2019 - BFA in the News
Note: some websites change or deactivate stories after we link them here.
December 29, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - In one Ohio county, teachers now carry guns in 5 school districts
Teachers there have gone through FASTER training, provided by the Buckeye Firearms Association. FASTER stands for Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response.
December 29, 2019
The Times Reporter - Staff packs heat in five Tuscarawas school districts
In Tuscarawas County, armed teachers have gone through FASTER training, provided by the Buckeye Firearms Association. FASTER stands for Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response.
The training takes place at facilities in Medina and Adams counties.
The association declined to release a list of school districts with staff members who have completed the training.
“There are some districts where it’s not public knowledge,” said Angela Armstrong, administrative assistant for the Buckeye Firearms Association and a firearms instructor. But some districts post signs, “We have an armed and trained staff.”
December 29, 2019
WEWS (ABC Cleveland) - Report: Five school districts in Tuscarawas County will have armed staff members
In Tuscarawas County, armed teachers have to go through FASTER training, which is provided by the Buckeye Firearms Association. FASTER stands for Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response.
The training takes place at facilities in Medina and Adams counties.
December 22, 2019
GunTalk.com - "Tom Gresham's Gun Talk"
Buckeye Firearms Association President Jim Irvine was a guest on "Tom Gresham's Gun Talk."
December 20, 2019
WLWT (NBC Cincinnati) - For first time in two decades, Congress sets aside significant dollars to study gun violence
"What we always have to be concerned about is if they’re focusing specifically on looking for ways to limit the access to firearms and use federal dollars to basically promote gun control," Joe Eaton said.
Eaton is a member of a pro-gun rights group called the Buckeye Firearms Association. He supports researching the root causes of violence, as long as the rights of gun owners don't get trampled on.
"The 99% of the lawful gun owners out there are the ones that we need to focus (on) and protect," Eaton said.
December 18, 2019
Ammoland.com - U.S. Firearms Ownership Continues to Grow – This Week on Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk
Buckeye Firearms Association's Jim Irvine brings the latest on the gun rights front from Ohio. Read more at www.buckeyefirearms.org.
December 18, 2019
The Vindicator - West Branch considers arming its teachers
Those who were interested in participating were required to send the superintendent a letter expressing their interest in carrying a gun on school property.”
From that list, the district selected those it wanted to send for three-day training provided by the Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response, also known as FASTERSavesLives. It is a nonprofit program that funded through the Buckeye Firearms Foundation.
The FASTER program pays for tuition and lodging.
December 16, 2019
Cincinnati Enquirer - One key way that Ohio keeps felons from purchasing guns is broken. No one is fixing it.
As gun reforms go, fixing the background check system could be low-hanging fruit. It has support from both Buckeye Firearms Association and Everytown for Gun Safety. But like all firearm-related legislation, it's complicated by the larger debate.
December 15, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Gun bills seek to curb violence beyond mass shootings
“We have said for years that we need to focus on mental health and enforce current law,” said Dean Rieck, Executive Director of Buckeye Firearms Association, in a written statement. “The problem with red flag or protection order laws is that they seek to take away firearms based on an unproven accusation that an individual poses a threat. That is unconstitutional, it invites abuse of power and infringement of rights, and frankly it just doesn’t work to make anyone safer.”
December 11, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Editorial: Voters should remove lawmakers who oppose gun controls
Four gun groups — Ohioans for Concealed Carry, Ohio Gun Owners, Buckeye Firearms Association and the National Rifle Association — testified to the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee last week in support of Senate Bill 237.
December 11, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Popular Spring Valley shooting range remains closed
A writer for the Buckeye Firearms Association was granted a tour of the construction site in August.
December 10, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Poignant messages to DeWine after Dayton shootings full of emotion
The emails also included communications involving the National Rifle Association, the Buckeye Firearms Association and a group called the 2nd Amendment Advocates Coalition — some of which had a decidedly partisan tone.
“I want to get back to specific counties or courts on the backlog (of data for law enforcement background checks),” said one email from Larry S. Moore, a longtime volunteer leader with Buckeye Firearms.
“In case you’ve not figured it out — I’d like to prove those are Democrat controlled areas and the hypocrisy of their calls for gun control with their leaders in government are not doing their job.”
December 3, 2019
WBNS (CBS Columbus) - Ohio lawmaker says gun bill is good for both sides
The Buckeye Firearms Association takes exception to the bill's mental health component saying, "The bill expands the exception to doctor-patient privilege and allows law enforcement officers to require health care professionals to produce records, not just pertaining to test results, but also to a person's conduct regarding the basis of commitment or hospitalization."
December 3, 2019
Gongwer News Service - Gun Rights Advocates Push To End Duty To Retreat
Gerard Valentino said current law provides criminals with "a distinct advantage over law-abiding citizens."
"Even if a law-abiding citizen survives a brutal criminal attack, in the aftermath different segments of the criminal justice system will sit in a comfy office and pick apart every action taken by the victim," he said. "If, during the scrutiny, the criminal justice system decides a law-abiding citizen was legitimately in fear of serious bodily harm or death, and also wasn't the aggressor, the inquisition should end there. Why does it matter whether the citizen retreated, or didn't retreat from the encounter?"
December 2, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Felons allowed: Firing ranges not required to do background checks
Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said creating regulations regarding firing range background checks would be going down a road that could become ridiculous, such as requiring background checks to subscribe to firearms-related publications.
“It’s an unusual circumstance,” Rieck said. “It would discourage people from going to a proper, well-organized shooting range. You would end up with the worst results.”
November 22, 2019
WDTN (NBC Dayton) - Ohio Senate bill would take ‘duty to retreat’ out of self-defense law
“It adds a burden to someone at a moment when someone shouldn’t be thinking about legalities,” Executive Director Dean Rieck of the Buckeye Firearms Association said. “If someone is about to kill you, you should be concentrating on defending yourself. It’s a confusing part of the law.”
Rieck said the bill wouldn’t change the standard police apply when determining if a shooting was in self-defense or not. He said if a person was in a situation where they could retreat, they would do so.
“Law enforcement will look at you having an honest belief you were in danger or there was an imminent threat and no other option but to use lethal force,” Rieck said. “But if you honestly believe you’re in that situation, it makes no sense to figure out if you need to retreat.”
November 15, 2019
Cincinnati Enquirer - Dayton shooting: Mike DeWine's gun reform proposals are losing support on both sides
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's plan to tackle gun violence has a new opponent: the state's most prominent Second Amendment group.
Buckeye Firearms Association shifted DeWine's Senate Bill 221 into the "bills we oppose" category Friday. The group published a list of problems with the proposal, including that the bill would essentially require universal background checks.
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Instead of universal background checks, DeWine proposed making it easier to prosecute people who sell guns to those prohibited from having them and increasing the penalties for those offenses. The Buckeye Firearms Association says that will will force gun owners into completing background checks.
"In our view, these penalties are extreme and unfair," the group wrote on its website. "This is a huge step up in prison time and appears grossly disproportionate."
The gun-rights group also worries that involuntarily committing someone to treatment for alcohol and substance abuse could bar many people from owning and using guns permanently.
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DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said the governor is trying to thread the needle with this legislation and find a solution that can pass with bipartisan support.
And what about Buckeye Firearm Association's problems with the bill?
"We want them to bring forward their concerns," Tierney said.
November 2, 2019
America's 1st Freedom - “Hell Yes” AR-15 Raffle a Success for Buckeye Firearms Association
The Buckeye Firearms Association, an Ohio gun-rights organization, raffled off an AR-15 prize package recently after a presidential candidate said gun confiscation is coming.
“We announced it Monday [Oct. 14th] and sold out the same day,” Dean Rieck, Buckeye Firearms Association executive director, told America’s 1st Freedom. “Any way you measure, it was a success.” The drawing will take place later.
The “Beto ‘Hell Yes’ AR-15 Raffle” came in response to presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke saying, “Hell yes we’re going to take your AR-15” during the September Democratic presidential debate. Included in the package was a Faxon Firearms FX 5500 Ultralight AR-15, various attachments and ammunition as well as products from Nine Line Apparel, Black Rifle Coffee and other pro-Second Amendment companies.
“We timed the raffle with the [October Democratic presidential] debate,” said Rieck. That debate was located in Westerville, Ohio, where O’Rourke reaffirmed his commitment to take firearms from lawful gun owners. “What’s different now is they are saying it out loud,” Rieck added.
All 1,000 tickets were sold for $25 each. They were numbered 000-999, assigned randomly and distributed via email prior to the drawing. The winning number will be determined by the Ohio Lottery Pick 3. The winner must be an Ohio resident and in compliance with federal and state laws to lawfully be able to own a gun.
The firearm being raffled is from another Ohio-based company, Faxon Firearms in Cincinnati, and it will be processed through Black Wing Shooting Center, a federally licensed firearms dealer in Delaware, Ohio.
The association is also hosting a Second Amendment workshop in Columbus on Nov. 14 to ensure “all gun owners vote” in upcoming elections. “It’s about getting voters registered, to the polls and whatever is necessary. We really need to step it up for these elections,” said Rieck.
