In an email addressed "Dear fellow gun owner", Libertarian presidential candidate and NRA Board of Directors member Bob Barr wrote:

Just a few weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Washington's gun ban unconstitutional, the city government there is passing new ordinances that might as well be a renewal of the ban as it requires that guns kept there be locked up and/or disassembled. Their new law adds further restrictions and registrations that were clearly not the intent of the Court.

Have you noticed the total silence about this issue in the Presidential campaign?

By his actions - not his words - we know that Barack Obama is a long time proponent of every imaginable gun control scheme. He is a perfect fit for the gun grabbers in his party.

And where is John McCain on this issue? Silent.

Barr's email continues by stating that "as one of my first acts as President I would order federal law enforcement to step in and force Washington, D.C. officials to abide by the court ruling. I am reminded this day of the time when federal authorities had to step in to enforce court rulings related to desegregation in the South."

"Gun ownership and use is as much a civil right as any other, and I will continue the fight for our freedom to keep and use our firearms."

By Tim Inwood

The hot steamy weekend of July 19th was the latest gathering of the Ohio Gun Collectors Association. The show was held at Roberts Centre in Wilmington, Ohio and as always it was the place to be for the serious gun enthusiast. It truly is like going to a museum where the artifacts on display, are also for sale. The issue is always how much money you can bring. Some folks do bring things that are strictly just for display; after all, part of the fun of gun collecting is showing and talking about your treasures.

At the end of my aisle was a fantastic display of LC Smith shotguns. Another fellow had Marine Corps legend General Chester Puller’s Colt 1911 on display. You really do walk amongst history at any OGCA show. I not only enjoy the show for what is displayed but also for the chance to see friends and chance to catch up on things. My old friend Bruce Grapevine, who preceded me as a GOP Central Committeeman for our township, always stops to discuss
the latest political machinations in Columbus and Washington D.C. John Holton from a delightful little gun shop in Xenia called “In the Ten Range” stopped and wanted to follow up on how happy I was with my last purchase from the shop--which as it turns out I am indeed delighted with the pistol. I also got to see my friend Dan Brubaker, a great fellow who donated a Ruger 10/22 rifle to the youth program at my gun club, the CCFSA. The OGCA is something I always enjoy immensely on many levels that goes beyond just being a gun show.

The gathering was well attended and folks were in good spirits. They certainly were more talkative than usual and they had every reason to do so, and I am not just talking about the usual “Did you see the beautiful Colt model of 1855 Revolving rifle in aisle E?” Many wanted to discuss the fair breeze that has carried gun owners into good news as of late.

Since the May show a number of things have happened to put a spring in the step of every gun owner in the Buckeye State.

The Washington City Paper is reporting that Dick Anthony Heller, who successfully challenged the District’s handgun ban in a landmark Supreme Court decision, is again suing the District of Columbia.

According to a complaint cited by the story, Heller, along with co-plaintiffs Absalom M. Jordan Jr., and Amy McVey, are taking particular aim at the effective ban of semiautomatic pistols by the District’s gun regulations, which in essence ban all semiautomatic weapons as “machine guns.”