COLUMBUS, OH - Ohio deer hunters donated more than 104,400 pounds of venison to local food banks through the 2011-12 deer hunting season, according to Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

The venison donation equals approximately 417,600 meals for Ohioans in need. A total of 2,088 deer were donated during this season compared to 2,503 last year, 2,336 in 2009-10, 1,096 in 2008-09, and 418 in 2007-08.

Last year 219,698 deer were killed during Ohio's 2011-12 hunting season, compared to 239,379 in the 2010-11 hunting season.

The Division of Wildlife has collaborated with FHFH for the last four years in an effort to assist with the processing costs associated with donating venison to a food bank. A subsidy grant was provided in allotments that are matched with funds generated or collected by local Ohio FHFH chapters. ODNR's Division of Wildlife subsidizes this program as an additional deer management tool, helping wildlife managers encourage hunters to kill more does.

The following article was originally published by The Lima News. Republished with permission.

by Greg Sowinski

LIMA - At a shooting inside a Lima bar earlier this month that injured four, police found an expensive handgun.

Officers traced the gun to a burglary in American Township in the past year. The two men charged in connection with the shooting at Marko's bar on South Main Street were unable to legally have a gun because of their criminal backgrounds.

So how did the two men, Michael G. Thompson, 19, and Dominique K. Durr, 22, be charged with illegally having a gun in a place that sells alcohol? Police were still trying to determine who fired the shots inside the bar. Another big question is where do people involved in gun crimes get guns?

Criminals do not go into the local sporting goods store or gun shop to buy guns. The law prohibits anyone convicted of a felony from buying or owning a gun. Criminals also do not follow the law and the "no guns" signs posted on both doors to enter Marko's did nothing to stop those who brought guns in that night.

Editor's Note: Here's a message from Sean Maloney, one of our Volunteer Leaders who help protect and advance your firearm rights. Please give Sean the support he needs to collect signatures and move toward a position on the NRA Board of Directors.

If you are an NRA Life Member or higher or if you have been a regular annual member for 5+ consecutive, uninterrupted years, email Sean today at smaloneyesq@gmail.com to ask for a petition. Include your name and mailing address.

To My Fellow Patriots and 2nd Amendment Advocates:

My name is Sean Maloney; I am seeking election to the NRA Board of Directors, and ask for your help to win.

OTTAWA -- Good riddance to the long-gun registry -- possibly the most unfair and useless legislation ever to have been passed by Parliament of Canada.

In the wake of many hours of debate and anti-gun rhetoric from the opposition and lobbyists, the Conservative party has successfully laid the registry to rest with Royal Assent on Bill C-19. Few issues have prompted so many Canadians to sound off on the shortcomings of a Canadian law.

"The Firearms Act has been a thorn in the side of hunters, sport shooters, farmers and heritage firearms enthusiasts for 17 years," says Tony Bernardo of the Canadian Shooting Sport Association. "We know the registry was a cheap political ploy from a previous government that pretended to keep Canadians safe. It wasn't gun control, and it wasn't designed to do anything but frustrate honest, law-abiding firearms owners."

The Senate of Canada passed 3rd reading of Bill C-19 to scrap the registry on April 4th. Meanwhile, the Government of Quebec has vowed an injunction to try to prevent the data from being destroyed so it can be turned over to the province.

by Chad D. Baus

The Dayton Daily News is reporting that in the eight years since Ohio passed a concealed weapons law, county sheriffs have issued 296,588 concealed handgun licenses, with more than half of those coming since President Barack Obama was elected.

Despite the obvious popularity and success of the law, the DDN provides quotes from local law enforcement bureaucrats who are expressing concerns about pending legislation intended to improve the law, making it more user-friendly.

From the article:

Gun laws are in a spotlight throughout the country as Florida's Trayvon Martin case and the presidential election heighten debate over who can carry concealed weapons, where they can carry them, and when they can use them for deadly force.

In Ohio, where the legislature in recent years has eased restrictions on concealed-carry, even over the objections of some law enforcement groups, a battle is being waged over just where to draw the line.

Five bills currently pending in the Ohio General Assembly would allow permit holders to carry their weapons in state-owned parking garages — such as below the Ohio Statehouse — loosen permit renewal requirements, eliminate required gun safety training and background checks and automatically expand the system for recognizing CCW permits issued by other states.

Gun advocates had been working with Ohio lawmakers to pass a "Stand Your Ground" law similar to what Florida has, said Jim Irvine, spokesman for the pro-gun Buckeye Firearms Association, though he noted that the Martin case "put a chill on it."