Buckeye Firearms Association, established in 2004, also operates the Buckeye Firearms Foundation and a political action committee. The association recently won the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Affiliated Organization of the Year award at the 2019 Gun Rights Policy Conference “in recognition of tireless hard work and dedication to the preservation of the individual right to keep and bear arms by its members.”
October 31, 2019
WBNS (CBS Columbus) - Proposed Ohio bill would prohibit storage of guns where minors could gain access
The Buckeye Firearms Association is against the idea saying, "Now we have to lock up an unloaded gun, which becomes basically a useless paperweight when it comes to protecting oneself."
October 30, 2019
The Gazette - Wadsworth staff, students shocked to learn school used in gun program
An active shooter training exercise held over the summer at Wadsworth High School resulted in a surprise for district staff and students after footage from the event was used in a national TV show endorsing the arming of teachers.
Renting out the building to various groups in summer months is a regular occurrence. The shooter training was held as part of the FASTER Saves Lives program, which provides weapons training to teachers under the umbrella of then Columbus-based Buckeye Firearms Association. FASTER, standing for Faculty / Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response, was established in 2012 in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.
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Footage from WHS aired this past Saturday in a 20-minute segment on The Outdoor Channel. A preview of that segment can be found online.
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Andrew Blubaugh, a Wadsworth police officer and firearms instructor affiliated with FASTER who helped lead the WHS training session, acknowledged that the school district was not made aware of plans to use footage for TV.
"The application was probably 15 pages long, but it didn't have anything asking whether anything will be used for media," he said. "If it asked on the application or if we knew it would have caused any sort of issue, we would've let them know. We get a lot of media requests coming in all the time. If they allow us to continue to use the building in the future, we'll certainly let them know about any possible media coming in to see what their feelings are."
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Currently, 19 states allow school staff, which can range from administrators to bus drivers, to carry guns. Between 2017 and 2019, the FASTER program received $200,000 in funding from the state of Ohio, according to the organization's website.
Chris Cerino, a Wadsworth native and Rittman police officer, also helps lead FASTER training courses. The former federal agent has competed on The History Channel's "Top Shot" reality TV show.
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"This is my personal opinion and that's not to be associated with the Wadsworth Police Department," Blubaugh said. "I was at the community meeting last year as the police trainer. It's my personal opinion that law enforcement cannot respond fast enough. Security is all about depth and layers. I feel that having someone armed within the building is a crucial step. The people who are on-scene if something ever happens are the first responders. Whether it's medical or security, they are the true first responders."
"If we don't train people to be appropriate first responders, it puts them at a severe disadvantage," he added. "Wadsworth has phenomenal response times, but there's still a reactionary gap to bridge. That's just to get on-scene and doesn't include time spent to get to a specific location in the building."
October 27, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Lawmakers want ‘Stand Your Ground’ gun law in Ohio
Jim Irvine of Buckeye Firearms Association said his group has yet to review the bill and take a position but generally has supported legislation to remove the ‘duty to retreat’ before using deadly force in self-defense.
“We support that concept for sure because I don’t think a crime victim at the moment of life or death, who has already satisfied all the elements of self-defense, should have additional duties placed upon them by the state,” he said. Mandating a duty to retreat is a legal hoop that people have to mentally jump through when they are in peril and leaves them open to legal second-guessing, Irvine said.
“The victims shouldn’t have duties. The victims should have rights – a right to defend our lives,” Irvine said.
October 25, 2019
WHIO (CBS Dayton) - Bipartisan group pushes lawmakers to ‘Do Something’ about shootings
Not everyone supports passing legislation to restrict guns. Such efforts don’t address the problem, said Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association. Gun control is a failed concept that politicians who are more interested in advancing their political careers tend to push, he said.
Mental health problems that plague society should be addressed first, Irvine said. In addition, he said, cities should get rid of gun-free zones to allow people to better protect themselves.
“We can’t put police everywhere, and we aren’t going to always get the awesome response like we did in the Oregon District,” Irvine said. “So get rid of the gun-free zone and allow the people who are already carrying firearms to protect themselves and others around them.”
October 24, 2019
Statehouse News Bureau - Lawmaker Reintroduces "Stand Your Ground" Self-Defense Bill
Previous versions of "Stand Your Ground" have had support from the Buckeye Firearms Association and Ohio Gun Owners, both of which have said they're opposed to "red flag" laws.
October 16, 2019
WHIO (CBS Dayton) - Mayor Whaley backs campaign for Ohio voters to decide on gun background checks
The Southwest Ohio region leader for Buckeye Firearms Association, Joe Eaton, said even if the measure did make it to the statewide ballot, he does not think it could pass.
“The Buckeye Firearms Association has always opposed universal background checks,” Eaton said. “The main reason for that, is there’s simply no such thing as a universal background check because criminals will never go through this system. … It should have little chance (Ohioans for Gun Safety). We’ve heard this report of ‘90% support this.’ The problem with that is, it’s a very generic question that’s being asked. When you get into the details such as, ‘Should I be a criminal because I want to take a young man hunting and transfer them a firearm?’ … If they’re looking to pass universal background checks, if they want to make it a requirement only for criminals … that’s something that I can talk about.”
October 14, 2019
WCMH (NBC Columbus) - The Buckeye Firearms Association raffles off AR-15 to spite presidential candidate
Democratic Presidential Candidate Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke tweeted “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15,” on Sept. 12. The social media post did not elaborate under what authority that would happen, but later O’Rourke mentioned buying the guns.
The Ohio Buckeye Firearms Association took exception to the notion of O’Rourke’s statement. In response, the group will raffle off an AR-15 and support equipment on Oct. 15, the day O’Rourke and his fellow Democratic presidential hopefuls will be in Central Ohio at Otterbein Univesity for a debate.
“The rhetoric coming from the Democrat candidates for president has taken a radical left turn recently,” Dean Rieck, executive director for Buckeye Firearms Association, wrote in an email. “We’ve gone from talking about additional background checks and magazine capacity limits to full-blown gun bans and confiscation.”
“Hell, yes we’re going to raffle off an AR-15,” wrote Rieck on the organization’s website. There you can read that the gun is manufactured in Cincinnati and see what other gear is being offered. The group notes that only Ohio residents are eligible and entrants must be 21-years or older. The tickets will be numbered 000-999 and will be assigned by email once all 1,000 tickets have been purchased.
October 14, 2019
Ohio Public Radio - Pro Gun Group Raffles Off AR-15 To Spite Democratic Presidential Candidate
And the Buckeye Firearms Association is raffling off an AR-15, along with a special trigger and ammo. The group's Dean Rieck says this is in response to the candidates' stances on gun regulation, in particular Beto O'Rourke who said in the last debate "Hell yes we're gonna take your AR-15s."
Rieck: "We're saying 'Hell no we're not gonna let you do that."
October 14, 2019
Statehouse News Bureau - Gun Group Holds AR-15 Raffle In Response To Democratic Debate
The Buckeye Firearms Association is raffling off an AR-15, along with a special trigger and ammo, ahead of the 12 Democratic candidates taking the debate stage in Westerville.
The group's Dean Rieck says this is in response to the candidates' stances on gun regulation, in particular Beto O'Rourke who said in the last debate, "Hell yes we're gonna take your AR-15s."
"We're saying 'hell no we're not gonna let you do that,'" says Rieck.
October 10, 2019
AmmoLand.com - Buckeye Firearms Association to Raffle Off AR-15 in Response to Beto’s Gun Grab
At a recent debate, Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke responded to a question about gun control by saying, “Hell, yes, we're going to take your AR-15.”
Gun rights advocates have known for decades that bans and confiscation is the ultimate goal of gun control efforts. However, it has only been recently that it has been discussed publicly in such clear and honest terms.
“I'd like to say that the cat is out of the bag,” said Dean Rieck, Executive Director of Buckeye Firearms Association. “But we've known all along where all gun control efforts lead.
“Gun control advocates in the U.S. look to other countries where firearms have been heavily regulated, and in many cases banned. They want the same here in America despite the fact that we have a unique, enumerated right set down in the Constitution meant to defend the personal right to keep and bear arms.”
Buckeye Firearms Association intends to raffle off an AR-15 in response to Beto's provocative statement.
The raffle will go live at www.BuckeyeFirearms.org on Monday, Oct. 14 at 6 a.m., the day before candidates descend on Westerville, OH for the CNN / New York Times Democratic presidential debate.
The rifle is manufactured by Faxon Firearms in Cincinnati, OH, and will go through Black Wing Shooting Center in Delaware, OH, a federally-licenced firearms dealer.
“The raffle is a political statement,” said Rieck. “And it's a little tongue in cheek too. We're including things in the raffle that we know will irritate gun control advocates, but which are perfectly legal. Things like a modern sporting rifle, the most popular rifle in America with well over 8 million owned by law-abiding men and women.
“We're also including a binary trigger and so-called hi-cap magazines, also perfectly ordinary and legal. It's just our way of saying ‘Hell no' to Beto and others who don't respect our Second Amendment rights.”
Buckeye Firearms Association recently won lawsuits against the cities of Columbus, OH and Cincinnati, OH over trigger enhancers and have participated in successful legal cases that have gone to the Ohio Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
They are also credited with bringing legal concealed carry to Ohio as well as helping to introduce Castle Doctrine, establish statewide preemption of home rule on gun regulation, and much more. They work closely with the NRA and with many Ohio sportsman organizations and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources on issues such as public range upgrades and hunting issues.
