by Chad D. Baus

With both the House and Senate having passed similar versions of Restaurant & Car Carry Rules Fix legislation, the media now know their anti-self-defense editorial and biased news-coverage campaign has failed, and their hopes for stopping the bill up in the House have withered. Instead, the new focus is on encouraging Republican Governor John Kasich to go back on the commitment he made to voters during the campaign by vetoing the legislation.

On Monday, May 17, the Columbus City Council, all Democrats, unanimously called on Kasich to veto the bill.

Councilwoman Michelle M. Mills introduced the guns-in-bars resolution from the floor, saying that she opposes mixing guns and alcohol. She pointed to a recent incident in which medics treated a man who had been stabbed in a bar.

..."If a gun had been present, it could have been worse," she said.

by Ken Hanson, Esq.

Ohio has now passed bills in the House and Senate that would allow concealed carry licensees to carry firearms in liquor facilities. Since this legislative action is contrary to the editorial position of Ohio's major newspapers, and since editors such as The Columbus Dispatch's Joe Hallett cannot allow facts to interfere with their own biases, it is left to Buckeye Firearms' volunteers to refute the idiocy.

Yesterday we received several frantic phone calls asking for articles, links etc. backing up our claims that most states allow carry of firearms into restaurants that serve alcohol. These calls, of course, came after hours, so that we got to spend time away from our families to address the calls.

During the debate over the House and Senate versions of these bills, those opposed to the bills (i.e. the Fraternal Order of Police, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the Toledo Blade, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Columbus Dispatch etc. etc.) tried to paint gun owners as liars for claiming that 42 states allowed carry of firearms in restaurants that served alcohol.

Please note that I do not include the Ohio Restaurant Association among those opposed to the bills. They were thrown out as a red herring earlier in the debate, and were all but ignored from Day One by Buckeye Firearms Association. A group like the ORA, that makes no donations, puts up no yard signs and makes no phone calls is not a legitimate source of opposition to your rights.

Unfortunately, those testifying, and those editorializing in opposition to these bills fell into the trap that most anti-gun groups set – their statistics are hyper-technical and don't withstand any serious scrutiny. Those who rely on statistics from groups like Brady, Violence Policy Center or Legal Community Against Violence are often ashamed when they are called out on their sources.

Numerous newspaper reports and editorials fell into this trap, disputing the pro-gun group claims that 42 states allowed carry of firearms in restaurants.

Please allow me to walk you through the genesis of this trap. It is really quite simple. The antis use the word "bar" and we use the word "restaurant."

The Woodrow Wilson International Center, which previously accepted as fact that incredible numbers of newly purchased firearms were being smuggled from the U.S. to Mexico, has just released a report showing that the numbers have been incredibly exaggerated. The revelation shifts the blame for Mexico's drug cartel problem away from America's "lax" gun laws, and squarely in the direction of Mexican officials and Central American weapons smugglers.

According to the report, Mexican President Felipe Calderon "[S]aid Mexico had seized about 90,000 arms . . . . [B]ut ATF now reports that tens of thousands of the trace requests are duplicates. In some cases, ATF has received information on the same firearm up to five times as Mexican police, a crime lab, the military, and the Attorney General's office all write down information on the same firearm, and the individual in the Attorney General's office in Mexico City submits trace requests on all of them. Of the remaining firearms, the Mexican government has also failed to sometimes include basic information about the firearms such as the manufacture’s serial number or the import number on many [of] these firearms."

Furthermore, "about 26 percent of Mexico's trace requests to the U.S. government for FY 2009 were untraceable because of serial number errors" and "75 percent of the firearms ATF was able to trace to the first purchaser in the United States were purchased more than five years ago."

While Pres. Calderon regularly blames America for Mexico's problem, "ATF officials . . . have sought to physically inspect firearms at crime scenes or at Mexican military storage facilities, but have had limited success, mostly because Mexican officials or the Mexican Attorney General’s office prevented such access, due in part to national sensitivities and lack of trust."

by Chad D. Baus

While Restaurant and Car Carry Rules Fix legislation has garnered almost exclusive attention of the media and the gun ban lobby in Ohio, another piece of important pro-gun legislation has also been passed by strong, bi-partisan majorities in the Ohio House and Senate.

