by Chad D. Baus

On February 14, 2012 gun rights advocates across the country provided an economic stimulus to their local Starbucks stores. The effort came together in response to the January 23 announcement that of a Valentine's Day boycott scheduled by an anti-self-defense group calling itself the "National Gun Victim's Action Council." The group is demanding that Starbucks, which takes a neutral position on concealed carry, change its corporate policy and prohibit guns in the stores.

Once learning of the boycott, gun owners sprang into quick action, organizing a "reverse boycott" and taking a page from the NGVAC by coordinating through Facebook. Support for the "reverse boycott" was so successful that, before Valentine's Day arrived, the NGVAC was reportedly forced to remove the list of boycott participants from public view on its Facebook event page after the tiny number was dwarfed by more than 24,500 Facebook users committing to participate in the "reverse boycott." (What they cannot hide, however, is the tiny number of followers on this supposedly national anti-gun groups' Facebook page - just 258. By comparison, Buckeye Firearms Association has over 11,700.)

Many participants agreed to pay and/or tip with $2 bills to signify support for the Second Amendment. And while it is impossible to measure the exact financial boost the reverse boycott had on Starbucks' bottom line, the anecdotal evidence posted at the Facebook event page for the 'BUYcott' suggests it was substantial. The comments also suggest that most store managers weren't aware of the NGVAC boycott, but they were definitely aware of the increased business thanks to gun owners!

by "Buckeye" Dan Allen

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is arguably one of the most vocal and visible public figures in the anti-gun community. Billionaire Bloomberg and his organization of city mayors are known for promoting tougher federal, state, and local gun regulation. Bloomberg and the group MAIG (Mayors Against Illegal Guns) can regularly be found in the media spotlight criticizing and sometimes publicly attacking states with more relaxed gun laws.

In the alternate reality that is Bloomberg's world, the average citizen should not have access to firearms; Firearms should be limited to trained professionals such as the police or military. In fact, law-abiding citizens from other states who are licensed to carry back home and who visit New York City are regularly arrested and punished under the local draconian gun laws. It is a crime for all but an elite minority to carry a firearm where Bloomberg reigns supreme.

Bloomberg is known for having his cronies infiltrate gun shows in Ohio, West Virginia and Virginia, among other states. I'll refer to these cronies as "agents." These agents lurk around gun shows in hopes of finding some unsuspecting gun seller that they can entrap in questionable transactions. The agents record these transactions and publicly display them as being a result of the dreaded "Gun Show Loophole." If this were a screenplay I would insert *ominous echo sound effect* here.

This so-called gun show loophole is what Bloomberg perceives to be a threat to the safety and security of NYC residents. In Bloomberg's reality this is where criminals obtain the firepower that endangers his streets. Every study on the subject contradicts that, however. Studies show only 1 percent of guns used in crimes are traced back to sales at gun shows.

For as long as I can remember, firearm owners have been using the phrase: "When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns." Well, Bloomberg has helped that come to fruition. His obsessive attacks on the Second Amendment and his city's own draconian gun laws have come back to bite him. He's made firearms such a hot commodity in his bailiwick that even his own policemen were tempted by this new lucrative black market taboo.

COLUMBUS, OH – The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife announced that 219,698 deer were taken during Ohio's 2011-12 hunting season, compared to 239,379 in the 2010-11 season. The top three counties with the highest number of deer taken this season were: Coshocton, Licking and Tuscarawas.

Hunters showed support for the two new methods of game-reporting that were made available this year. Since deer season began on Sept. 24, 2011, 44 percent of hunters called in their numbers, 36 percent reported their numbers online and 20 percent traveled to a license agent’s location to report their game.

Ohio's first modern day deer-gun season opened in 1943 in three counties, and hunters reported 168 deer. In 1956, deer hunting was allowed in all 88 counties, and hunters harvested 3,911 deer during a one-week season.

by Jim Irvine

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) has released the concealed handgun license (CHL) statistics for the fourth quarter of 2011. Ohio sheriffs set a new record issuing almost 12,000 CHLs for the busiest fourth quarter in the program's eight year history. Demand was up 12% compared to the same period a year earlier. At the end of the year, we set another all-time record of approximately 265,083 Ohio residents licensed to carry concealed firearms. The total of persons with Ohio concealed handgun licenses continues to climb above the quarter of a million mark set in the third quarter of last year and will likely approach 300,000 by the end of this year. (See chart)

There were 11,965 new CHLs, 18 temporary emergency licenses (TELs) issued and 239 licenses renewed in the October through December period last year. SB17 was signed into law by Governor Kasich and became law on September 30 of last year. Significant changes were made by allowing license holders to carry firearms in their cars under similar rules as other states and to allow license holders to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol, provided the license holder is not consuming or under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Making the law work better for the law-abiding citizens who carry guns for self-defense increases demand for the license.