“Don't believe the talking points of gun control advocates when they say we're just a handful of gun nuts,” Rieck said. “Ohio has around 4 million gun owners. That's nearly half the adult population in the state. We're mainstream. We're ordinary people. And for those who legally carry a firearm, we're statistically the most law-abiding group you'll ever meet.
“We'll comply with the law. But we won't lay down and let ambitious politicians use us as a punching bag every time they want to score a headline and advance their career. We number in the millions. We defend our rights. And we vote.”
October 10, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says refined proposal to reform gun laws could address violence and pass legislature
The Buckeye Firearms Association did not take a stance on the legislation in a statement released Monday, saying it would “carefully review and track” any firearms legislation.
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Gun rights organizations have denounced red-flag laws, arguing they violate a gun owner’s right to due process.The Buckeye Firearms Association reiterated its opposition in its statement Monday.
“We have said for years that we need to focus on mental health and enforce current law,” Buckeye Firearms Association executive director Dean Rieck said in the statement.
October 8, 2019
WVXU (NPR Cincinnati) - Commentary: Ohio's GOP Legislature Might Be Bought By The NRA, But Voters Are Not
So for the next two months, DeWine worked with Whaley, other elected officials from cities all over Ohio, first responders, and organizations like the Buckeye Firearms Association, which advocates and lobbies for Second Amendment rights.
October 8, 2019
Patch.com - Ohio Governor Introduces Gun Violence Prevention Legislation
The Buckeye Firearms Association said it was glad DeWine and his administration appear to have dropped their focus on so-called "red flag" laws which give courts the right to take firearms out of certain people's hands.
"We have said for years that we need to focus on mental health and enforce current law," said Dean Rieck, executive director, Buckeye Firearms Association.
October 8, 2019
USA Today - Ohio governor decides against 'red flag' law, proposes optional private sale background checks
The Buckeye Firearms Association said it would carefully review the plan. Executive Director Dean Rieck cheered the death of the red flag proposal, calling it "unconstitutional" and an "infringement on rights."
October 7, 2019
Gongwer News Service - DeWine's Scaled-Back Gun Violence Response Gets Mixed Reviews
The Buckeye Firearms Association, which spoke out against the red flag proposal, said the focus on mental health issues is more appropriate.
"We have said for years that we need to focus on mental health and enforce current law," Dean Rieck, executive director of Buckeye Firearms Association, said in a statement. "The problem with red flag or protection order laws is that they seek to take away firearms based on an unproven accusation that an individual poses a threat. That is unconstitutional, it invites abuse of power and infringement of rights, and frankly it just doesn't work to make anyone safer."
October 7, 2019
Toledo Blade - DeWine favors expanding 'pink slip' over 'red flag' gun law
The move away from a true red-flag law was applauded by the Buckeye Firearms Association even as it continues to look at the rest of the legislative language.
“We have said for years that we need to focus on mental health and enforce current law,” Executive Director Dean Rieck said. “The problem with red-flag or protection order laws is that they seek to take away firearms based on an unproven accusation that an individual poses a threat. That is unconstitutional, it invites abuse of power and infringement of rights, and frankly it just doesn’t work to make anyone safer.”
October 7, 2019
Cincinnati Enquirer - Gov. Mike DeWine decides against 'red flag' law, proposes optional private sale background checks
Buckeye Firearms Association said it would carefully review the plan. Executive director Dean Rieck cheered the death of the red flag proposal, calling it "unconstitutional" and an "infringement on rights."
October 7, 2019
Sandusky Register - Swearingen discusses vaping, gun background checks
He said the Buckeye Firearms Association is researching his bill and currently is neutral but said he hopes the gun-rights group will back the measure.
October 7, 2019
WXIX (Fox Cincinnati) - Ohio governor announces gun control plan
Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said in August his group “enthusiastically supports” DeWine’s background-check proposals.
October 4, 2019
Cincinnati Enquirer - Gov. DeWine wants to 'do something' on guns. But can he do anything?
In that political climate, one thing most lawmakers can agree on is fixing Ohio's background check system, which is shared with the federal system searched each time someone buys a gun from a licensed dealer.
Pro-Second Amendment Buckeye Firearms Association has called for improvements to which names are entered and how consistently they are entered.
October 4, 2019
Statehouse News Bureau - DeWine Prepares To Release Specifics On Gun Background Checks, "Red Flag Law"
The Buckeye Firearms Association said they were willing to work with the administration and not take a stance until they see the official bill language. The group's board president Jim Irvine said the state needed to make sure any proposed "Red Flag Laws" didn't impose on due process.
"Nobody likes what happened. Nobody likes the violence in our inner cities. What can we do about it, respecting the rights of the citizens, and make it work?" says Irvine.
September 27, 2019
Toledo Blade - Domestic violence cases underscore issues with Ohio 'red flag' gun control proposal
Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said the organization opposes all ex parte seizures in which judges can issue orders without the accused being present or represented.
“No one wants truly dangerous people to hurt anyone," he said. "However, we can't throw away due process and violate people's rights in the process. Once we start down that path, we invite abuse of power."
September 25, 2019
WHYY (NPR Philadelphia) - ‘Shooting people is deescalation’: Three days with teachers training to use guns in schools
Last fall, Joe Eaton traveled from Ohio to speak at a school board meeting in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania. The district was considering becoming the first in Pennsylvania to arm its teachers, and Eaton was there to promote FASTER Saves Lives, a course developed by an Ohio-based firearms association after the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
FASTER’s philosophy, emblazoned across its website and powerpoint presentations, is that the only way to stop a school shooting is for an armed “good guy” to disable the shooter as quickly as possible: “Time is all that matters.”
The nonprofit says police often can’t arrive quickly enough to end the carnage, that visibly armed guards will become targets for shooters, and that anonymously armed teachers are best equipped to serve as first responders.
At the meeting, Eaton pointed into the audience and counted out the minutes that passed during the Sandy Hook shooting.
“There are five to seven people sitting at every table right now,” he said looking around the room. “Before the first 911 call went out at Sandy Hook Elementary School that morning, two of your tables — you can decide if it’s yours or the table next to you — were already casualties.”
Some residents were upset by the presentation. Local teachers union rep Frank Wenzel found it distasteful. “FASTER — they came and tried to give the worst case scenario,” he said. “I think it was a scare tactic.”
Eaton’s was one of hundreds of presentations FASTER made to school districts that year. The goal is to get districts to send their staff to trainings that include target practice, classroom lectures, and role play scenarios, where trainees act out shootings with airsoft guns in real schools. Since 2013, the organization says 2,000 staffers from 250 school districts have gone through the training, with participants coming from 15 states, including Pennsylvania.
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Tamaqua has not committed to FASTER, but the training provides a glimpse of how Pa. schools could change if armed teachers become a new normal in classrooms.
Jim Irvine, president of FASTER’s parent non-profit, says when the training was first founded, arming teachers was unheard of.
“Everyone was like, ‘That’s a crazy idea, we could never do that. They’re not cops, they’re not this, they’re not that, they’re educators! They want to hug our kids and love our kids and teach our kids,’” he said.
“And they do, all of that’s true! But there’s several of them that are also willing to die for our kids. And what we’re saying is, ‘That’s noble. That’s brave, but wouldn’t it be cool if instead of dying for our kids, they lived for our kids? They won for our kids? If they ended the violence for our kids before the next one gets shot?’”
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In Ohio, teachers have been carrying guns classrooms since 2013. Training is up to each individual district. Many send their staff to FASTER.
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Along with Andrew Blubagh, FASTER’s course is led by Chris Cerino, a Rittman police officer, firearms trainer, reality TV sharpshooting competitor, and former air marshal. He’s a towering presence, standing before the classroom in wraparound sunglasses, legs spread wide, arms crossed over his chest.
“We train everyone from army rangers to teachers,” Cerino tells the students. “The most likely to carry guns and the least likely to carry guns.”
Cerino and Blubagh claim that by the end of the three days their students will have more active shooter training and be held to higher standards of target accuracy than police officers. It’s a major FASTER talking point, one that Eaton stressed when he visited Tamaqua. It’s also a controversial one — Tamaqua residents pushed back when school board president Larry Wittig repeated the claim, saying it does a disservice to law enforcement.
But there seems to be some credence to the claim. Ohio requires 60 hours of firearm training, but time spent on active shooter scenarios varies academy to academy. The state’s qualifying firearms test only requires officers to hit 21 targets out of 25, a passing rate of 84 percent.
In Pennsylvania, the minimum passing score is 75 percent.
FASTER requires participants to hit 26 out of 28, a passing rate of 92.8 percent.
The day starts with students practicing their aim using certification pistols, which fire lasers instead of bullets. Quickly, they move to practicing with real guns out on the range, learning to perfect their grip, to square their feet to the target, to hold position after firing.
Later, Cerino walks his students through a history of active shooter massacres, from the Austin Tower shooting in 1966 — when civilians helped police stop a gunman terrorizing the University of Texas — to the Parkland shooting.