HB54 and SB61, Ohio's Restoration of Rights legisation, will align Ohio law with federal statutes regarding the restoration of rights to Ohio firearms purchasers.

Due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) has stopped accepting Ohio's court orders restoring a citizen's right to own firearms. The purpose of this bill is to update Ohio's statutes to address this issue and protect Ohio citizens' legal rights under the law.

Ken Hanson, Legislative Chair of Buckeye Firearms Association, has explained the need for the legislation as follows:

"Someone who has been legally buying firearms, in some cases for many years after they received a legal Ohio restoration, may suddenly discover that he or she is back under a firearm disability because Ohio's restoration of their firearm rights was not deemed complete by Federal authorities. The proposed bill realigns Ohio's law with new Federal enforcement rules to effectively get the same result that has been working in Ohio for years."

Before the House passed House Bill 54 (Restoration of Rights), Republican Reps. Ron Maag and Jarrod Martin sought to put a face on the issue.

Dayton's CBS affiliate, WHIO TV, reported recently that a property owner fired a shotgun at a man and his son after they accidentally drove on the edge of his lawn.

From the article:

Max Lawson and his 16-year-old, Mentee, were out collecting used toys. At one home, they accidentally drove onto some grass near the driveway.

Deputies said Dennis Neumann then came out to complain. Lawson said he repeatedly apologized to Neumann and explained why he was there.

But, Neumann eventually pulled out a shotgun and fired toward Lawson and his child. Lawson, who has a concealed carry permit, pulled out his own gun and warn Neumann that if he fired again he would shoot back.

Last month, Republican House Speaker William Batchelder made headlines when he revealed that his 59-member caucus was unable to muster the 50 votes necessary for passage. A review of our 2010 candidate surveys showed that, so long as everyone kept their word, the votes were there. However, sources in the Statehouse told us that some were considering breaking their word and voting against the bill for emotional reasons. In response, Buckeye Firearms Association, the National Rifle Association and the Ohio Liberty Council began intensive efforts to encourage their supporters to contact members of the House during the legislature's spring break.

While we knew the names of some of the representatives who were considering flip-flopping, only one had already done so. Rep. Matt Lundy, a Democrat from Elyria, indicated on his 2010 BFA candidate survey that he would vote for the legislation in order to win a good grade and an endorsement, and then just a few months later proceeded to not only vote against it in committee, but to introduce two anti-gun amendments, including one that would have made CHL-holders' personal information public.

On April 25, we made the decision to expose the fact that Lundy had lied on his 2010 candidate survey. We published an article on this website, issued a press release to hundreds of news outlets in Ohio, emailed thousands of pro-gun voters, and shared the facts in a newspaper advertisement published in two newspapers that cover his district. We also made sure that a copy of the ad and resulting press coverage, including an editorial by the Lorain Morning-Journal, entitled "Lundy's duplicity over endorsement should be a concern to voters," was on the desk of every State Representative when they returned from spring break. We also provided a letter which dispelled the myths and provided them the simple facts about this bill.

Little more than a week after the letter was distributed to legislators, the bill was brought to the floor, and where it passed with a 56-40 vote, with Batchelder crediting gun groups' efforts for picking up some votes.

Unfortunately, by casting their vote against HB45, one Republican and one Democrat have now joined Lundy on the list of people who indicated they would vote for it before they voted against it.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Project Gunrunner program was intended to stop the alleged flow of guns to criminals in Mexico. That didn't happen. Instead, the program may have facilitated the illegal smuggling of thousands of those guns, some of which actually turned up at the murder scene of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in December 2010.

As the probe into Project Gunrunner heats up, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Senate Judiciary Committee want to determine if high-ranking officials in the Department of Justice knew about and approved Project Gunrunner. To that end, this week, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was called to testify before both committees.

