The Buckeye Firearms Association 2006 Pro-Gun Voter Guide is now available.

Voters can now download all our 2006 General Election endorsements on one page. To aid in determining the different districts voters live in, a map is also provided to help locate the applicable U.S. Congressional district, Ohio House district, Ohio Senate district, and Ohio Appeals Court district.

In addition to some local and many regional races, Buckeye Firearms Association has endorsed several statewide candidates. While none of these offices are as well known as the Governor's office, they are each important to gun owners in various ways. For instance, with several gun cases likely headed to the Ohio Supreme Court in the coming years, choosing Robert Cupp for Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court is an extremely important vote for all gun owners.

In addition to the link below, our easy to download and print Voter Guide is now available from all 2006 endorsment pages, and from the top message block on our home page. Please print a few extra guides and post them at your local gun club/ range or retail store. Make plans to share copies with friends and family.

Download and print all Buckeye Firearms Association 2006 endorsements NOW!

Taken from this week’s “Page Nine” Alan Korwin’s “The uninvited Ombudsman Report”

1. The lamestream media told you:
The nation's newest light-rail system, scheduled to debut in 2008, will use unarmed police to deter crime. "Transit officials say light rail is safe," according to reporter Sean Holstege on Sep. 25, 2006, even though the system is not operating yet.
"Metro [the system operator] will have a visible, well-trained transit-security force," according to spokeswoman Marty McNeil. "Metro is also going to invest in the latest and best security devices," she says, which will not include any firearms for police officers.
"Light-rail foes cite federal crime statistics that suggest light rail has more crime than any other form of mass transit," the Arizona Republic article continues, but this will be combated with clear "sight lines, emergency phones, intercoms, alarms, lots of lights, and surveillance systems," plus a large number of officers and fare checkers in uniforms.
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
Commuters were shocked to learn today that public officials have decided to disarm police responsible for safety on crime-plagued light rail, scheduled to start running in the nation's fifth largest city in 2008.
"They have no legitimate authority to disarm anyone, but somehow figure it's OK to disarm police stationed to protect the public. It's just unmitigated gall, and plain stupid," says one observer familiar with the plans. In the first six months of the year, Phoenix police statistics show 1,349 crimes per 100,000 people, with 866 of these along the light-rail route. (With more than 3 million people, the Phoenix stats should be multiplied by 30.)
In an ironic twist, a new law in Arizona requires government agencies to allow people to keep possession of their personal firearms, unless safe and secure storage is provided near entry and exit points. Unless Metro plans to require riders to check their guns in and out of the train cars, people will be better prepared to protect police officers than the other way around.
Libertarian commentators say this is actually quite a refreshing state of affairs for a change.
4. The lamestream media told you:

"James Bond's return steals the buzz of Hollywood's big season," says David Germain, the Associated Press movie critic. Daniel Craig becomes the sixth actor to play Bond, with major changes to the character. He is younger, not yet the womanizer he will become, actually falls in love, "and gets his heart stomped on," in Casino Royale, the next in the series of James Bond flicks.
The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:
In almost unspeakable hypocrisy, if true, the sixth actor chosen to play James Bond hates guns, a point that has been all over the web but not addressed in any lamestream reports. Craig has not been seen at a shooting range, and though he handles guns in the movie, they are all fakes.

Click on 'Read More' to continue reading.

September 26, 2006
Toledo Blade

Recently the 6th District Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision that the Ohio state law licensing qualified persons to carry a concealed firearm is not a "general law."

This potentially allows local governments to apply arbitrary restrictions to that state-issued license.

Judge Dennis Parish, who voted against the ruling, was quoted in The Blade as saying "If [the statute] is not a general law, then dozens if not hundreds of other state statutes are also not general laws," and "will serve only to promote uncertainty in the law."

Ohio lawmakers also passed the "Better Ohio Bicycle law," the intent of which is to standardize traffic rules and to restrict municipalities from making local laws to restrict bicycling.

What is to prevent communities from modifying the bicycle law based on the appellate court's ruling on the state concealed-carry law?

If that happens then the bicycle law which so many have looked forward to is rendered ineffective.

What is to prevent municipalities from applying the court ruling to other state licenses? Suppose a municipality wished to restrict persons under 18 or over 65 from driving within their borders.

Imagine driving into a community and being fined for violating such an ill-conceived law. Imagine the income a trap like that could generate for a municipality (at your expense, of course).

It seems to me that the 6th District ruling, if allowed to stand, sets a dangerous precedent which could allow for many areas of abuse.

It is also disturbing that the appellate court can have such an impact on a state statute ("if not hundreds of other state statutes") that was written, researched, debated, and voted into law by our state legislators.

James W. Fenn
Maumee

September 27, 2006
By Howard Nemerov

In order to implement their policies globally, gun control activists promote the idea that more guns means increased victimization of women. This runs counter to established crime trends showing that women in countries instituting gun bans suffered increasing rates of rape while rape decreased in the U.S., where guns are available. But giving the benefit of the doubt, let’s see how women fared when United Nations peacekeeping forces controlled war zones throughout the world, and where, according to U.N. belief, civilian disarmament makes people safer.

Click here to read the entire article from Howard Nemerov, an accomplished writer and good friend to Buckeye Firearms Association.

NOTE: Nemerov appeared on NRANews.com's Cam & Company Wednesday September 27 at 11:20 p.m. Eastern to discuss this article! The archived broadcast will be available until 9:00 p.m. Thursday evening.

By Chris Chumita

There are more stories pertaining to our gun rights in Ohio then we can possibly draw attention to with individual daily commentary. But they are worthy of mention.

