NOTE: The contents of this story have been updated throughout the day as circumstances warranted.

-----> VOTE TALLIES

Today Governor Bob Taft carried out his threat and vetoed HB347, a bill that only the rabid anti-freedom groups oppose. The Ohio House of Representatives responded within about three hours, overriding the governor's veto by a 71-21 margin. Fourteen Democrats joined 57 Republicans in voting "yes" to override.

The Act would make firearms laws uniform throughout the state, something almost every state in our union did long ago because it makes sense and solves problems that burden Ohio's citizens.

The contents of the veto message are as follows:

“Pursuant to Article II, Section 16 of the Ohio Constitution, which states that the Governor may disapprove any bill, I hereby disapprove of this act and set forth below the reasons for so doing.

Editor's Note: Buckeye Firearms Association has learned that the Senate Subcommittee on Civil Justice, chaired by Republican David Goodman, acted Wednesday to remove a provision from House Bill 9 which would have allowed concealed handgun license-holders, in certain situations, to protect their private, personal information from the media, and inserted compromise language, which is still being evaluated. The bill has not yet passed out of committee, but if it reaches Taft's desk, will he be as quick with a veto threat of this true infringment on home rule?

By Ken Hanson

Based on Bob Taft's new-found championing of Home Rule authority, as
reflected in his promise to veto H.B. 347, which contains preemption of
firearm laws, the Governor should make plans to veto H.B. 9, the public
records reform bill, on the same grounds if it reaches his desk.

By way of background, municipalities have home rule
authority in two broad areas - local government operations and police
powers. In the field of police powers, such as firearm regulations,
municipalities only have home rule authority to the extent it does not
conflict state exercise of police powers. In the area of local
government operations, the power is absolute and cannot be infringed.

Nothing is more fundamental to local government operations than what
papers government keeps, who sees these papers, when the papers are
released, how they are released and for how much money. This is an area
of home rule where local government power is absolute and cannot be
infringed, unlike firearm laws. State-level public records laws are a
clear infringement on home rule authority delegated to municipalities to
the extent they dictated to municipalities how and what paper to keep
and who they must give it to.

The law on this is clear - municipalities have an absolute home rule
power with regard to local government operations and only limited home
rule authority with respect to police powers. You simply cannot be
against H.B. 347 on home rule grounds and simultaneously be in support
of the public records bill.

Click on 'Read More' for the entire commentary.

By Lawrence G. Keane, Esq.

As the final election tallies come in, with only a few House races still yet to be determined, and the 2008 presidential race begun, a few things are clear: The 2006 midterm elections were a referendum on Iraq and the Republican leadership of Congress. It was a “thumping,” as the President acknowledged. But what they were not, as some on the far left would have you believe, was a mandate for more gun control.

With control of the Senate and House of Representatives shifting to Democrats, anti-gun zealots have claimed credit for the election results in an attempt to strengthen their political capital with new congressional leaders. Their goal is advancing the gun control agenda, including a return to a ban on some semi-automatic firearms based on cosmetic appearances (a ban which did nothing to prevent crime), an outright ban on civilian ownership of handguns, national registration and licensing. The list goes on.

Sportsmen, hunters and firearms owners may be left with a feeling of uneasiness if they read the anti-gun propaganda spewing forth from the likes of the Brady Campaign and the deceptively named American Hunters & Shooters Association. While sportsmen, hunters and gun owners must remain vigilant, the anti’s rhetoric is, as always, overheated.

Click here to read the entire article at HumanEvents.com.