By Chad D. Baus

Despite reports in recent weeks that Ohio GOP chairman Bob Bennett was considering an abandonment of his plan to orchestrate an orderly transfer of power within the OhioGOP via the creation of the position of Deputy Chairman, the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that the party's central committee voted on March 9 to create
a deputy director position. The person to fill it will work along side Bennett, who plans to retire after the 2008 presidential election.

From the Plain Dealer blog site:

The deputy will then likely become the party's next boss. Three people
remain interested in deputy job: Stark County GOP Chairman Curt
Braden, Lake County GOP Chairman Dale Fellows and state Rep. Kevin
DeWine of Fairborn.

The 66-member central committee will pick one of the three at the end
of April.

Many gun owners have lamented the apparent OhioGOP disconnect to us during the past two decades. There has been much speculation as to whether or not Bennett, the muscle behind the likes of anti-gun politicians like Bob Taft, Mike DeWine, George Voinovich and Betty Montgomery, would keep our Second Amendment rights in mind when choosing a successor. 61% of participants in an online poll on the subject (which is still open for voting), say they believe Bennett would pick a clone - out of touch with gun owners.

Click on 'Read More' for the entire commentary.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that "a gun-rights group critical of journalists who have published lists of conceal-and-carry permit holders is now seeking the same information."

From the story:

Jeff Garvas, president of Ohioans For Concealed Carry Inc., has asked the state's sheriffs for -- and in some cases has received -- the names and addresses of the permit holders, citing his role as a journalist. The group, which lobbies in Columbus, produces a newsletter and has a Web site.

Under the law, only journalists -- not the general public -- can obtain the information but they cannot copy it. The requests highlight the increasingly murky definition of journalists in the age of the Internet.

"You have to wonder why they are doing this," said Bob Cornwell, the executive director of Buckeye State Sheriffs' Association. "Is it for recruitment? Is it for notification -- that there are people like you living nearby? We just don't know."

Buckeye Firearm Association's web site is seeing an amazing growth in visitors and new articles are being posted several times a week.

This week's "Friday Flashback" is....

Self-Defense Bill of Rights: Part 2

When did running away become a good idea?

By Ken Hanson

In Part One of my article on the Stand Your Ground laws being introduced across the country, I examined the most important part of these bills – returning the presumption of innocence to those who act in self-defense. If you did not read that article, it is highly suggested you go back and read it, as this article builds upon the prior article.

Broadly speaking, these bills implement two categories of changes. First, as we examined in part 1, a presumption against the bad guy is reestablished, and the person acting in self-defense is granted civil and criminal immunity for their actions. The second category of change is elimination of the duty to retreat. It is this change, more than the others, that creates hysteria among the social engineering crowds who claim it is nothing more than a license to murder. (After all, it is very hard to argue against creating a presumption against a felon, so this is the only area they have left to argue against.)

But just what is the duty to retreat, and where does it come from?

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