Chairman Ron Maag as announced that there will be hearing proponent/opponent/interested party testimony on Representative Terry Johnson's (R-McDermott) HB495 next Tuesday, June 5 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 116 in the Statehouse.

HB495, also known as the reciprocity & concealed carry modernization bill makes three changes to current law:

• Changes to automatically honor other states licenses, similar to a driver's license
• Eliminates the "demonstrated competency" requirement for 2nd and future CHL renewals, making CHL training similar to a hunting license
• Fixes the definition of a "loaded gun" to match the commonly accepted definition

This will be the second hearing for this important bill. This hearing is an opportunity for people and groups to speak in support or against the legislation. If you are interested in speaking, your testimony should be 3-5 minutes in length. You should submit 50 copies of your testimony in written form to Chairman Maag's office by noon on Monday, June 4.

Any persons who are interested in testifying are welcome to contact Jim Irvine @ jirvine@BuckeyeFirearms.org for help in preparing and coordinating your testimony.

It is also important for citizens to show support for the legislation by attending the hearing. You do not need to speak to attend, watch and listen. A strong presence shows support for the bill which is important. In a government of the people, it is important that people participate. This is the time to show up and be involved in your government and your rights.

by Ken Hanson, Esq.

The Violence Policy Center, an anti-gun group funded almost exclusively by the anti-gun Joyce Foundation, issued a May 22, 2012 press release entitled "Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in 10 States in 2009 New Analysis Shows."

This press release attempts to make the argument that consumer safety regulations have reduced motor vehicle deaths, and the lack of firearm consumer safety regulations are the reason that firearms now outpace motor vehicles as killers. As always, VPC's claims do not withstand any degree of scrutiny.

The press release cherry-picks 2009 Center for Disease Control statistics on the grounds they are "the most recent year for which state data is available." VPC also chooses only "deaths" versus any subset of "deaths." Even this stacking of the deck does not make the claims anywhere near accurate.

Inherent in any VPC claim is including, and excluding, deaths that are convenient/inconvenient to their narrative. Also included in inherent bias is the fact that they use CDC statistics and not FBI/UCR statistics. Finally, VPC is comparing apples to oranges, as almost 100% of firearm deaths are deliberate versus almost 100% of motor vehicle deaths being accidental.

VPC claims that in 2009 there were 31,236 firearm deaths and 36,361 motor vehicle deaths in the United States. Visiting http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe, we cannot come up with any permutation that matches their claims. Selecting all motor vehicle related deaths, the CDC reports there were 36,399 motor vehicle deaths nationwide, and, selecting all firearm deaths, the CDC reports there were 31,347 firearm deaths nationwide. But let us not quibble over a difference of less than 200 deaths between the CDC data and the VPC press release.

When we search and sort the nationwide data, we find that 18,735 of the firearm deaths are classified as suicides. Clicking on another radio button, we find that 11,826 of the firearm deaths are classified as homicides/legal intervention. Only 554 firearm of these deaths are classified as unintentional and 232 as undetermined.

In contrast, 104 of the nationwide motor vehicle accidents were classified as suicides, 36,216 were classified as unintentional, 60 as homicide and 19 as undetermined. We can likely agree that suicides and homicides are intentional acts beyond the control of third parties. Within that framework, the statistics from the Centers for Disease Control establish that 97.9% more people die as a victim of unintentional/undetermined motor vehicle accidents than from unintentional/undetermined firearm accidents.

Stated another way, 2.5% of firearm deaths were accidental and more than 99.6% of motor vehicle deaths were accidental. (Counting undetermined deaths in both categories as accidental.) VPC is advancing this as an argument that consumer safety regulations have reduced accidental motor vehicle deaths so the same laws should apply to firearms, in order to reduce accidental firearm deaths.

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- The National Shooting Sports Foundation® is offering schools the opportunity to receive--free of charge--educational videos about firearm safety and wildlife conservation.

The firearm safety videos help teach students how to react when encountering a firearm in an unsupervised situation. The conservation titles educate students on how wildlife and wild lands are protected, and how hunters support this effort with contributions amounting to more than $1 billion annually.