Cerino plays a computer simulation of the Parkland attack produced by Fox News. An aerial view of the school’s layout is shown, with students and teachers and the gunman depicted as different colored dots, moving from classroom to classroom.
When the attacker’s gun is drawn, a black stick appears next to his dot. When he shoots a student, their dot changes from blue to yellow if they are injured — to purple if they die. The gunman’s dot hovers near classroom entrances, shooting through the doors’ narrow windows. Clusters of purple dots pile up, some of them students who died in their classrooms, others who died trapped in the hall.
Cerino points out every teacher that arrives on the scene. “Teacher,” he says, “not armed.”
Throughout the presentation, Cerino purposely avoids the word “shooting.” Although Parkland and every other mass casualty event he references was committed with a firearm, Cerino talks about “active killers” and “mass killings,” not “active shooters” or “mass shootings.”
“I don’t like to think of guns as a weapon,” Cerino tells his students.
Guns, though, are the raison d’existence of the Buckeye Firearms Association, the parent organization of FASTER. The association’s political action committee has successfully pushed for relaxed gun laws in Ohio and unseated gun control candidates in Ohio and other states. One BFA board member also serves on the NRA’s board of directors.
During the training session, Irvine, the president of the Buckeye Firearm Foundation and chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association PAC, fields calls from a local reporter writing a story about a gun control proposal.
“This is bought and paid for by Bloomberg, tricking the misinformed voter,” Irvine tells the reporter. He was referring to former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who funds the group Everytown for Gun Safety.
“[Bloomberg] is ok with more kids dying,” he says.
Throughout the course, the instructors walk a fine line: On the one hand, they downplay guns’ destructive and deadly potential. On the other, they acknowledge that teachers are here to learn to kill.
FASTER builds its students up to see themselves as ‘the good guys.’ And as a good guy, the instructors repeat often, killing can be a humane act when innocent lives are at stake.
“Thou shalt not kill?” Blubagh says to the class. “No, though shalt not murder.”
Irvine compares having guns in classrooms to being prepared with Epipens in case of allergy attacks or a defibrillator in case of heart trouble. Schools would be negligent not to have those tools on hand, he says.
“That is the power of the gun,” he says. “We call it ‘a piece.’ Why? Because it brings peace. It brings tranquility.”
FASTER has become increasingly popular with both teachers and state politicians. The state of Ohio recently granted the program $200,000.
Irvine, however, believes that arming teachers will most certainly make students safer — so long as it’s part of a larger strategy. In an ideal scenario, he says, the gunman never gets to school.
FASTER does not focus on that.
“This is when that fails, and you’re here. That’s this class,” he said.
As a result, in FASTER’s program, there’s no talk about identifying possibly troubled students or about classroom management during a shooting. Aside from a brief presentation on how to conceal a gun, there’s no talk about the vast majority of the time that teachers would be in their classrooms, armed, without needing to fire their weapons.
...
In an interview later, Irvine gives the example of a teacher who has worked with a troubled student, gotten to know them deeply, and then witnesses that same student come back to their classroom with a gun.
Any teacher who goes through this training would need to ask themselves, “Do you have it in you to shoot that kid down?” he said.
...
September 25, 2019
Statehouse News Bureau - Largest GRPC Event: Former Sheriff Promotes Liberty; Ammoland Award Winners
But he still hasn't unveiled the package of plans he's worked on with Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and gun rights advocates such as the Buckeye Firearms Association. This package is different than a set of seven bills that were heard in a Senate committee last week - three of which were bipartisan.
September 24, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Trump says he’s working with Congress on gun issues; Democrats disagree
Jim Irvine of the Buckeye Firearms Association has said research has shown that “universal” background checks have no impact on gun violence and gun deaths. He said only law abiding citizens will follow the rules, while criminals will continue to steal firearms or buy them illegally.
September 23, 2019
Ammoland.com - Largest GRPC Event: Former Sheriff Promotes Liberty; Ammoland Award Winners
He was joined by Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, who warned the audience that “Hope is not a plan” as 2020 looms.
“We need to prepare,” he advised.
Irvine followed Pincus’ narrative that the gun rights movement has many facets and faces, and they must all come together and be “an army.”
September 23, 2019
Associated Press - City of Columbus argues man cannot sue over gun restrictions
The Columbus Dispatch reports the 10th District Court of Appeals last month dismissed Ohioans For Concealed Carry and the Buckeye Firearms Association as plaintiffs in Witt's lawsuit.
September 19, 2019
WDTN (NBC Dayton) - Activists, businesses discuss Colt’s decision on rifle production
Larry Moore, sportsmen’s leader for the Buckeye Firearms Association, a pro-gun rights group, told 2 NEWS he believes Colt’s decision is isn’t ideal, but not concerning.
“It is disappointing anytime we lose access to some firearms,” Moore said.
But the announcement is not unexpected, Moore said, because of recent trends in the market.
September 19, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Suicide risk linked to guns, veterans
Jim Irvine is board president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, which also is involved in suicide prevention efforts. He said he hadn’t seen the report’s data, and noted that suicides with firearms often result in death, but they are not necessarily used in the most attempts.
“Suicide is a massive problem in our country, and we need to deal with it, and I welcome any study on it that helps us understand what’s going on better and make some progress to reverse these trends and save lives,” Irvine said.
September 17, 2019
WBNS (CBS Columbus) - 7 proposed gun laws up for debate at Ohio Statehouse
What sounds like common sense to him, sounds utterly ridiculous to the Buckeye Firearms Association.
"If you're 18 should be able to vote, join the military, buy a gun and drink a beer," says Gerard Valentino of the Buckeye Firearms Association.
...
A lot says the Buckeye Firearms Association. It says there's a danger in the government knowing the details of a private sale.
"It creates a gun registry which has been ruled to be unconstitutional. If the government has a list of who owns the gun now they know who owns the guns and where to get them," Valentino said.
September 16, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Columbus argues that man has no right to sue over gun restrictions
On Aug. 1, the Columbus-based 10th District Court of Appeals dismissed Ohioans For Concealed Carry and the Buckeye Firearms Association as plaintiffs in a lawsuit that Witt had joined. The court found that the groups had no standing to sue, but it allowed Witt to remain on the case.
Cleveland attorney Ronald Lemieux, who represents Witt, did not respond to a request for comment.
September 12, 2019
TheNewAmerican.com - Second Amendment Under Assault in the States
But the Buckeye Firearms Association group’s executive director, Dean Rieck, vows to oppose DeWine signing the legislation, were the Ohio Legislature to pass such a law. “Our organization 100 percent opposes red flag laws because of the due process problem.” Rieck declared, adding, “The problem with the way all red flag laws to date have been structured is property is seized first and then the legal process happens afterward. This is the sort of thing that can be abused.” One might recall that Trump even indicated that he would favor taking the guns, then implementing the due process, before he later backed off that position.
September 11, 2019
RollCall.com - More states allowing gun seizures amid plague of mass shootings
“Our organization 100 percent opposes red flag laws because of the due process problem,” said Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, a gun rights group that endorsed DeWine and gave him an ‘A’ rating in 2018.
Proposals to expand background checks also run afoul of gun rights groups, who often see them as impeding Second Amendment rights without meaningfully improving safety because some current checks sometimes allow a person to pass who shouldn’t. Gun rights groups have supported improving the current system rather than adding laws.
...
Rieck said his group opposes red flag laws and expanded background checks.
“The problem with the way all red flag laws to date have been structured is property is seized first and then the legal process happens afterward,” he said. “This is the sort of thing that can be abused.”
...
DeWine has won points from Rieck’s group for seeking to address their concerns.
September 9, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Dayton Mayor Whaley joins Speaker Pelosi, others calling for expanded gun background checks
...[O]pponents of “universal” background checks say is a bad policy that does not work and only hurts law-abiding gun owners and also is a big step toward gun registrations and confiscation.
“If you understand the issue and you care about people, you wouldn’t be advocating for that,” said Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association. “I think the mayor cares about people, but I don’t think she understands the issue.”
He added, “Chuck Schumer understands the issue — he doesn’t give a damn about people.”
...
But Irvine, with the Buckeye Firearms Association, said research has shown that “universal” background checks have no impact on gun violence and gun deaths.
He said only law abiding citizens will follow the rules, while criminals will continue to steal firearms or buy them illegally, as they always have done, he said.
“How do criminals get their guns? The exact same way they get their money, they get their CDs, they get their radios, they get their clothes — they steal them,” he said. “That’s what they do.”
September 6, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Kroger, Walmart asks shoppers not to openly carry guns, will allow concealed ones
That public opinion has shifted over time, said Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association. Open carry used to be more acceptable than concealed carry, which people thought only criminals did to hide their weapons, he said.
...
Area experts, including Hoover, Irvine and Kordalis have said banning solely open carry is a new move. Most of the time, a standard sticker universally known to mean guns aren’t allowed is posted on the outside doors, warning gun owners to return their firearms to their vehicle.
But none of the three have ever seen a sign limiting open carry, they said.
“Everybody’s seen the no gun sign, but I don’t know what a no open carry sign looks like. In that sense I think it will be very difficult to enforce,” Irvine said. “How do you know I saw the sign? How do you know I understood the sign?…This is kind of a new tactic or strategy.”