What follows is our review of headlines from around the state though a pro-gun rights lens.
From cops leaving burglars in the house to a candidate's forum in Suffield, these articles should be a part of your required reading!
Click on the "Read More..." link below for several days of headlines accompanied by short, concise pro-gun analysis.

Article compiled from previous commentaries by Ken Hanson and Jim Irvine.

How would you like to donate $100.00 of your Ohio's income tax money to a pro-gun candidate?

That's right, give $100.00 of your tax money to a pro-gun candidate's campaign. It is easy, it is legal, and Buckeye Firearms Association is about to make it even easier.

Ohio tax law gives individuals a tax credit of $50.00, and married couples a credit of $100.00 on their Ohio tax return for donations to candidates for statewide office. A credit is much different than a deduction. When you exercise this privilege, you don’t get a part of your donation back, you get the whole donation back as a tax refund.

If you do nothing, the bureaucrats will have no problem spending your tax dollars. But wouldn’t you rather take some of that money and divert it to a pro-gun candidate? You need to chose, because as an Ohio taxpayer you are going to spend the money one of those two ways, whether you like it or not.

Click on 'Read More' for complete details, and for links to some of the many campaigns deserving of your donation.

How does this work?

By Gerard Valentino

(This commentary has also been published at CNSNews.com)

The fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on America brought the horror of that day back into the homes of millions of Americans.

As usual, the establishment media exploited the tragedy to bolster television ratings by bringing every possible so-called expert on the air to discuss how 9/11 changed America. Countless hours were also spent discussing the results of the 9/11 commission and how the government needs to protect us from harm.

It's true that part of the government's job is to protect American interests, but it is simply impossible for the federal government, or local police, to protect individual Americans.

The establishment media experts don't acknowledge that the personal security and safety of each American is each individual's own personal responsibility.

Establishment media safety consultants often ignore that it is up to each American to assure their own security when confronted with crime or the threat or terrorism.

Supreme Court rulings in several cases, most notably, Castle Rock vs. Gonzales, have cemented in the mind of self-defense experts that the government has no constitutional obligation to protect people from harm. The ruling was based on the failure of the police in Castle Rock to adequately enforce a restraining order leading to the kidnapping, and eventual murder, of three young children.

Such a ruling was not precedent setting and instead was well established constitutional law. Yet, most Americans still believe it is their right to be protected by local, state and federal officials. Regardless of the anecdotal and legal proof, that it is simply not the case.

Personal protection is, however, another personal responsibility that the establishment media, and those on the left, want to see given over to the federal government.

Click on 'Read More' for the entire commentary.

By Larry S. Moore, Buckeye Firearms volunteer and outdoor columnist

As reported last week, the US Sportsmen Alliance (USSA) Tenth Annual Ohio Rally and Banquet on September 16 featured both Ted Strickland and Ken Blackwell as speakers.

There have been various media reports about the speeches. The USSA invited the Outdoor Writers of Ohio to conduct press interviews with both Mr. Strickland and Mr. Blackwell. The press conference was limited to only members of the Outdoor Writers of Ohio. The press conferences lasted approximately thirty minutes each.

The following are comments from the roundtable with Secretary of State Ken Blackwell.

Click on 'Read More' for the interview, published in Question and Answer format.

The Hannah Report
September 21, 2006

Following an eight-month search involving input
from more than 1,400 business, political, and civic leaders, the Aspen Institute has selected Jon Husted, speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives as one of 24 top young elected officials for a fellowship program honoring public leaders.

This class of 24 Fellows, drawn from the ranks of
federal, state, and local governments, and representing 21 states, forms the second two-year class of the Aspen-Rodel Fellowships in Public Leadership, designed to bring together "the very best of the nation's emerging leaders" to discuss broad issues of democratic governance and effective public service.

Former Congressman Mickey Edwards, the
program's director, said the new fellowship class
"represents the true promise of America -- an
outstanding group of young leaders with a clear
commitment to putting the nation's interest ahead of partisan considerations." Edwards said the selection process involved looking for young officials who had not only earned reputations for thoughtfulness and intelligence, but who had also been recognized for "their willingness to cross party lines and their ability to remain focused on the ideals that had led them into public service in the first place."

The Institute's Rodel Fellowships in Leadership
program brings together bipartisan groups of public officials judged to be the rising stars of American politics. The Fellows are selected in a months-long nomination and selection process that involves more than 1,400 business, professional, and civic leaders, and an advisory committee of more than 50 leading political figures.

This class of Fellows will meet for the first time in late November 2006 for a three-day conversation centered on the underlying values and principles of a democratic society. This second class includes 12 Republicans and 12 Democrats, bringing the total number of Rodel Fellows to 48, drawn from 34 states, including members of Congress, as well as state and local officials.

Congressman Edwards described the program's
goals as twofold: "in a political world in which partisanship has become increasingly bitter and public decision-making has become increasingly polarized, we're working to help a new generation of public leaders build lasting relationships across party lines, and at the same time, we're trying to sharpen the focus of the political conversation on our common goals as members of a diverse democracy."

REMINDER - September 30: Join House Speaker Jon Husted for The Annual John Wayne Clay Shoot

By Larry S. Moore, Buckeye Firearms volunteer and outdoor columnist

As reported last week, the US Sportsmen Alliance (USSA) Tenth Annual Ohio Rally and Banquet on September 16 featured both Ted Strickland and Ken Blackwell as speakers.

There have been various media reports about the speeches. The USSA invited the Outdoor Writers of Ohio to conduct press interviews with both Mr. Strickland and Mr. Blackwell. The press conference was limited to only members of the Outdoor Writers of Ohio. The press conferences lasted approximately thirty minutes each.

The following are comments from the roundtable with Congressman Ted Strickland.

Click on 'Read More' for the interview, published in Question and Answer format.