When questioned by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) on Wednesday, Holder said that he does not know how guns allowed to "walk" during the federal gun sting operation ended up at the U.S. Border Patrol agent's murder scene. "I frankly don't know," Holder said.

During floor debate on HB45, Representative Mike Foley (D-Cleveland) Mike Foley warned about "the Wild Wild West atmosphere" he said "could and would happen" in bars if the bill was passed.

The people and groups who are predicting mayhem if these bills become law are the same that falsely predicted mayhem if HB12, HB347, SB184 and other bills we have supported passed. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. Lives have been saved because of concealed carry.

The Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune has published an excellent editorial in support of passage of Restaurant Carry legislation in Ohio, entitled "Don't buy into the Wild West mythology"

Batchelder credits pro-gun groups for winning over some opponents

by Chad D. Baus

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that House Speaker Bill Batchelder has received assurance from Governor Kasich that Ohio's Restaurant Carry legislation will get signed.

From the article:

"We visited about it," Batchelder said. "Absent something drastically changing, I don't know what that would be, the language is clear. There really is no problem there. I would expect the governor to sign it."

In addition, Kasich's spokesperson confirmed to the Cincinnati Enquirer that the governor will likely sign the bill:

Whichever bill clears the Ohio General Assembly first is expected to be signed into law by Gov. John Kasich, according to his spokesman. The legislation also relaxes limits on carrying guns in cars.

Kasich, a Republican, is a gun owner.

"While we are interested in seeing what the final version of the bill looks like, he has said in the past that he is supportive of the concept," Kasich spokesman Rob Nichols said.

The state Senate approved a virtually identical bill last month. Whichever bill clears the Ohio General Assembly first will then be sent to the governor.

Batchelder is quoted by The Plain Dealer as saying he would speak to Republican Senate President Tom Niehaus on how to proceed. He told both The Plain Dealer and the Dayton Daily News that one of the bills should move next week.

Editor's Note: This story was updated as information became available.

By a 56 - 40 margin, the Ohio House has passed House Bill 45, sponsored by Representatives Danny Bubp (R-West Union) and Terry Johnson (R-McDermott) which will allow citizens who hold a valid concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry a firearm in restaurants. To do so, license holders may not consume any alcohol and must not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. According to OpenCarry.org, 42 states (including every state that borders Ohio) allow non-drinking license holders to carry firearms in restaurants.

The bill also reduces burdensome restrictions regarding how a license holder must transport a firearm in a car. Currently, Ohio is the only state to place such complex limitations on license holders.

One month ago, the Ohio Senate passed an amended version of this legislation (SB17) by a 25-7 margin, having adding a provision to provide a way for people who were convicted of improperly transporting a firearm under the current law to receive relief if they would have been in compliance under the law as amended.

Before the bill passed, Rep. Todd McKenney (R-New Franklin) offered an amendment to strip restaurant carry from the bill. The anti-gun amendment was defeated by a 58-38 vote to table. Buckeye Firearms Association can report that McKenney answered our 2010 candidate survey just as did Rep. Matt Lundy (D), who BFA recently exposed for having lied on his 2010 candidate survey by promising to vote for the legislation in order to win a good grade and an endorsement, only to reverse course within weeks after being in office.

Other anti-gun amendments were offered by Reps. Ted Celeste (D), Mike Foley (D) (who invoked "the Wild Wild West atmosphere" he says "could and would happen" in bars, before introducing an admittedly "sarcastic" amendment), Sandra Williams (D), Tracy Heard (D) (who asked "what's to guarantee me that any one of the members in this chamber who hold a concealed carry wouldn't shoot me in the head?" and said she believes if the bill passes "there isn't going to be anyone in Ohio who isn't carrying a gun.") and Bill Patmon (D) (who cited examples of a few CHL-holders who have broken the law as representative of what he must expect will happen here). Those amendments too were tabled or defeated - Celeste's by a 62-34 margin, Foley's 72-23, Williams' 64-32, Heard's 61-34 and Patmon's 64-32.