September 3, 2019
Cincinnati Enquirer - Ohio's newest gun group isn't here to compromise
In 2017, Buckeye Firearms Association leaders penned a post titled " 'Ohio Gun Owners is not here to help."
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"Ohio Gun Owners appears to be a false flag group whose only purpose is to convince honest gun owners to give them money," Buckeye Firearms Association leaders posted in 2017. "And what exactly are they doing with the money? Good question."
...
None of Ohio's gun groups are moderate, but Buckeye Firearms' lobbyists are the most willing to negotiate with lawmakers to reach the group's goals. When DeWine is mulling restrictions on gun rights, they would rather be part of that discussion so they can point out flaws.
"Politics is about talking to people," said Rieck, Buckeye Firearms' executive director. "You have to be able to at least talk to people, especially when you disagree with them."
...
"I think people should compare results," Buckeye Firearms Association President Jim Irvine said. "What Buckeye has accomplished versus what they have accomplished. We’ve got a record and it’s public and you could look it up."
Here's the record: Buckeye Firearms Association sued Cincinnati and Columbus over their bump stock ban. It fought last year against then-Gov. John Kasich's proposed red-flag law. The group supported a bill to remove concealed handgun license fees for veterans and another that required prosecutors to prove a shooter did not act in self-defense.
September 1, 2019
Canton Repository - Editorial: Fix flaws in Ohio’s background check system
Following the news conference at which DeWine outlined his proposal, the Buckeye Firearms Association, a grassroots organization that defends the gun rights of Ohioans, said it “supports the concept of enforcing current law rather than passing new laws for background checks.”
August 30, 2019
Gun Freedom Radio
Buckeye Firearms Foundation President Jim Irvine appeared on Gun Freedom Radio. Click here to view the show on YouTube.
August 30, 2019
WLW (700 AM) - "The Scott Sloan Show"
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Joe Eaton appeared on WLW with Scott Sloan. Click here to listen to the podcast. Joe's segment begins at 37:20.
August 28, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Gov. Mike DeWine seeks to fix holes in Ohio’s gun background-check system
Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said his group “enthusiastically supports” the governor’s background-check proposals.
“I can’t imagine anyone being opposed to this,” Irvine said in an interview.
While Buckeye Firearms and other pro-gun rights groups like the National Rifle Association have said for years that background-check systems need to be improved, until now it hasn’t been a priority, Irvine said.
“I think people didn’t realize how big the problem was,” Irvine said. In addition, he said, local officials put off addressing the issue, often because local governments – especially in rural areas – don’t have the cash to revamp their background-check systems by themselves.
“You think about your rural counties – you don’t have enough money to put two sheriff deputies on the road for 600 square miles,” he said. “Where are you coming up with the money to pay someone to enter data into a federal system?”
August 28, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - DeWine wants faster background check info to help prevent gun violence
The Buckeye Firearms Association wrote on its website that it is awaiting final bill language but that it “agrees that the background check system is broken and supports the concept of enforcing current law rather than passing new laws for background checks. Gun rights advocates and the entire gun industry have long supported fixing the system to include state criminal and mental health records.”
August 28, 2019
Cincinnati Enquirer - Ohio governor: Fix Ohio's background check system on guns
Unlike some of DeWine's other gun proposals, this one could enjoy broader support. Buckeye Firearms Association has advocated for improving the background check system for years.
...
"We are opposed to the universal background checks," said Jim Irvine, president of Buckeye Firearms Association, who attended DeWine's Wednesday announcement. "It infringes on rights in a lot of different ways."
August 28, 2019
Toledo Blade - After Dayton shooting, DeWine seeks improved background check systems
The Buckeye Firearms Association called the current background check system “broken,” and supported Mr. DeWine’s “concept of enforcing current law rather than passing new laws for background checks,” in a statement. The organization said it opposes Mr. DeWine’s red flag proposal however, writing: “we’ve never seen one that respects due process.”
August 28, 2019
Associated Press - Gov. DeWine releases plan for stronger gun background check system
The Buckeye Firearms Association, a pro-gun rights advocacy group, said the background system needs to be fixed to include state criminal and mental health records but the association opposes mandating universal background checks, including on private sales.
“This is a violation of personal property rights, and it won’t affect crime at all. Most criminals will never go through a background check. They get their guns through illegal means today and will continue to do so tomorrow” the BFA said in a written statement.
August 28, 2019
WKYC (NBC Cleveland) - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine details background check enhancement plans
Buckeye Firearms Association President Jim Irvine was interviewed for this video news segment.
August 28, 2019
WKRC (CBS Cincinnati) - Gov. DeWine announces enhanced background check system for gun sales
“Responsible gun shop owners do not want to sell a gun to someone who should not have one,” said DeWine.
Both the Buckeye Firearms Association and Moms Demand Action agree this move makes sense.
...
But the rest of the governor's plan is where the agreement ends:
"Buckeye Firearms Association does not support any type of universal background check and we can't provide any support any of the so-called red flag laws as we've seen passed in many other states,” said Joe Eaton, Southwest Ohio director for Buckeye Firearms Association.
DeWine also supports red flag laws, which would allow police or family members to petition courts to remove firearms from a person deemed a danger. Eaton says that tramples on due process.
"We do not want to continue to make criminals out of otherwise law-abiding people and too many times we also discount the hundreds of thousands of families and lives that are made whole each year by the lawful ownership of firearms," said Eaton.
August 26, 2019
WOSU (NPR Columbus) - Curious Cbus: How Much Has The NRA Donated To Ohio Lawmakers?
In Ohio, the biggest name in pro-gun groups is probably the Buckeye Firearms Association, but again, the contributions are relatively small.
Since 2016, the organization has given donations to about 20 candidates and the Franklin County Republican Party. They’ve even given to a Democrat, Rep. Jack Cera of Bellaire.
The group’s average donation was less than $400, and in 2018, its total contributions to candidates was just shy of $13,000. To put that in perspective, the current maximum contribution Buckeye Firearms can make to a single candidate’s committee is $13,292.95 per election period.
August 17, 2019
HuffPost.com - Ohio First Graders Removed ‘School Safety Gun’ From Case In Administrative Office
“You get on a bus or airplane, you don’t have a right to know if there’s an undercover officer or air marshal sitting next to you. ... The school has a legal and moral duty to protect those kids,” Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, which advocates for guns and trains school personnel, told the Dispatch.
August 16, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - First graders had access to gun meant to prevent school violence
School boards must, by state law, adopt safety plans and policies in a public session, said Thomas Ash, director of government relations for the Buckeye Association of School Administrators.
But school districts are not required to reveal details about firearm use, said Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, which advocates for gun rights and whose foundation trains school personnel to protect students. He said more districts are adopting gun programs but doing so secretly.
And security plans, which often are shared with local police and include names of school participants in the concealed carry program, are exempt from public review, said Van Keating, staff attorney for the Ohio School Boards Association.
Irvine estimates that based on his training, “well more than” 100 public districts and charter schools in Ohio have concealed carry programs, including at least one district in Franklin County that he declined to name. There are 610 public school districts statewide.
Promoting a guns program can be a deterrent to would-be mass-shooters, but keeping security secret makes sense, Irvine, school boards and others say.
“You get on a bus or airplane, you don’t have a right to know if there’s an undercover officer or air marshal sitting next to you ... the school has a legal and moral duty to protect those kids,” said Irvine.
Added Keating, “Even if there’s not a shooting issue, staff will be much better trained and aware of security.”
Irvine cited an independent study showing that teachers may respond quicker and better than police. “It’s their home turf. They can decipher things far faster. They can distinguish who’s the victim, who’s the killer.”
But can they shoot to kill?
“You may confront a former student, someone you know, someone you like. Can you shoot down a child who you love?” asks Irvine.
Not everyone graduates from his three-day class, which costs $1,500 per person.
Irvine, who didn’t train Highland’s staff, called their incident “a bad situation.”
“It’s very fortunate it didn’t turn into a catastrophic event,” he said.
August 15, 2019
WOSU (NPR Columbus) - Sticking To Their Guns
In this week's episode of Snollygoster, Ohio's politics podcast from WOSU, hosts Mike Thompson and Steve Brown discuss on ongoing debate over the governor's proposed gun regulations. Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, joins the show.
August 15, 2019
WOSU (NPR Columbus) - Curious Cbus: Where Are You Allowed To Carry Guns In Ohio?
I met up with Dean Rieck of the Buckeye Firearms Association in Uptown Westerville. He took me to a courtyard on South State Street.
“Right behind us is City Hall, and there’s a court in the building, so you’re not allowed to carry there,” Rieck explains.
He pointed to the police station across the way: You can’t carry there either.
As a general rule, government buildings are no-carry zones. In addition to police stations, Sheriffs’ offices, Highway Patrol posts and correctional facilities are off-limits. The area beyond security at an airport is also a no-go.
Ohio is an open carry state. Rieck notes the primary difference has to do with licensing.
“The places which are restricted for carry would be restricted for open carry as well,” Rieck says. “So if I wanted to carry a firearm in a holster on my hip I could do so, as long as it’s visible. If I want to put my shirt over it and conceal it, I would need a license.”
