By Chad D. Baus

Gun owners have a general mistrust for the mainstream media, and rightly so. Over the years, having witnessed examples of poor and/or biased journalism ranging from images of fully-automatic rifles being fired during a story about the Clinton assault weapons ban (which had nothing to do with full-autos) to editorializing about gun legislation they later admit to not even having read. An even more direct journalistic attack on Ohio's gun owners came in for form of a few anti-gun editors who chose to publish the confidential [see ORC § 2923.129 (B)(1)] information of persons who have committed what these journalists apparently view as the "crime" of exercising their right to bear arms for self-defense by obtaining an Ohio concealed handgun license.

The list of grievances Ohio gun owners have against the mainstream media is long indeed. However, if, in the context of discussing these many biased journalistic attacks on the Second Amendment, The Lima News is raised in conversation among Ohio's grassroots gun owners, the comments will generally turn positive.

Click 'Read More' for the entire commentary.

On Friday, we reported that GOP presidential wanna-be Rudy Guiliani would be seeking support from the NRA, a group he once likened to 'extremists', at the group's “A Celebration of American Values” candidate forum in Washington D.C..

As a follow-up to that meeting, MSNBC is reporting that Giuliani's attempts to distract pro-gun voters from his anti-gun record with a few pro-gun election year pick-up lines fell on largely deaf ears.

Most members of the gun lobby who attended Friday’s “A Celebration of American Values” conference said they were encouraged by Giuliani’s appearance and what he said about support for gun rights. But most also said they were concerned about his track record supporting gun control as mayor of New York City, and favored other candidates in the Republican presidential primary.

Bob Bell, a salesman from Clarkesville, MD, said he respected Giuliani’s leadership during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but preferred Thompson, a longtime supporter of Second Amendment rights. Bell said Giuliani’s mayoral record -- including his advocacy for the assault weapons ban and lawsuits against gun manufacturers -- weighed heavy on him. “He was a mayor of New York City, and try and get a gun permit up there,” he said.