Fred Thompson Gears Up

By Chad D. Baus

Gun owners disappointed by a bevy of Presidential front-runners in both the Democrat and Republican camps got a boost in recent weeks when former Senator Fred Thompson (R-Tenn) announced that he was considering a Presidential run.

The Politico.com is reporting that the “Law & Order” actor has moved beyond pondering a bid for the White House and begun assembling the nucleus of a campaign should he decide to run.

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The Youngstown Vindicator is reporting that another Ohio concealed handgun license-holder has acted to defend himself from a dangerous armed criminal.

From the story:

A 55-year-old man thwarted a carjacking Tuesday morning after exchanging gunfire with the would-be thief. The victim told police he had pulled his vehicle into his Youngstown Road driveway about 12:45 a.m. when one of three men who was walking past his home started shooting at him.

The victim, who police reported has a conceal-carry gun permit, returned fire. The would-be thief jumped into the victim's car and backed into a street sign. He drove forward, went through a fence and slammed into a junk vehicle. The gunman jumped back over the fence and got into a car that had pulled up to the scene. The victim suffered a cut hand, but police say he wounded his assailant, who is in a Warren hospital pending filing of charges.

There was a good deal of acrimony over the need for Ohio's Concealed Handgun Licensure law, and the General Assembly was accused of knuckling under to a vocal micro-minority. As the establishment media and the gun ban crowd told it, no one needed/wanted this law. However, since passage of the law in 2004, almost 87,000 law-abiding citizens have chosen to exercise their Constitutional right to bear arms for self-defense.

By Jim Irvine

The NRA held its annual meetings in St. Louis, Missouri this weekend. I have come to have high expectations of these events, and this one did not disappoint.

My personal highlight was Missouri Governor Matt Blunt signing the Emergency Powers Protection into law to officially open the weekend. On stage with him were many of the law makers and NRA executives who helped move this bill to his desk. He also stated that he will be signing Castle Doctrine soon. What a stark contrast to Ohio where we needed to override prior Governor Taft to pass good laws. Thankfully our new Governor Strickland has already proven to be friendly to gun owners.

On Thursday, Cam Edwards read a talk-back from someone saying that every NRA member should go to the annual meetings once. The first meetings were the 2002 meetings in Reno, Nevada. I remember meeting a couple in the first hour who asked my wife and I if it was our first meetings. When asked if it was their first, they said they had been to every one for the last 35 years! I didn’t understand why anyone would want to do that, but as the weekend unfolded, I figured it out. It is now an annual priority in our home too.

Maybe the most impressive part of the weekend is the people. NRA members are the friendliest, most courteous, interesting, and just overall nicest 60,000 people you will ever find. It’s normal for the stranger in front of you to wait those few seconds to hold the door for you. Friendly smiles and “Hi’s” from strangers on the sidewalk and hotel hallway are standard. You share pictures and stories of family with others seated at your table. As always, I have more friends than I did when the meetings started.

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