Gun owners are also forbidden from carrying in school safety zones. That includes the building, campus, school buses and at school activities, but keeping a gun locked in your car is legal.
Colleges can set their own rules for carrying on campus, but again, students and visitors are allowed to keep weapons locked in their car. The same measure removing blanket prohibitions on carrying firearms at colleges removed prohibitions on carrying at day care centers as well.
“If you go across the street," Rieck says, "there’s a coffee shop, a flower shop, there are a variety antique stores and restaurants, all of those places are perfectly legal to carry a firearm. You just have to know what the law is, what buildings are restricted, and watch for small signs on the front of the building.”
Those, which Rieck refers to as "Ghostbuster" signs, depict a firearm with a red circle and cross—similar to a "no smoking" sign. Although it’s not illegal to carry a weapon on private property, it is up to the owner to decide if they’ll allow it.
Alcohol adds another level of complexity. So long as a business owner allows it, it’s legal to carry a weapon in a restaurant or bar. The person carrying just can’t drink.
If a person has been drinking, they aren’t allowed to carry, whether they have a license to do so or not.
The Attorney General and Buckeye Firearms Association have more information about the ins and outs of where you can carry.
August 14, 2019
WKEF-WRGT (ABC-Fox Dayton) - Is honesty the best policy when applying for a firearm?
Joe Eaton with the Buckeye Firearms Association said there's no way to keep applicants honest.
“It is already a crime to lie on the form,” said Eaton. “There is really no way to make it more illegal then already being a federal crime.”
Investigators said Kollie admitted to buying body armor, the upper receiver of an AR-15 weapon, and the 100-round double drum magazine the gunman used in the mass shooting. These purchases were legal.
“The accessories that this friend purchased are not actually classified as a firearm in federal or Ohio law,” Eaton added.
The accessory purchases also aren't considered straw purchases.
“A straw purchase basically means you’re trying to purchase a firearm and you’re avoiding the background check that’s required on all purchases at the federally licensed dealers,” Eaton said.
Investigators said the shooter bought the lower receiver of the AR-15 from Texas and had it shipped to a dealer here in Ohio. They said this was legal since he passed his background check and it crossed state lines through a federal firearms dealer.
“Up until the point he decided to point that firearm at another human being and press the trigger there were no crimes committed up until that point,” said Eaton.
August 14, 2019
Graphic.com - What you need to know about Texas, Ohio shootings
Meanwhile, it is reported that a dozen firearms bills are pending in the Ohio General Assembly, which are split equally between expanding gun rights and restricting them, according to the Buckeye Firearms Association, a pro-gun group.
August 14, 2019
WVXU (NPR Cincinnati) - Commentary: Actions, Like Words, Matter In Times Of Tragedy
In 2010, he was elected as Ohio's attorney general and, over time, he became more and more friendly with the NRA and the Buckeye Firearms Association, to the point where the NRA endorsed him for governor in 2018 over Democrat Richard Cordray.
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Jim Irvine, the long-time president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said his organization advised DeWine on his plan.
"But we did not write any legislation,'' Irvine said. "My understanding is that the legislation hasn't been written yet.
"We have for many months – many years, long before Dayton – we have worked with DeWine on many issues involving Second Amendment rights,'' Irvine said.
Irvine said that when DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted unveiled the plan in a press conference last week, "I was glad to hear both of them say, 'I want to focus on the person, not the gun.' We need to be focusing on the individual, not the tool he uses to commit crimes."
"There is almost uniform agreement by everyone that we have a big problem with mental health that has to be dealt with,'' Irvine said.
But Irvine said there are major pieces of DeWine's package his organization will never go along with – a "red flag" law and expanded background checks.
August 14, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Gun control doesn’t require the perfect solution. It just requires starting now
The National Rifle Association and the Buckeye Firearms Association promote the idea that if we had more guns, we would in fact be safer.
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Do the NRA and the Buckeye Firearms Association believe we need 150 or maybe 200 guns for every 100 residents?
August 14, 2019
WBNS (CBS Columbus) - Dealers, federal officials rely on honor system when it comes to buying a gun
Gerard Valentino represents the Buckeye Firearms Association a pro-gun rights organization.
"Except for that part about a background check that form is essentially useless because someone who is going to lie is going to lie so there's not much a gun dealer is going to do if someone is going to lie on that form," he said.
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Is it time for gun owners prove they aren't using drugs and pass a drug test to buy a gun rather than take their word for it on a piece of paper?
The Buckeye Firearms Association is opposed to the idea.
"Can you imagine going in to buy something that is legal to own and forcing someone to take a drug test to buy a product that is legal for them to own? You're not going to stop a criminal buy signing a piece of paper or making them take a drug test all your doing is preventing another roadblock for a law-abiding citizen from getting a gun.”
August 13, 2019
NRAFamily.org - Handgun Self-Defense: Move to Stay Alive
If you ever become involved in a self-defense situation, it will likely occur suddenly, unexpectedly, and could turn very violent very quickly. And if you feel threatened to the point that you choose to draw your concealed handgun, remember that it’s now a gunfight, not target shooting. Your goal is to win and survive any way you can. Because reaction is always slower than action, you will be slightly behind the curve. But you can counter that disadvantage through movement. By moving while shooting you are doing something the aggressor did not expect, so now he/she must react to you. In short, movement could save your life.
But to become proficient at this technique, you must incorporate movement into your regular handgun training. Unfortunately, most public ranges don’t allow this type of advanced practice. If you were to try running while shooting, as well as reloading a handgun on the run at a public range, you'd see how quickly you were asked to leave. (NB: Please don't do that.)
Which is why I sought out the Move or Die advanced-handgun training course conducted recently by the Buckeye Firearms Association at the EAST Group range in north-central Ohio. Usually available only to police officers and military personnel, EAST Group opens its outdoor ranges half a dozen times per year to the public. Its owner and head instructor (“Sly”) is more than qualified to teach such instruction. A retired U. S. Marine Corps “gunny” turned personal protective specialist, you can check out his background by clicking on a previous NRA Family story here.
The day began with a half-hour classroom session. “The ultimate goal for the next eight hours is for you to learn to perceive and react to a threat in a timely manner—just 1.5 seconds,” Sly began. “In other words, to move off what is called the ‘X’ quickly and aggressively. Because if you don’t move, the ‘X’ is where you are going to die during a gunfight.”
Sly next explained the Combat Triad. “Think of it as the three points of a triangle: mindset, gun manipulation and marksmanship,” he said. “The proper mindset involves being ready and willing to do whatever you have to do to survive a gunfight. Gun manipulation, also known as ‘running the gun,’ is being so familiar with your handgun that shooting and reloading are automatic; you don’t have to consciously think about what you are doing. And marksmanship is simply hitting what you aim at. Because a threatening situation is not likely to change unless and until you are able to put hits on the target.”
Once to the range, live firing for the day began with a 40-round assessment drill. The three instructors (a woman, Candy, and another guy, Jeff, in addition to Sly) worked with the 19 students, about a third of whom were women. Students ranged in age from their 20s to a few folks in their 60s or even 70s.
Next came the movement drills, which is about learning to react to a situation quickly, then pivot and run laterally, right or left. “Don’t move backwards from a threat, for two reasons,” said Sly. “First, moving backwards still keeps you directly in line with the threat. And second, by backpedaling it’s more likely you will catch your heel on something and fall backwards. Then you’re really screwed. Instead, make your first move right or left and seek cover.”
Sly added that a self-defender should remember to aim at center mass, which translates to the torso of the threat. “As human beings, we are hardwired to look each other in the eye,” he said. “But during a gunfight that’s counterproductive because your shots will likely go where you are looking...the head is a much smaller target than the torso, so look and aim there.”
Following a break for lunch, the afternoon range session was a series of various drills teaching students to anticipate a threat, draw our handguns, and fire several shots while running laterally to cover. “You should be drawing your sidearm as you begin moving,” Sly often repeated. “Don’t move and then draw, that’s too late. And if for some reason you can’t get your gun out of the holster, which sometimes happens during high-stress situations, especially if you are wearing a cover garment, don’t stop to do so, keep moving. The same for reloading, if your gun runs dry, reload on the move, don’t stop. Stopping gets you killed.”
As you may have already surmised, the one-day course was intense training, the instructors attempting to put the students under pressure to simulate the stress of a gunfight as much as possible. Upon returning to the classroom for a final debriefing session, the consensus of the participants was that it had been an excellent day of instruction at an excellent facility, and that they would highly recommend the training to other concealed-carry holders.
Sly summed up the training with this last sobering bit of advice. “Continue practicing what you learned by incorporating movement into your handgun training. Learn to quickly assess a potentially dangerous situation, and then if it does hit the fan, move and shoot your way out of it.”
August 13, 2019
WOSU (NPR Columbus) - Red Flag Gun Laws In The U.S.
Buckeye Firearms Foundation's FASTER Saves Lives Program Director Joe Eaton was a guest on "All Sides with Ann Fisher." Click here to listen to the show archive. Joe's segment begins at 36:20.
August 13, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Guns found at airport security increasing; 5 found in Dayton
About 700,000 people in Ohio have concealed carry permits, a growing number of the last decade as more than just “gun people” look to concealed carry as everyday protection, said Jim Irvine, board president of Buckeye Firearm Association.
