The Newark Advocate is reporting that almost four people came in every business day through the first three months of the year, 252 in all, to either renew or seek a new permit to arm themselves discretely in public, according to figures from the Licking County Sheriff's Office. During the same period in 2008, the story notes 107 people sought concealed handgun licenses in that county.

As Buckeye Firearms Association has reported, the increases have been seen across the state, with an average of 326 people per work-day picking up a CHL in the first quarter (a number that is even more impressive when one considers that many sheriffs do not accept CHLs five days per week).

Ken Richardson, who runs the sheriff's office concealed-carry licensure program, is quoted as saying he expects this year's renewals and original licenses to exceed 1200.

Republican State Representative Josh Mandel, a former endorsee of Buckeye Firearms Association, has announced his candidacy for State Treasurer not through the traditional press release or press conference, but via a video posted on his website, www.JoshMandel.com.

Mandel, who served two tours of duty in Iraq as an intelligence specialist with the United States Marine Corps, is currently in his second term as a state representative. He says the Internet announcement is symbolic of the technological advances he hopes to harness in the state treasurer's office.

"Should I be elected state treasurer, I plan to maximize peoples hard-earned dollars to utilize technology to save costs in the treasurer's office as well as communicate with my constituents directly," he said.

By Larry S. Moore

I hear the phrase "The Second Amendment isn't about hunting" repeated in various comments, articles, websites and blogs. It is being repeated so often that is has become an accepted fact. I'm more tired of hearing this than I was the old Wendy's commercial, "Where's the beef?" (okay I am dating myself). Some days I've heard it so many times that I wonder why I bother to be involved in Second Amendment issues. It seems I spend more time promoting/defending gun ownership than I do hunting. I was a hunter well before I was into guns or a defender of the Second Amendment. I am grey of head and long in the tooth enough to see that my days afield are numbered.

Okay, before everyone rushes out to lynch me or burn me at the stake, please stay with me. I understand that the phrase initially was coined to let politicians know that just because they donned some new camo and took a hunting trip it is not an indication they are a sportsman or understand gun issues. I took John Kerry to task for that during his presidential campaign hunting photo op in Ohio. And I've seen many other political mailings aimed at sportsmen or gun owners where models wear new clothes or pack guns afield in manners that are apparent they've never been there before the photo shoot.

By John Longenecker

As I have posted over the years, the Founders of this country defeated abuse of process as much as they defeated an army and a single person as the Sovereign. They learned from misery and tyranny what NOT to do. One thing was within their power, and that was to make certain things absolute. All they need do was declare it at the nation's inception, and they did; It rests in the words of art 'shall not be infringed.' How's that for Original intent?

By Chad D. Baus

When word of significant cuts to the Toledo police force first came out, one senior police officer issued the following recommendation to city residents:

After the layoffs took effect, Mayor Carty Finkbeiner admitted the reason why this was such good advice:

There are continuing indications that Toledo residents are taking the advice to purchase guns quite seriously. In fact, the most recent news story on the matter, from WTOL Toledo (the city's CBS affiliate) was featured this week as national news the Drudge Report.

Cincinnati's WKRC (the tri-state area's CBS affiliate) is reporting that an unprecedented number of women are taking their protection into their own hands by getting a gun.

According to a report by Local 12 Reporter Liz Bonis, "gun stores are seeing more women customers than anyone can remember. Many women are also getting permits to carry a concealed weapon."

The news report documents some of the reasons why many women are in a hurry to arm themselves.

Demand is soaring for concealed carry licenses in Ohio

By Jim Irvine

The Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray (D) has released the concealed handgun license (CHL) statistics for the first quarter of 2009. The demand for concealed carry licenses has been torrid. It appears that a lot of new gun owners are not content to leave their weapon locked up at home; they want to carry it for self defense.

The first quarter in 2009 continued the trend of increasing demand at an increasing rate. The 16,323 regular licenses issues was a whopping 139% increase over the same period a year earlier and was the second quarter in a row that demand more than doubled compared with the prior year. There were an additional 4,906 licenses renewed during the quarter, which is approximately 75% of the licenses expiring during the period. Add in another 41 Temporary Emergency Licenses (TELs), and Ohio Sheriffs issued a whopping 21,248 licenses in the first three months of 2009. That is more licenses than were issued for the entire year in 2006!

BELLEVUE, WA – The nomination of Second Circuit Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court is a slap at gun rights and the Second Amendment, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

Judge Sotomayor, a New York native, ruled on a Second Circuit Appeals Court panel that the Second Amendment is not a fundamental right and does not apply to the states in the case of Maloney v. Cuomo. This ruling is in direct conflict with a Ninth Circuit Court ruling in the Nordyke v. King case in California that the Second Amendment is incorporated through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

"While Democrats in Congress have been making great strides in the gun rights arena, refusing to consider a renewal of the Clinton gun ban, and offering overwhelming bipartisan support for legislation allowing citizens to carry firearms in national parks, President Obama just demonstrated that he prefers judges who oppose Second Amendment rights," said SAF founder Alan M. Gottlieb.

By Gerard Valentino

We have reached a new low when it comes to the Federal government's overzealous attempts to fight crime. According to a recent news story, the FBI and police in Westerville, Ohio are going to try and enforce a ban on wearing a hood, hat, sunglasses or use of a cell phone inside local banks.

According to a quote attributed to the local police, would be bank robbers will be easy to spot since law abiding bank patrons won't be wearing a hat or talking on a cell phone.

By Chad D. Baus

As we reported earlier this month, more Americans than ever oppose new government efforts to regulate guns, in spite of the best efforts of the media propaganda machine's anti-gun bias.

There is also growing evidence that the years of pro-gun advocates' warnings about the danger of declaring spaces to be "gun free" zones (i.e. infringing on citizens' Second Amendment rights) is also starting to penetrate.

Thanks to a story by WCPO (Cincinnati ABC) reporter Brendan Keefe aired late last year, thousands of viewers in the greater Cincinnati area were exposed to a fact that the establishment media is normally fond of suppressing:

The vast majority of multiple victim public shootings occur in so-called "gun-free" zones.

And since the original story was aired, Keefe has updated the web version in response to viewer questions who may have just had their first-ever exposure to the failure of "gun-free" zones to stop mass shootings.