NSSF believes all teachers and their students, whether in public, private or home schools, can benefit from the important messages in the videos, which are contained on two DVDs. Both the Firearm Safety DVD and Conservation DVD can be ordered online. The three separate videos contained on each DVD can be previewed online as well.

by Chad D. Baus

CentalOhio.com writer Jessica Alaimo is reporting on the various problems with Ohio gun law that would be fixed by Rep. Terry Johnnson's (R-McDermott) HB495. Her article appeared in at least nine Gannett Company-owned newspapers around the state between May 26 and 29 under various headlines.

From the article:

If an Ohio concealed-carry permit holder drives to Pennsylvania and gets out of the car with a weapon, he's breaking the law. Or vice versa.

If a sportsman preloads his rifle magazines and then drives to the shooting range with the matching weapon, he's also breaking the law.

These are issues state Rep. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, is trying to address in House Bill 495, which is in front of the Ohio House State Government and Elections Committee.

Ohio honors concealed-carry permits from 23 other states. Ohio permits are honored in 26 other states.

All over the country this June, young girls will head out to go shoot something. They will be attending the First Annual National Take Your Daughters To The Range Day! This event, held on June 9th, will be an opportunity for gun ranges throughout the nation to introduce many young women to a sport that may just become a life-long hobby, or even profession.

Whether it is a pistol, a rifle, or a shotgun, girls six and up will be able to find their firearm of choice and continue a shooting tradition that helped make this country great.

Range owners across the nation can attest to the incredible numbers of women who have become interested in shooting in recent years, to the tune of 15-20 million female gun owners – and that's not even counting the number of women who shoot a gun belonging to the man in their life. So the numbers are there and rising, causing manufacturers nationwide to take notice and produce thousands of new gun-related products designed just for women.

And whereas men have typically taken their sons out to hunt or to the range with them, many times daughters (and moms) have been left at home – but not anymore! National Take Your Daughters To The Range Day co-founder and firearms instructor, Lynne Finch, believes it's time to tear down the stereotypes and get those young ladies out to the range where they belong.

Editor's Note - The following op-ed originally appeared at the author's blog, Thurber's Thoughts. Republished with permission.

by Maggie Thurber

While looking up some other things, I came across this information on the Buckeye Firearms Association web page:

According to a 2010 study by the National Sporting Goods Association, 44.5 million people over the age of seven regularly participate in the shooting sports (including target shooting, hunting, and muzzleloading).

This makes shooting sports more popular than the vast majority of common sports activities, including bicycle riding, bowling, jogging, fishing, basketball, soccer, and tennis. In fact, the shooting sports are twice as popular as golf (21.9 million), over three times as popular as baseball (12.5 million), and nearly 5 times as popular as football (9.3 million).

This got me thinking about the proposed Recreation Levy being promoted by Council members Lindsay Webb and Steven Steel. They want to put a 1 Mill levy on the ballot in November to pay for recreation programs only.

Now, I'm not in favor of new taxes - in fact, I'm opposed to many old taxes as well. But I learned something at the Citizen Watchdog Training I attended this past weekend: sometimes, you can't prevent certain things from happening - but that doesn't mean that demands for 'equal access' won't have an overall impact.

The lesson being taught on this subject was actually regarding school levy issues. We routinely hear about how schools send home their pro-levy propaganda with students in their take-home packets. Attempts to stop such nefarious practices aren't usually successful. However, if you insist that your anti-levy information should also be sent home in the packets, you'll either succeed in getting both sides of the issue told - or you'll have standing for a lawsuit over equal access. Either way, you win. And, in many cases, schools have stopped the practice so they won't have to share both sides.

Put all this together and you have what I think is a really great idea: Insist that any recreation levy provide shooting ranges for citizens.

(Originally posted by the Cincinnati Enquirer and on this website July 25, 2003)

Ohio Moments
Soldiers fined 50 cents for lack of weaponry

On July 25, 1788, the first Ohio law to establish and regulate a militia was published in Marietta. It mandated all men between 16 and 50 perform military duty. They were required to arm themselves with a musket and bayonet, a cartridge box, powder horn, one pound of powder and four pounds of lead. They also were ordered to drill every Sunday.

By November, fines were implemented for those who failed to meet the requirements. For example, a soldier with no musket and bayonet had to pay 50 cents. Those who failed to show up for drill were fined 25 cents. Refusing guard duty cost them $1. And failure to serve in case of invasion meant a court-martial.

