Canada's Ottawa Citizen is reporting that Canadian officials are distancing themselves from earlier attempts by the Mayor of Toronto to blame America for a recent gang-related gun crime wave in that city.

From the story:

Public Safety Minister Anne McLellan says there's no evidence of an increase
in gun smuggling into Canada, and that it is too simplistic to blame Toronto's
recent spate of gun deaths on the illegal trade.

McLellan said governments and communities must take a more "holistic approach
" to dealing with gun violence, working together to tackle the root causes of
the activity.

"First of all, we have no evidence there are more guns being smuggled into
the country now than ever before," she told reporters yesterday.

"Sometimes, people easily blame the United States for a smuggling of guns.
That, too, is a simplistic response."

The newspaper reports that Prime Minister Paul Martin said he is worried about the rash of fatal shootings in Toronto (16 since July 1 and 31 for the year so far), and another official said that "tougher gun controls are not the answer".

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

An editorial in the August 21st edition of the Columbus Dispatch points out that Associated Press reporters are refusing to leave their hotel because of how dangerous they perceive it to be in Iraq. Instead they simply cover the bombings, murders and insurgent attacks because it makes a better story than when American contractors build a water purification plant or a school.

From the story:

The major problem, according to Associated Press managing editor Mike Silverman, is that Iraq is a dangerous place for reporters. With bombings, kidnappings and executions a daily occurrence, the AP and other news organizations are loathe to expose their people to too much danger. The Committee to Protect Journalists estimates that 50 journalists or people working for news media have been killed in Iraq since the beginning of the war.
It’s safer and, truth be told, easier to stay in a protected enclave and get the latest news on bombings and casualties from official reports.
Clearly, however, bombings, battles and casualties are bigger news than restoring power to a school or opening a health clinic in a Baghdad neighborhood.

What the Mr. Silverman left out is that AP reporters act the same way when reporting in relative safety, especially when the story involves guns.

The AP rarely reports when a law-abiding citizen uses as gun in self-defense without pulling the trigger. They also rarely cover incidents where the citizen fires a gun in self-defense. But they will cover every case of a child being accidentally shot or a spree killing because in their mind it makes better news. John Lott’s famous studies further show that reporting bad news about guns in society isn’t limited to just AP reports but standard operating procedure for the establishment media.

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As Professor Lott points out in his book, The Bias Against Guns, there is either a concerted effort to shape the gun debate by the establishment media or gross negligence on their part. Either way the fact remains that the establishment media through their one-sided reporting of the gun issue is making the news instead of simply reporting it.

Right now, supporters who donate $30 or more to the Buckeye Firearms Association no later than September 30, 2005 will receive a complimentary copy of Dr. Lott's latest book, The Bias Against Guns. Supplies are limited.

Click the book cover or this link to make an online donation. please act now! Campaign season is a crucial time for this political action committee, and your help is needed.

By Ken Hanson Esq.
Exclusive to Buckeye Firearms Association www.buckeyefirearms.org. Do not reprint without permission.
By now, everyone is aware of the National Rifle Association’s call to boycott ConocoPhillips. This has, unfortunately, caused a crisis of conscience among gun owners, who tend to zealously support private property rights. Do we muster to the boycott banner, or do we sit this one out? What is a libertarian (I use the word “libertarian” in this article as shorthand for someone who zealously supports private property rights, not to frame this as an argument of a political party or ideology) to do?

On one side of the brain, we concern ourselves with the right of private property owners to do as they please with their property. If property owners want to exclude firearms from their property, that is their absolute right, correct? We certainly do not want the government telling us what to do on our own property. What could be more basic than that? This argument is a refrain we see time and again on various forums when gun owners are discussing the type of law that Oklahoma passed, or the type of law that allows a CHL to come into a business armed despite the business owner’s desires to the contrary.