The 17-year-old Martin was shot to death in Florida on Feb. 26 after an encounter with armed neighborhood watch volunteer, George Zimmerman, 28, who faces trial on a charge of second-degree murder.

Irving [sic] said the gun lobby in Ohio has been successful for two reasons.

"Number one is the facts are on our side," he said. "We were the last state to adopt concealed carry so we were not breaking any new ground here. The other piece is gun owners, particularly concealed carry owners, are politically active."

Despite the overwhelming success of Ohio's self-defense laws, Dayton Police Chief Richard Biehl told the newspaper he finds pending legislation "scary."

Ashtabula County leads harvest on opening day

COLUMBUS, OH - Ohio hunters harvested a preliminary total of 2,227 bearded wild turkeys on the first day of the spring turkey-hunting season, which is open statewide through May 20, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. In 2011, a preliminary total of 2,646 wild turkeys were killed on opening day.

Top counties for wild turkeys killed on Monday were: Ashtabula-93, Coshocton-79, Tuscarawas-78, Muskingum-74, Guernsey-69, Adams-62, Highland-57, Knox-56, Brown-55 and Clermont-54.

The Division of Wildlife estimates that more than 70,000 people will hunt turkeys during the four-week season. Legal hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until noon from April 23 to May 6. Hunting hours May 7-20 will be a half hour before sunrise to sunset. Ohio's wild turkey population was estimated at 180,000 prior to the start of the spring season.

by Chad D. Baus

WEWS (ABC Cleveland) is reporting that a homeowner shot a man who broke into his house on Mardale Avenue around 11 a.m. Wednesday.

From the article:

Police at the scene said it appears the robber tried breaking into a neighbor's home first, but couldn't get inside. That's when they think the robber broke out a kitchen window at a home next door in the 5300 block of Mardale Avenue.

Once inside, the robber was greeted by the homeowner, who authorities said, told the intruder to leave. The robber didn't listen, according to police, and instead reportedly grabbed a knife from a kitchen drawer. That's when authorities said the homeowner grabbed a gun, shot the suspect once, and called 911.

The homeowner was not hurt.

The suspect was taken to a nearby hospital.

Under Ohio's Castle Doctrine law, if someone unlawfully enters or attempts to enter 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.

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by Chad D. Baus

The Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that State Rep. Michael DeBose, a Cleveland Democrat, has passed away at the age of 58.

From the article:

DeBose, 58, had struggled for several years with Parkinson's syndrome. He entered the Clinic Sunday with an infection.

The lifelong Clevelander represented District 12 from 2002 to 2010, when term limits forced him out. He'd also been a Cleveland school board member and associate pastor of Zion Chapel Missionary Baptist Church.

In his first years in office, DeBose had a solid history of anti-gun votes in the Ohio legislature. But all that changed on May 1, 2007, after he was the victim of a violent robbery attempt:

One night that year, DeBose came home from Columbus and walked along the block to stretch. A car pulled up. Two youths jumped out, one flashing a gun, and ran toward him. He screamed and escaped.

NSSF Calls Upon Congress to Pass the 'Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act'

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on April 9 denied yet another frivolous petition by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) -- an established anti-hunting group -- calling for a ban on the traditional ammunition (containing lead-core components) for hunting and shooting.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, applauds the EPA's latest decision and called upon Congress to immediately pass the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act (S.838/H.R.1558). In the House of Representatives, the bill is also included in the Sportsmen's Heritage Act of 2012 (H.R. 4089), an important piece of legislation that combines three other legislative priorities for sportsmen. The bill (S.838/H.R.1558) amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) to clarify that the Congress has excluded traditional ammunition from regulation by the EPA. The legislation is supported by more than 35 national conservation and sportsmen’s groups. The bill is even supported by the Fraternal Order of Police because a ban on traditional ammunition would apply to law enforcement and the U.S. military.

NSSF opposed the petition, which was filed by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and other like-minded groups. This was the second attempt by the CBD to ban traditional ammunition since it first petitioned the EPA in August of 2010. In rejecting the CBD’s latest petition the EPA agreed with NSSF, telling the CBD that it did not have jurisdiction under TSCA to regulate ammunition. The CBD's petition purported to narrow the scope of the ban sought, but the EPA concluded that this change was a "distinction without a substantive difference." The EPA went on to say the new petition "contains no new information."

The CBD's serial petitions erroneously claim that the use of traditional ammunition by hunters poses a danger to human health and wildlife, in particular raptor populations such as bald eagles. The truth is that wildlife populations, including raptor and bald eagle populations, are soaring. The myth of a human health risk has been thoroughly debunked by a 2008 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that found the health of hunters consuming game harvested with traditional ammunition was not at risk.