As previously noted, we are seeing a drop in raw renewal numbers because we have transitioned from the licenses that were valid for a period of four years to the ones that are valid for five years. There were actually no regular licenses that expired during the fourth quarter. All 239 renewals were licenses that had expired in previous quarters, but had not yet been renewed. Over 70% of all licenses issued have been renewed. The bottom line is that total renewal rates increased, rather than decreased. Raw renewal numbers will remain very low next quarter because no more regular licenses will expire until March of 2012. TELs are only valid for 90 days and cannot be renewed.

Only 33 licenses were revoked during the quarter, the lowest number we have seen in over four (4) years. The last time the revocation number was this low was the first quarter of 2007 when only 32 licenses were revoked. We have three times as many license holders today compared to 2007. Is it possible that changes made in SB17, making it easier to understand and comply with the laws for carrying firearms in restaurants and cars, led to the reduction? It will take time to see if the lower revocation numbers are an anomaly or a trend. Less than one-half of one percent of all CHLs have ever been revoked for any reason, including death or moving out of state. The establishment media loves to make a big deal about the exceptional cases where a CHL breaks the law, but say almost nothing about the more than 99% of law-abiding license holders, many of whom have used their gun to protect life.

Concealed carry works.

The January 2012 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 920,840 is an increase of 17.3 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 784,856 in January 2011. For comparison, the unadjusted January 2012 NICS figure of 1,368,816 reflects a 4.3 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,312,544 in January 2011.

This marks the 20th straight month that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year.

The NSSF-adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky, Iowa and Utah for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.

Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide a more accurate picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions of firearms sales and transfers on new and used handguns and long guns.

by Aaron Kirkingburg

Valentine's Day 2012 has become a firearms focal point this year. A coalition made up of several secular anti-gun groups has banded together to plan and organize a boycott of Starbucks coffee shops in retaliation for the chain's refusal to ban guns from its premises. These groups are pushing for corporations to ban guns in their retail locations because they can't seem to get legislators to ban them anymore. In fact, self defense laws, concealed carry laws and gun rights have been gaining traction all over the country and the antis are losing ground fast. So, in an attempt to strong-arm the coffee chain into submission, these groups are attempting to hit them where it hurts: the bottom line!

Many chain stores across the country have succumbed to the gun banners' agenda, and banned legal carry of firearms by law-abiding citizens. Starbucks remains steadfast in its decision. In fact they have repeatedly held their ground regarding the corporate policy on firearms even as others have folded under the pressure. The coffee chain neither hinders nor encourages individuals who carry. It simply follows the prevailing laws of the state in which any particular store happens to be located. That's it!

So, in an effort to thwart the anti-gun agenda, a nationwide "reverse boycott" has sprung up from the grassroots Second Amendment community. This effort is aimed at totally negating the effects of the original boycott. Actually, it is believed that we could even increase sales on that particular day beyond what they would have been normally. We want to show the gun ban lobby that this tactic simply won't work now or in the future. Let's show them that the gun rights community will back any corporation willing to stand up for freedom and our right to self-defense. Let's do our part to make ANY Starbucks the safest place in the country to have a cup of Joe this Valentine's Day!

by Joe DeBergalis

You may think November 6th — Election Day 2012 — is off in the distant future. Maybe you think there's plenty of time before anyone needs to worry about getting that new voter registration card, or that it will be a long while before you need to start educating your friends and family about their pro-gun allies running for office. But Barack Obama and his anti-gun supporters have no such illusions. Since the day after his first victory, his allies have been working to put their man back into office, this time free to attack gun rights without the need to worry about reelection.

On the campaign stump, Obama has heeded the advice of many in his party, who were sick of repeated shellackings from gun owners, and who rightly perceive gun control as toxic to their political fortunes. But a quick glance at his record in the Illinois legislature and the U.S. Senate, as well as his actions as President, make clear to any gun rights supporter the danger of a second term.