By Larry S. Moore
Like most Ohioans, I have been following the saga of Gov. Taft and the
unreported gifts. Gov. Taft's latest gifts are certain to result in another round of investigations, news reports, and calls for his resignation.
While many Ohioans are surprised and shocked at more gifts being found, Ohio gun owners and concealed carry advocates should not be surprised. Gov. Taft's problems with reporting, and new items being found that should have been reported, have a very familiar sound to the way Gov. Taft addressed the HB 12 concealed carry legislation. Every time advocates and the General Assembly got close to passing HB 12 or every time an agreement had been struck, Gov. Taft moved the goal posts on us. New information, a new position, or a new requirement was thrown into the mix.
Seems to me Gov. Taft is handling his reporting in much the same manner as he handled his campaign promise to pass concealed carry legislation. Perhaps what we are seeing is not so much the violations in ethical disclosures as it is a pattern of behavior that lacks ethics. It only took a little over 4 years for concealed carry advocates to be fully confronted with this behavior. It took slightly longer for the rest of Ohio and the Ethics Commission to become aware of it.
Whatever the outcome, it is sad for Ohio, Gov. Taft, and his family. The way to have ethics in government is to elect ethical people to office. Now all we have to do is figure out how to determine that before they get elected!

Related Story:

Taft's days numbered?

The Toledo Free Press is reporting that although a man with a temporary emergency concealed handgun license was not charged with a crime, police have seen fit to confiscate and hold his handgun (despite an Ohio law which suggests such action by the Toledo police officers was illegal).

From the story:

A North Toledo man said threats on his life and high levels of gang activity in his Lagrange Street neighborhood have prompted him to begin
carrying a gun.

But tensions between residents and local youth might have finally boiled over. Thomas Szych, of 532 Bronson Ave., had his firearm seized by police on Aug. 3 after a call to 911 reported a man with a gun in the alley between Bronson and Dexter streets. According to police, Szych was videotaping his next-door neighbors cleaning up garbage in the alley when he brandished his gun in front of an 11-year-old boy and a 14-year-old boy.

“We questioned both of the boys individually, and they both described the gun in their little unique ways,” Toledo Police Sergeant Joe Heffernan said. “It seems pretty evident to me that both those boys saw his gun. They both gave a pretty accurate description of it in their own words.”

While Szych admits to having a gun with him, he denies ever leaving his front porch or taking the gun out of its holster attached to his belt under his shirt.

According to the story, there has been a recent outbreak of gang related activity in Mr. Szych's area. Sgt. Heffernan told the City Paper there have been more than a dozen officers at Szych’s house in the two weeks due to gang-related concerns in the neighborhood, and that city crews have had to come out and paint over a lot of gang graffiti. Mr. Szych is thus concerned about the police disarming him, because those gang members now know he has no protection.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

By Larry S. Moore

The final Grand American Trapshoot was held last week in Vandalia, Ohio. The expansion of the Dayton International Airport is the usual reason given for the event being forced out of Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) home grounds. The ATA will maintain offices and the Hall of Fame building in Vandalia.

The Grand American was brought to Dayton to have a permanent home in 1924 by prominent civic and business leaders such as Charles Patterson (NCR Corp) and Charles Kettering (Delco). Following the devastating 1913 flood in Dayton, Patterson arranged to have the Grand held at the NCR shooting grounds to showcase the recovery of Dayton to the world.

My how things have changed between 1924 and the 1990s when the Dayton Airport expansion began threatening the grounds. Unlike civic leaders of the past, today’s leaders and politicians either encouraged the take over of the grounds or at best ignored the situation. Then Ohio Governor George Voinovich and Lt. Gov. Mike DeWine did virtually nothing to respond to the ATA request for proposals during a search for a new home for the ATA and the Grand American. The few proposals that Ohio did put forth were late in the process and, quite frankly, did not match the requirements specified by the ATA. One cannot blame outsourcing, contract disputes, NAFTA or Washington DC for this. We only have to look to the anti-gun leadership of the City of Dayton and to the attitudes of George Voinovich and Mike DeWine.