In 1791, the law changed the day of the weekly drills to Saturday. Those who drilled didn't have to go to church on Sunday. But those who attended church services - with their guns - were exempt from drill.

Commentary by Chad D. Baus:
How far we have sunk in Ohio, from a day when all men were not only allowed, but required by law to own firearms. Back then, Ohio law recognized that an armed society was a safer society.

by Don Kates

The shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman has been the subject of enormous confusion, not only because the facts are not entirely clear, but more because of public misunderstanding of the relevant law. I hope the following will help clarify things.

1. IT'S NOT THE JOB OF THE POLICE TO INTERRUPT CRIMES AND DEFEND CITIZENS.

The police exist to do two things ONLY: patrol thereby deterring crime; and investigating already-committed crimes to apprehend the perpetrators. The police cannot be expected to interrupt crime and defend citizens. This is because police are rarely around when criminals strike. The statistics on apprehension of criminals show that in less than 5% of cases does that happen while the crime is in progress. In many more cases the police arrive AFTER the crime has occurred and literally chase down the criminal. In many more cases yet the police arrive AFTER the crime has occurred and only make an arrest days or weeks later during which time investigation has identified some particular person as the criminal.

Because the police have no general duty to defend victims, by either statute or common law in EVERY STATE the police are immune from suit by victims who claim the police should have defended them. In no state are police liable even if they negligently fail to defend victims – because they have the duty ONLY to patrol and to apprehend after the crime, not to defend victims.

If you want to be defended from crimes you prepare to defend yourselves! If you want to defend your neighborhood, you organize a neighborhood watch like the one of which Zimmerman was a captain. (It was pursuant to his duty as captain that Zimmerman surveilled Martin, whom he saw as a suspicious character.)

2. IT WAS TO PROTECT ZIMMERMAN, NOT MARTIN, THAT POLICE DISCLAIMED ANY REQUEST TO FOLLOW MARTIN.

BELLEVUE, WA - Wayne County, MI employee John Chevilott should be honored, not fired for turning over a loaded gun to the police that he found while on the job, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

"This man was fired by the Wayne County Department of Public Services for doing the right thing," said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "We are stunned that this situation has continued for two weeks. Wayne County officials need to correct this nonsense."

Chevilott found the gun while he was mowing the grass in the Brightmoor neighborhood, according to published reports. He picked up the gun, which had been damaged by a lawnmower and held it hoping to turn it over to the police, after he called to report the discovery. When police didn't respond, he kept the gun and drove it to a police station after his shift. The gun turned out to have been stolen in 2005.

"The police reportedly commended Chevilott," Gottlieb noted, "but his bosses fired him for 'violating policy.' Since when is it policy in Wayne County, or anywhere else, to simply leave a loaded gun lying around where it might be picked up by a child? Are morons in charge in Wayne County?"

Ashtabula County again leads the harvest

COLUMBUS, OH- Hunters checked 17,647 wild turkeys during Ohio's four-week statewide spring turkey hunting season that ended May 20, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. The preliminary total represents a three percent decrease over last year's harvest number of 18,162.

Ashtabula County again led the state in the number of turkeys killed with 762. Counties with additional high harvest numbers were: Ashtabula-762, Tuscarawas-531, Guernsey-495, Coshocton-492, Muskingum-486, Belmont-456, Knox-451, Harrison-450, Trumbull-428 and Adams-420.

The Division of Wildlife estimates that more than 70,000 people hunted turkeys during the season. Prior to the start of the spring hunting season, state wildlife biologists estimated the wild turkey population in Ohio to be more than 180,000 birds.

Wild turkeys were nearly eliminated in Ohio before being reintroduced in the mid-1950s by the Division of Wildlife. The first spring turkey hunting season opened in 1966. Wild turkeys are now present in all 88 counties.

Turkey hunters are reminded that hunting licenses purchased now are also valid during the 2012 fall hunting season. Spring turkey permits are good for spring season only. Those participating in the fall turkey season will need to buy a fall turkey permit. The 2012-2013 licenses will not be printed on weatherproof paper. Sportsmen and women should protect their licenses and permits from the elements by carrying them in a protective pouch or wallet.