On June 29, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Firearms Excise Tax Improvement Act of 2010 (HR 5552) by a vote of 412 to 6. The bill is now pending in the Senate.

This legislation corrects a longstanding inequity in the Internal Revenue Code by permitting firearm and ammunition manufacturers to pay the federal excise tax payment on a quarterly basis, like other industries that support conservation through a federal excise tax. Currently, manufacturers pay this tax on a bi-weekly schedule, forcing many manufacturers to borrow money to ensure on-time payment. Industry members spend thousands of man-hours administering the necessary paperwork to successfully complete the bi-weekly tax payments -- monies that are due to the federal government long before manufacturers are paid by their customers. This excise tax is the major revenue source of wildlife conservation in the United States. This legislation will not increase the federal deficit, nor does it reduce the excise tax rate -- it simply changes the payment schedule.

Call your senators today at 202-224-3121 and ask them to support Senate passage of H.R. 5552 before Congress adjourns for the summer.

by Marcus Cole

As an American, I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to many, many people who have risked and given their lives to defend our liberty. But as I reflect on the recent Supreme Court decision in McDonald v. City of Chicago, I thought I should take a moment to mention four Americans who have made a relatively uncelebrated contribution to the freedom I cherish and enjoy. I owe a special debt to four black men, and one gun.

The most important of these men, to me, was my father. When I was a boy, he and my mother moved our family of six from the Terrace Village public housing projects in Pittsburgh's Hill District to a predominantly white neighborhood. While many of our neighbors welcomed us, we were not welcomed by all. I recall a brick through the front window, and other incidents. But burned into my memory is the Sunday evening when my father was beaten with a tire iron on the street in front of our home, and in front of us, his four little children. Those three young white men were never caught.

When my father, with his surgically reconstructed eye socket and jaw, was released from the hospital, he did something he never once considered when we lived in the projects. He bought a gun.

On Wednesday, July 28, by a margin of 307-113, a bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to amend the federal definition of protected "household goods" to include firearms on the list of items that cannot be seized by creditors in a bankruptcy proceeding.

NRA-supported H.R. 5827, offered by U.S. Representative John Boccieri (OH-16), would ensure that a person who files for bankruptcy would not lose the constitutionally- protected means of protecting themselves and their families. The bill sets a cap of $3,000 on the value of a firearm collection eligible for the protection, so people in bankruptcy proceedings can continue to own serviceable firearms.

The Senate companion bill is S.B. 3654, sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

by Jim Irvine

No matter how much the media want to make it a partisan issue, one can not accurately predict a candidate's position on the Second Amendment by looking at his party affiliation. Telling a lie often enough may make more people believe it, but it does not change the facts.

One could make a case that the gun issue is an urban versus rural issue. This is far more accurate than the typical Republican vs. Democrat argument, and may have been fairly true 20 years ago, but it is clearly not the case today.

Many inner city candidates have told me that their district is pro-concealed carry. Crime is not something inner city people watch on TV with the disconnected feeling that "it won't happen to me." Crime is something that happens on their street, to their friends, family and neighbors. They know the police are not there to protect them, so it's up to them to protect themselves and those they love. They get it, and they overwhelmingly vote Democrat.

Politicians will say and do things to help others in their party. They see it as part of the job. It could be Governor Strickland praising President Obama. It could be any Republican praising Senator Mike DeWine or Bob Taft, or it could be Sarah Palin praising John McCain. It is a part of politics and it should not surprise us. You don't have to like it. You can say, "I'd never do that." Fine. Don't run for office. But there is also no point in complaining about those that make a different decision doing the job they have chosen.

The Republican Party supports Republicans, no matter what their stance on firearms or your Second Amendment rights. The Democratic Party supports Democrats, no matter what their stance on firearms or your Second Amendment rights. Buckeye Firearms Association support candidates who support your Second Amendment rights, no matter what party they belong to.

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting that a man was fatally shot Sunday while trying to rob someone in a North Side parking lot.

From the article:

Shawn Mitchell, 23, died behind 6121 Zumstein Dr. after being shot about 5a.m. Police said Mitchell was trying to rob a person in a parked car and was shot by that person. Police would not name the shooter but said evidence in the case will be given to a grand jury.

Under Ohio's Castle Doctrine law, if someone unlawfully enters an occupied home or temporary habitation, or occupied car, citizens have an initial presumption that they may act in self defense, and will not be second-guessed by the State.

by Chad D. Baus

The Cleveland Plain Dealer, in partnership with PolitiFact.com, has begun a new series "addressing the claims, ads and statements of players in the political world."

According to the newspaper, "political reporters, assisted by news researchers at times, will review the bills and statistics that are cited. They'll examine data and studies to see if they back up the claims, and they'll seek out impartial sources and independent studies. The specific wording of claims, and their context, will be considered. Sources will be listed so the process is transparent to readers."

Among the first questions examined by the researchers was whether or not a quote that has long-been attributed to anti-gun U.S. Senate candidate Lee Fisher was actually ever uttered by him.

The quote, which the newspaper notes has been "cited since at least 1994 by gun-rights advocates, political opponents (including the campaign of at least one Democrat), blogs and websites:"

In all those many years of having the quote attributed to him, the investigators note that the former Handgun Control Inc. board member never uttered a single word of protest.

This year, however, Fisher has apparently realized that support for gun rights is an important component in getting elected to a statewide office in Ohio. As such, he is now trying to backpedal from his long reputation as a gun control advocate, having apparently determined that disputing the quote will somehow make the rest of his atrocious record on gun rights somehow more palatable.

We beg to differ.

By Alan Gottlieb and Dave Workman

Plunging government revenues may have the unintended consequence - so far as tax-and-spend (and spend some more) public officials are concerned - of reminding people that we are ultimately responsible for our own safety.

The pie plate is empty and inevitable cutbacks in important public services, including law enforcement, are on the horizon. It is already happening in Oakland, CA where the police chief has announced that officers will no longer respond to a broad list of crimes, if department layoffs go as planned.

What's a citizen to do? Perhaps they will follow the advice of Ashtabula County, OH Judge Alfred Mackey and Hudspeth County, TX Sheriff Arvin West. In the past few months, both have advised their neighbors to arm themselves.

More women than men took up hunting last year, according to new net figures from the National Sporting Goods Association.

While total hunters in the U.S. decreased slightly (.05 percent) between 2008 and 2009, the number of female hunters increased by 5.4 percent, netting 163,000 new participants. Growth areas for women included muzzleloading (up 134.6 percent), bowhunting (up 30.7 percent) and hunting with firearms (up 3.5 percent).

Data also show women outpaced men among net newcomers to target shooting with a rifle, where female participation grew by 4.1 percent.

An editorial response by multiple contributors

On July 11, 2010, Buckeye Firearms Association, a single issue Ohio political action committee (PAC), endorsed the reelection of incumbent Democrat Governor Ted Strickland over Republican challenger John Kasich.

To "insiders," this endorsement decision was expected. However, we realize that not all of our readers are "insiders" and do not necessarily follow politics closely. For them, a decision from a gun group that was not "GOP=Endorsement" might cause some initial contrarian reactions.

As such, we felt it might be helpful to respond to some of the generic concerns that have been expressed to us.