's sold deer summer sausage and trail sticks to a Division of Wildlife Investigator. A search warrant was obtained for Happy Jack's facility and a large amount of deer meat in various stages of processing as well as records and a computer were seized and held as evidence.

by Joe Eaton

A recently released Angus-Reid Public Opinion Poll show that "...most people in the United States agree on the meaning of the Second Amendment, and half endorse the 'shall-issue' prerogative to carry concealed weapons in public."

This most recent poll (taken January 17 - January 18, 2012) show that support for legal firearm ownership continues to grow. Fully 85% of Americans believe that individuals have the right to keep and bear arms. This belief matches the United States Supreme Court finding in the D.C. vs. Heller case from 2008.

Also, now more than half of the United States are supporting concealed carry. "51% support the idea of allowing citizens to carry a concealed weapon..." This is an increase of 4% from one year ago. This number is sure to rise as the final states enact CCW laws and as national concealed carry continues to move in congress. This is certainly good news as it indicates that Americans have moved past most of the lies and distortions that the anti-gun rights groups have been spreading for decades. This is the direct result of gun rights supporters becoming more engaged and actively refuting the falsehoods of the anti-gun side.

The report does point out one area where we should continue to focus our efforts:

For the Ohio primary election, you must choose which party's elections you want to vote in - you can not vote in more than one. We have grouped the tables in the voter guide by party to assist you.

NOTE: The endorsement committee focused on contested primary races, given that voters are given a choice in those races. When we have a candidate survey, but no other information to go on, the highest grade a non-incumbent can earn is a Aq.

Buckeye Firearms Association endorsements are focused primarily on state-level races. We also endorse in some local races. Buckeye Firearms Association does not endorse in all federal office elections. (For federal NRA-PVF endorsements, click here.) We may issue endorsements to candidates for federal office that we have endorsed in prior elections or a candidate we have worked with on Second Amendment issues. Buckeye Firearms Association also reserves the right to address any political race with such importance, we feel compelled to endorse.

by Scott L. Bach

When an arsonist lights a match that burns a building, is the match at fault? Are match manufacturers responsible for the fire? Should laws be passed prohibiting you from having and using matches, or restricting which types you can have, and in what quantities?

The obvious answer to these questions is no. The same match that is misused by the arsonist lights the fireplace that warms us, and the stove that feeds us. The match has no mind of its own. It is not an evil invention. Its purpose is to ignite, nothing more. If it is misused, the solution is to punish the individual wrongdoer. Everyone else should be left alone.

The same is true of firearms.

Firearms are employed every day by police, military, and law-abiding private citizens to deter crime, participate in competitions, hunt, and in the gravest extreme, to save the life of a victim of murder, rape, or serious assault. Most often, the mere presence of a firearm is enough to stop criminal activity in its tracks.

To the woman whose clothes are about to be torn from her body by a knife-wielding rapist in a deserted parking lot, a handgun in the purse is a lifeline. It is a genuine equalizer that may mean the difference between her life and her death. It gives her a chance when she otherwise would have none.

Every police officer who has made an arrest or stopped a crime understands this principle. Every soldier who has known battle understands this as well. And every private citizen who has ever faced a violent criminal alone, and knows the feeling of an impending, untimely death at the hands of a merciless savage, understands the importance of being able to own and carry a firearm, whether or not he or she ever has to fire it.