Since Obama took office, his Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has attempted to ban importation of popular defensive and hunting shotguns, has required multiple sales reporting on ARs and other popular semi-automatic rifles, and has run a deadly gun-smuggling operation with the goal of pushing new gun controls. This, along with a past that includes support for handgun bans, registration and licensing, and microstamping—as well as a promise made to Sarah Brady to pursue gun control "under the radar" — should be enough to send a chill up any gun owner's spine.

That's why the NRA Freedom Action Foundation is continuing the Trigger the Vote Campaign that helped make the 2010 midterm elections a boon for gun owners. Chaired by Chuck Norris and with a forthcoming ad starring NRA board member, actor and former Marine Corps drill instructor R. Lee "Gunny" Ermey, the nonpartisan campaign is aimed at getting as many pro-gun voters as possible registered in time for November 6th. Considering "The Gunny's" experience motivating this nation's finest, along with gun owners' reputation as a powerful voting bloc for swinging elections, nothing short of a major victory for gun rights should be expected.

by Chad D. Baus

The Mount Vernon News recently provided readers an updated look at what police and bar owners have experienced in the months since Ohio's concealed carry law was modified to allow license-holders to carry in places where alcohol is being served, so long as they are not drinking, and to remove onerous restrictions mandating how license-holders were allowed to carry in a motor vehicle.

Addressing the modifications to the CCW law with regard to a motor vehicle, The Mount Vernon News reported that law enforcement officials aren't having any problems:

"We haven't seen a lot of CCW instances," said officer Nick Holdren of the Fredericktown Police Department, adding that there have been [no] problems reported.

Compare that reality to the fiction that was offered by John Gilchrist, legislative counsel for the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, in testimony opposing the legislation last year. From the Gongwer News Service:

Mr. Gilchrist said they would "allow gun owners to have their firearms openly displayed, laying on the passenger seat or on the dashboard. Law enforcement officers in Ohio make millions of traffic stops a year. Allowing drivers to have ready access to their guns pose a greater safety sisk[sic] for these officers.

In the same fashion, area bar owners aren't reporting any problems since passage of the law, despite Gilcrest's warning to legislators last year that "allowing guns in barrooms, stadiums, taverns, restaurants and other businesses that sell alcohol will result in more gun violence."

by Chad D. Baus

WCMH, Columbus' NBC affiliate, is reporting that police are investigating a break-in in which approximately 80 firearms were stolen from a Central Ohio shooting range as well as boxes of ammunition.

Thieves knocked a hole through a cinder block wall to gain access to The Powder Room, which is located in Powell.

According to the report, this wasn't the first time thieves have targeted The Powder Room. In the past, a gun stolen from the shop was later used in a crime where violence against a police officer was involved.

Linda Walker is the Ohio chair of the Buckeye Firearms Association.

"To know now there's 80 guns out there being possessed by yet another criminal is very unfortunate. I mean, we never want to see that," Walker said.

NBC4 spoke with Walker about the claim some make that stolen guns can sometimes lead to more violence against police officers.

"I mean we don't know what the outcome of where these guns are going to end up at. To speculate that they're going to be used against police officers? I don't see a place for that right now," Walker said.

One thing that IS clear from this incident is that background checks are impotent at preventing criminals from obtaining firearms. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Mayors Against Illegal Guns, MSBNC's Jeff Rosen, the Brady Campaign, Senator Chuck Schumer and all the rest of the gun ban lobby can whine all they want about the supposed "gun show loophole" and "online gun sales loophole" (which are both, in truth, simply legal transactions between private citizens), but at the end of the day, making all of that illegal will only prevent law-abiding citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights, while not doing a thing to stop a motivated criminal.

by Chad D. Baus

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that the Ohio Supreme Court (OSC) has declined to hear the case of a 55-year-old Cleveland homeowner convicted in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court last year of killing an intruder.

In 2010, Carl Kozlosky was convicted by a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court jury and sentenced last year to 18 years to life in prison for the shooting death of Andre Coleman on Sept. 20, 2009.

Last fall, the 8th Ohio District Court of Appeals ordered a new trial for Kozlosky, saying there was overwhelming evidence that he had acted in self-defense.

"Under the law, this was not a crime, and Mr. Kozlosky served a year in jail that in our view he should not have served," Kozlosky's appellate attorney, Timothy Sweeney, said at the time of the appeals court ruling in September, 2011.