By Jim Irvine

Every year we hear how important elections are, and in spite of all the hype, the truth is that every election is important. In November, you are sure to hear someone say, “Why don’t we have a good candidate to choose from?” I’ll tell you why; because they didn’t show up to elect the good candidate in the primary. Ohio’s primary election is May 2 and Republican and Democratic candidates must win the primary to be on the ballot in the fall. We need to work together to ensure we have good candidates to in November. Every election matters.

This month, the Ohio House passed HB347 with a 76-19 vote. (Four Representatives were absent) Pro votes exceeded anti votes by a 4 to 1 ratio. 80% of votes cast were in favor of improving our firearms laws.

Two years ago, the House voted 69-28 to pass HB12. Four years ago HB274 passed the House but never made it to Governor Taft’s desk. Because we changed the makeup of the House and Senate, we changed the outcome of concealed carry and thus got our (flawed) law.

It's interesting to note that this happened even while the Democrats picked up 2 seats from Republicans. While the leaders of the DNC are vehemently anti-gun, the Ohio Democratic Party led by Representative Chris Redfern is not.