“Under stress we make mistakes, good people make mistakes,” Irvine said. “The person who wrongfully brings a knife that’s a half an inch to big, or a too big a bottle of shampoo or a gun, none of these people are the problem. So yeah, TSA’s got to do their job and they’ve got to take the stuff and we’ve got to deal.”
But Irvine said he thinks criminally prosecuting them is a waste of resources when there are other bigger issues for courts and law enforcement to tackle.
August 13, 2019
Dayton Daily News - No criminal charges for Beavercreek-based gun group leader
Dorr, in the current video, also criticized the Buckeye Firearms Association, an established gun rights group, for working with DeWine on the proposals, including a “red flag” law that would allow provide a way to remove firearms from those ruled dangerous to themselves or others by a judge.
August 12, 2019
Gongwer News Service - Husted: 'Very Good Chance' Lawmakers Back Gun Changes
Ohioans for Concealed Carry spokesman Philip Mulivor said in a statement Monday the group "is anxious to disassociate itself from Gov. DeWine's remarks."
"His comments might imply that OFCC, a well-known firearms rights organization, supports his proposal, which we do not," he said.
Ohio Gun Owners, which claims to be the largest gun rights organization in Ohio, opposes the governor's plan, while the Buckeye Firearms Association is working with the administration and lawmakers on potential policy changes.
August 11, 2019
WBNS (CBS Columbus)
Buckeye Firearms Association President Jim Irvine was interviewed for this radio news segment.
August 10, 2019
The Statesman - Texas and Ohio: Red states with 2 shootings, 2 responses
“Overall, the trend the last 10 to 15 years has been to expand gun rights,” said Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, a pro-Second Amendment advocacy group.
Rieck’s group, which endorsed DeWine in his 2018 gubernatorial campaign, opposes his call for expanded background checks and is wary of his proposal for a red flag law.
“DeWine is saying that he’s interested in stuff that will pass. If their focus remains on mental health and addressing crime directly, I think virtually everyone can get behind that,” Rieck said.
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Rieck said his Buckeye Firearms Association generally opposes red flag laws over concerns that ownership rights cannot be adequately protected, but he’s waiting to see what type of bill gets filed.
“I think they’re listening to us, but we won’t know until they actually write the bill. People talk about laws, but they’re often very different” when the written version is introduced, he said.
August 10, 2019
Akron Beacon-Journal - Ohio weighs ‘red-flag’ law to curtail mass shootings. Here’s how it would work
Yet some opponents of Kasich’s efforts — including the gun rights advocacy group Buckeye Firearms Association — are withholding judgment on DeWine’s efforts until they see details about how it balances government power against individual rights.
“We believe [DeWine] is trying to avoid the problems past laws have presented,” Dean Rieck, the group’s executive director, said in a long question-and-answer session about DeWine’s proposal posted on the Buckeye Firearms website.
“However, we will need to actually see a bill and read the details before we can know exactly what is being proposed,” he wrote. “If we think due process is lacking, we will oppose this part of the initiative.”
August 10, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Why gun lobby has such an easy time of it in Ohio: Thomas Suddes
According to the Buckeye Firearms Association, SB 184 means “it will [now] be assumed that anyone who kills or injures an intruder [intruding into an occupied home or car] will have acted in self-defense.”
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In 2011, legislators passed Senate Bill 17, sponsored by Lancaster Republican Shaffer, to let people with concealed-carry permits bring firearms into bars. (What could possibly go wrong?) Then-Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, signed it. “Governor Kasich campaigned as a strong pro-gun candidate. Today he took the first step to prove his doubters wrong,” the Buckeye Firearms Association said then.
August 10, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Patrol reviewing video by gun rights advocate threatening ‘bodies laying all over the ground’
[Ohio Gun Owners leader Chris Dorr] expressed outrage during the video that another gun-rights group, the Buckeye Firearms Association, had been invited by the governor’s office to review a proposal unveiled this week for “red flag” legislation.
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“These are the enemies of the Second Amendment ... the people who are trying to destroy this country,” Dorr says as he shows Buckeye members filing into DeWine’s news conference Tuesday, to which Dorr was not invited. He called his video “Details of the DeWine Agenda, the BFA-Betrayal Completes, and a state on fire.”
Dorr leveled insults at numerous public officials. He called Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley “a horrible human being.” Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, who helped bring the Buckeye Firearms group to the table, was dubbed a “dumb doofus” and a “schmuck.” Referring to DeWine, Dorr said: “This jerk is our governor.” And public officials who oppose his agenda are “these thugs and these miscreants.”
August 9, 2019
WVXU (NPR Cincinnati) - A Shifting Gun Debate After Mass Shootings And Other Top Stories This Week
DeWine is calling for a version of the "Red Flag Law" and expanded background checks. Members of the Buckeye Firearms Association say they are not officially endorsing DeWine's proposals.
August 9, 2019
Newark Advocate - Our view: Now is the time to act on gun violence in Ohio
DeWine's proposal is similar to one proposed by Gov. John Kasich during the tail end of his term, but DeWine has more political cache with Republicans to get things done now. In fact, he was even joined by a representative of the Buckeye Firearms Association, showing the gun-rights group is willing to at least discuss changes.
August 8, 2019
WKEF (ABC Dayton) - Gun reform groups target Ohio CCW bill
August 8, 2019
Gongwer News Service - Lawmakers Continue Focus On Gun Laws
Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday announced his support for a red flag law and expanded background checks as part of a larger series of proposal designed to curb gun violence. The Buckeye Firearms Association is working with the administration on the measures. However, Ohio Gun Owners said it will look to thwart their passage.
August 8, 2019
The Record-Courier - Rep. Randi Clites grilled on gun control at Ravenna town hall meeting
Clites, who acknowledged that her Portage County district is split ideologically, said feedback is generally evenly split on gun rights issues. Her family, which includes people on both sides of the aisle, is no exception. She said the Buckeye Firearms Association reached out to her in recent days, and she is planning to meet next week with local police chiefs. She also invited the residents to attend community events she will host this fall that will address safety and guns.
August 8, 2019
WSYX (ABC Columbus) - Presidential candidate leads caravan to pressure McConnell
"There are a lot of people who just want to ban guns," said Dean Rieck with the Buckeye Firearms Association. "That's what it boils down to. After these events, the same people propose the same laws and honestly, I think a lot of them are just not serious."
August 8, 2019
TheTrace.org - In Ohio, a Red Flag Bill Will Have to Surmount an Increasingly Pro-Gun Legislature
In a sign that there could be movement on a red flag law bill this time around, one local gun rights group that opposed the 2018 measure, the Buckeye Firearms Association, expressed broad support for the process outlined by DeWine immediately after the Dayton shooting. “They [the DeWine administration] have gone to great lengths to protect our due process rights, and that is very critical,” association member Larry Moore told The Cincinnati Enquirer. “I don’t see us fighting this at all. Again, the devil is always in the details of what comes before the General Assembly.”
August 7, 2019
IdeaStream.org - Gun Groups Offer Differing Takes On DeWine's Proposed Regulations
Members with the Buckeye Firearms Association were in the room as DeWine rolled out his plan. Jim Irvine, board president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said they were not officially endorsing DeWine's ideas. However, Irvine said they wanted to work with the administration to ensure there was due process for court-ordered confiscations.
"Nobody likes what happened. Nobody likes the violence in our inner cities. What can we do about it, respecting the rights of the citizens, and make it work?" said Irvine.
August 7, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Some praise ideas, other concerned about due process rights for gun owners
Red flag laws
The “second amendment community” was involved in discussions regarding what the governor would propose, DeWine said on Tuesday. The Buckeye Firearms Association will back the idea if an individual’s due process rights are protected, said Larry Moore, regional leader for the group.
“It does feel like he has gone to great lengths to protect our due process rights,” Moore said. “And, that is very critical.”
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Background checks
Although improved background checks may have support among gun control activists, the Buckeye Firearms Association is “very concerned” about them, said Jim Irvine, president of the board of the group. Irvine argued that back ground checks won’t stop a criminal from getting a gun and therefore would not have prevented a shooting like the one in Dayton early Sunday morning.
“I think the background check idea is a reaction to other things and not results oriented,” Irvine said. “We want something that works.”
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Increased penalties
Irvine said he is somewhat skeptical of increasing penalties. But, he acknowledged that doing so may serve as a good deterrent, so long as it has no unintended consequences.
“That one’s going to require a lot of research,” Irvine said. “I think we can get there but it’s got to get done right.”
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Hardening soft targets
To Irvine, the issue of having armed employees or security should be left up to the business, school or whatever entity is considering it. Irvine’s group, the Buckeye Firearms Association has performed some training for organizations on firearms and active shooter situations.
Though security can be helpful, it’s “not easy to just put up a layer of protection” to deal with violence, Irvine said.
“Obviously we don’t want to turn our schools into a prison-like setting and we don’t want to turn our stores and restaurants into that either,” he said.
August 7, 2019
WSPD (1370AM Toledo, OH)
Buckeye Firearms Association President Jim Irvine appeared on WSPD 1370AM.
August 6, 2019
KTIA (99.3FM Des Moines, IA)
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Joe Eaton appeared on 99.3FM "The Truth."
