By Gerard Valentino

Ohio’s concealed carry law was stonewalled for years by the opposition of the Ohio State Highway Patrol administration who refused to endorse any law that allowed law-abiding citizens to carry loaded guns in cars. After years of debate, public opinion overwhelmed the State Patrol’s opposition and Ohio finally got a concealed carry law.

The State Highway Patrol administration was successful, however, in using its lobbying power to poison the legislation with the now infamous “open car carry” provision. This provision requires license holders to keep their gun holstered in plain sight while in a vehicle. No other state has such a ludicrous provision in their concealed carry law and many even allow guns to be carried in cars without a license.

Although the Highway Patrol could not point to one instance where a legally carried gun was used against law-enforcement, they still insisted that guns in cars need to be carried in plain sight. In an ironic twist of fate since Ohio became the 46th state to allow legal concealed carry, more State Patrol Officers have been charged with murder than license holders. However, the State Patrol’s administration hasn’t lobbied for restraining the possession of handguns for off-duty patrol officers.

Now as HB347 which removes the ludicrous open carry provision makes its way through the Ohio legislature, the State Highway Patrol is once again using its lobbying power in opposition to legislation that would make all Ohioans safer. Their actions are more than likely at the bidding of disgraced Governor Bob Taft who did his best to keep concealed carry from ever becoming law in Ohio.

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

February 12, 2006
By Al Smith

Ohio will never be confused with a state like Pennsylvania or the Upper Peninsula of Michigan for its diverse wildlife population.

The Buckeye state does not have elk like Pennsylvania or elk, moose or wolves that populate the U.P. And it doesn’t have the populations of bears, bobcats or snowshoe hare like these two states.

But some lesser known wildlife do populate Ohio, and some have been reintroduced in recent years.

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

By Dave Workman
GunWeek.com

Republished with permission

An official with the National Rifle Association has issued a blistering rebuttal to Oregon outdoor writer Pat Wray, who asserted in two columns (Dec. 4 and Dec. 18) that the NRA is no friend to hunters because it supports politicians who put gun rights ahead of habitat protection.

Wray’s double-barrel barrage rekindled a debate that began almost two years ago and caused an earthquake in the outdoor writing community. At the time, Wray was a member of the Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) board of directors, which sent a letter to then-NRA President Kayne Robinson, castigating him for remarks he made about the Sierra Club during an NRA-sponsored breakfast at the 2004 OWAA annual conference. Wray wrote the original draft of that letter.

While it appeared that the controversy had all but died by late 2005, Wray’s columns turned the heat back up, and the situation now appears to have taken on the earmarks of a personal feud.

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