Buckeye Firearms Central Ohio Chair Gerard Valentino testified in favor of HB450 at the House Criminal Justice Committee hearing on Thursday April 17th. The bill, which will give veterans between the age of 18 and 21 the right to own a handgun, was voted out of committee and will now go to the House floor for a vote.

This common sense pro-gun legislation is likely to receive overwhelming bi-partisan support as it makes its way to the governor.

Buckeye Firearms Association is honored to announce our full endorsement of the bill as proposed. Veterans, who give their all to protect our rights, deserve to right to self-defense regardless of whether they are 18, 19, 20 or 35 years-old.

Following is the text of Valentino's testimony as presented to the committee:

By Chad D. Baus

Pro-gun groups have been trying to sound the alarm about Barack Obama’s extreme anti-gun record since his Presidential campaign began. While his record includes opposing letting people use a self-defense argument if charged with violating local handgun bans by using weapons in their homes, and being a member of the Joyce Foundation (which provides groups like the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence hundreds of thousands of dollars to use in their fight to destroy your gun rights), Obama’s campaign lip service as been all about his supposed support for gun rights.

Obama’s true beliefs about gun owners were exposed for more Americans recently when he described small town Midwesterners as “bitter”. “They cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” Obama snidely told a group of San Francisco donors.

It is clear to gun owners who are paying attention that this man cannot be trusted to uphold the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But for those who are less involved in the political process, Obama’s “pro-gun” charade is likely working, just as a certain “hunters and shooters” group has succeeded in convincing some gun owners that they support the Second Amendment.

But when the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA) endorsed Barack Obama for President, they finally took a step that should expose both the organization and Obama to even the most disconnected gun owner.

The Tacoma News Tribune is reporting that the Department of the Interior proposed a rule change this week that would allow people to carry a concealed firearm in a national park or wildlife refuge.