This is no small shooting event. The Grand American, in normal years, attracts between 4500 and 5000 shooters. It is the world championships of trap shooting. Teams and individuals travel from Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Canada, and all points between to compete here. It was truly an international event in Ohio. The Grand American Trap Shoot is normally listed as the third largest participant sporting event behind the New York and Boston marathons.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

The Cincinnati Enquirer is reporting that a Buckeye Firearms Association endorsee and candidate for mayor of Cincinnati has taken out television commercials that correctly focus the need for solutions to that city's crime problems on taking criminals off the streets.

From the story:

Republican Charlie Winburn's first television ad follows a series of direct mail pieces that emphasized his tough-on-crime platform and criticized Pepper's leadership on City Council. In it, Winburn accused the "current leadership" at City Hall of sitting by "helpless, while criminals target your loved ones."

"City leadership is literally playing Russian roulette with your life," the ad says. "Elect Charlie Winburn mayor, and the only thing criminals will shoot off is their mouths - in jail."

It is refreshing to see a candidate who is ready to focus on the problem - criminals - rather than the tools they use.

August 20, 2005
Columbus Dispatch

I write in regard to the decision from the National Rifle Association to move its convention because of the assault weapons ban.

Since Mayor Michael B. Coleman was elected, Columbus has slowly but steadily been going downhill. Unemployment and job losses are at a record high, violent crime, including robbery, thefts and burglaries, are up dramatically and in some places out of control. Drugs and drug use are now a common sight when driving down the side streets of Columbus.

The city’s various offices are rocked with scandal and corruption. The police department is extremely under staffed, and the average response time is about 30 minutes to three hours, depending upon the situation or time and day of the week.

Many of our elderly residents lock themselves in their houses because they are surrounded by drug dealers, thugs and punks. Our children have become targets of drug dealers and pedophiles.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more of this excellent letter.

The Buckeye Firearms Association proudly announced endorsements in four local races around the state today. Two of these endorsements involve candidates who are involved in run-off elections on September 13.

In Toledo, two successive anti-gun administrations have passed useless assault weapons and inexpensive gun bans, and which have posted "no-guns" signs in city parks and busses, all the while overseeing a rise in violent crime. On September 13, pro-gun voters will have a chance to vote FOR a man who opposed these ordinances and policies and AGAINST the men who are responsible for them, all at the same time. Republican Councilman Rob Ludeman is seeking the mayor's seat, and facing off against anti-gun former Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, and anti-gun current Mayor Jack Ford. Buckeye Firearms Association endorses Rob Ludeman for Mayor in the City of Toledo.

Although Cincinnati's assault weapons ban is currently tied up in court, it is on the books. Councilman Charlie Winburn is, in our opinion, the candidate who would be best to lead city government out of its anti-gun mindset, and can be counted on to attack the city's crime problem by focusing his efforts on criminals, rather than on law-abiding citizens. In the year 2000, Winburn worked with the NRA to challenge the city's reckless lawsuit against gun manufacturers. One of his opponents, the term-limited State Sen. Mark Mallory, was a consistent anti-gun vote in the Statehouse, and pro-gun voters would do well to keep him away from this executive office.

Ohio's 2006 gubernatorial race has already been a politics junkie's dream, and promises to offer even greater fixes as the primaries grow closer.

Whether they are consumers or business owners tired of ever-increasing taxes, or gun owners stung by years of having to fight a Republican governor over pro-gun legislation, poll after poll shows that Mr. & Mrs. Ohio are tired of the status quo, and really tired of Bob Taft's liberal brand of Republicanism.

There is one man who is hoping Ohioans are so fed up that they'll make a historic decision to nominate someone who has never before served in public office to top the Republican ticket in November 2006.

Pete Draganic is that man, and after he made a recent trip to my neck of the woods in northwest Ohio, I decided it was time to find out more about Mr. Draganic.

Following is a copy Pete shared with me of an exchange between he and another pro-gun Ohioan on many of the most current firearms-related issues of concern to voters. As he has done since he first declared his candidacy, Ohio's "everyman" breaks with conventional political "wisdom", and takes the novel approach of answering detailed questions with detailed answers.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.