August 6, 2019
Gongwer News Service - Governor Seeks 'Red Flag,' Background Check Laws
The Buckeye Firearms Association previously had signaled it would oppose such a proposal. However, on Tuesday the group appeared to have tentatively walked back its prior position.
BFA President Jim Irvine said the group will continue to work with the executive branch and lawmakers on the initiative.
"The bottom line is, we want a good law," he said in an interview.
The group opposed similar efforts by former Gov. John Kasich. But Mr. Irvine said the latest proposal provides more due process protections.
August 6, 2019
WTVG (ABC Toledo)
Buckeye Firearms Director Joe Eaton was interviewed for this tv news segment.
August 6, 2019
Canton Repository - Editorial: We must find common ground to curtail gun violence
Jim Irvine, chairman of Buckeye Firearms Association, said Monday: “Quit focusing on the gun, the knife, the object, and start focusing on the person committing the crime.”
Agreed. Let’s do that — together.
August 6, 2019
WFMJ (NBC Youngstown) - Rep. Lepore-Hagan urges action on gun safety legislation
According to Lepore-Hagan, elected officials "controlled by the National Rifle Association, Buckeye Firearms, and other extremist groups refuse to help our families be safe."
August 6, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - RIP: Ken Hanson
RIP: Ken Hanson, co-founder of the Buckeye Firearms Association, died Sunday after a long illness, the association announced in an article that detailed his work on behalf of gun rights in Ohio.
August 6, 2019
WBNS (CBS Columbus) - Gov. DeWine urges gun sale background checks, red flag laws after Dayton shooting
The Buckeye Firearms Association has mixed feelings about the governor's ideas.
"Extending background checks aren't going to have any effect on gun violence they haven't in the past and they are not going to in the future," said Gerard Valentino, Secretary for Buckeye Firearms Association.
August 6, 2019
Associated Press - Ohio Republicans again faced with calls to enact gun reforms
DeWine said proposing an assault weapons ban would be politically futile in Ohio.
Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said gun-owner groups don't believe such laws work.
"You want to know how many people somebody's going to kill? Time is what matters," Irvine said. "You tell me how long you're going to let somebody stand in a room with innocent people and killing them before we stop them, and we'll tell you about how many he's going to kill."
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Dayton police estimate they shot and killed Betts within 30 seconds.
Irvine, who was among those invited to DeWine's news conference, said the governor's proposals are welcome, including one that would add mental health records to the state's background check system.
"We're all on the same page. Nobody likes what happened. Nobody likes the violence in our inner cities," he told reporters after the news conference. "What can we do about it, respecting the rights of the citizens, and make it work? And I believe the governor has shown not just today but through his life, that's what he wants to do. He wants to help."
August 6, 2019
New York Times - As Ohio and Texas Shootings Bring Calls for Change, Officials Try to ‘Thread the Needle’
Gun owner groups in the state were split on the governor’s proposals. Larry Moore, a leader of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said he was basically supportive of Mr. DeWine’s gun seizure measure.
“I don’t see us fighting this at all,” said Mr. Moore, who praised Mr. DeWine but cautioned that the “devil is always in the details.”
August 6, 2019
Cleveland.com - The reality of Dayton, the ideas of Gov. DeWine, versus the hollow words of our commander-in-chief: Brent Larkin
After politely telling me I’ve been on the wrong side of the gun issue for years, Buckeye Firearms Foundation President Jim Irvine said the proposed background check law “won’t solve the problem” and “won’t keep guns out of the hands of criminals.”
August 6, 2019
Cincinnati.com - Ohio Gov. DeWine just rolled out a plan to combat gun violence. Here's what's in it.
Ohio gun-rights group Buckeye Firearms Association said it supports the process DeWine laid out Tuesday [for safety protection orders] but wants to see the language.
“They have gone to great lengths to protect our due process rights, and that is very critical,” said the association's Larry Moore. “I don’t see us fighting this at all. Again, the devil is always in the details of what comes before the General Assembly. And bills being a sausage grinder, what comes out.”
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Buckeye Firearms Association attended DeWine's news conference on Tuesday – a show of support or at least willingness to come to the table.
August 6, 2019
WLW (700 AM) - "The Bill Cunningham Show"
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Joe Eaton appeared on WLW with Bill Cunningham.
August 5, 2019
WCMH (NBC Columbus) - DISCUSSION: What to do about gun violence?
Watch the video above as Gerard Valentino, co-founder of Buckeye Firearms, and Jennifer Scholl, of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, discuss the issue.
August 5, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Gov. DeWine calls for lawmakers to pass red-flag law, stronger background checks to fight gun violence
A dozen firearms bills are pending in the Ohio General Assembly — evenly split between expanding gun rights and restricting them, according to the Buckeye Firearms Association. One bill calls for allowing people to carry concealed weapons without permits, background checks or training.
August 5, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Dayton police chief: Weapon of this type ‘fundamentally problematic’
Modifying a pistol is very possible, said Joe Eaton, a Springboro resident and member of the Buckeye Firearms Association, a gun rights advocacy group.
“You can purchase that as a pistol which is designed without a shoulder stock to be used one-handed like a regular pistol,” Eaton said.
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Betts’ ammunition had a “.223-caliber” designation, which represents the diameter or size of the bullet. It’s comparable to about a quarter-inch round or .22-caliber bullet, Eaton said.
“It’s very small,” he said.
AR-style weapons are well designed, ergonomic to use, adjustable and relatively comfortable for shooters, Eaton said. There’s not much recoil felt when they are shot, he said.
“It’s a very configurable type of firearm also,” Eaton said. “Somebody can customize it to whatever sport or competition they are comfortable in.”
In most transactions involving out-of-state sales, Eaton said a buyer is expected to complete an ATF form 4473 firearm transaction record, giving basic name, address and contact information and answering about a dozen questions on criminal and mental health history.
The dealer depends on the buyer to answer questions truthfully before sending the form to a national background check database. Lying on the form is a felony.
“If anything pops up on their (FBI) databases, they put the transaction on hold so they can do more investigation,” Eaton said.
The process was probably completed while Betts waited at the local retail store, Eaton said.
There has been no record of felonies or serious crimes in Betts’ past.
“There was nothing in any of the national FBI databases about this guy which precluded him from purchasing the firearm,” Eaton said.
One notable feature of the weapon was the high-capacity magazines. Round, “drum-style” magazines “are a little different,” he said.
Eaton said he often hears the term “high-capacity” magazines. Sometimes the term is used incorrectly, but not in this case.
“In this case, he truly was using high-capacity magazines that are not what is standard for these firearms,” he said. “These firearms are standard with 30-round magazines.”
He estimated that in this situation, the weapon was purchased for perhaps $500 to $700, with the magazines costing about $100 to $150, perhaps more. Body armor could have cost $200 to $300. Ammunition for this popular caliber is relatively inexpensive, with a box of 20 rounds costing less than $10, Eaton estimated.
He believes the total cost approached the range of $1,000 to $1,500.
The result was a semi-automatic firearm like hundreds of millions already out there.
“Just like your grandpa’s old revolver, each time you press the trigger, you get one shot out of it,” Eaton said. “It functions basically the same.”
August 5, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine used to favor gun control. So, will he ‘do something’ post-Dayton?
Four years after he was voted out of office, DeWine launched his political comeback, running for state attorney general in 2010 and trying to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of pro-gun activists.
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DeWine’s outreach paid off during his 2018 campaign for governor, in the form of a primary endorsement from the Buckeye Firearms Association, one of the state’s leading pro-Second Amendment groups.
The group’s president, Jim Irvine, in the past repeatedly excoriated Sen. DeWine for his record on guns. But Irvine in 2018 recorded a commercial praising DeWine the candidate for governor as “being on our side every step of the way,” giving DeWine political cover on attacks from his primary opponent on his gun record in Washington.
Since becoming governor in January, DeWine has worked to conspicuously keep gun groups in the fold.
The first bill DeWine signed into law fixed a typo in a recently passed law that some gun activists were worried could result in legal guns being banned. DeWine held a public bill-signing ceremony, inviting leaders from the Buckeye Firearms Association, Ohioans for Concealed Carry and the Ohio Gun Collectors Association.
August 5, 2019
Cincinnati Enquirer - Dayton shooter used a modified gun that may have exploited a legal loophole
Dean Rieck, the executive director of the Buckeye Firearm Association, said trying to ban firearm components will not prevent the next mass shooting.
"After every shooting, we see the same pattern," Rieck said. "People have certain pet laws they want to see passed. You'll probably see various laws proposed."
In terms of pistol braces, Rieck said: "Things like that don't really make a difference. If your purpose is to harm people, that configuration is not ideal anyway."
After the Las Vegas mass shooting, Cincinnati and Columbus attempted to ban bump stocks, which can increase the rate of fire of a rifle. Rieck's association successfully blocked the bans by invoking Ohio's preemption rule, which stops cities from overriding state gun laws.
August 5, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Gun groups pan regulations that could surface after Dayton shooting
“Show me where it’s worked. We need to quit focusing on inanimate objects and start focusing on the person,” said Jim Irvine, chairman of Buckeye Firearms Association. “Quit focusing on the gun, the knife, the object and start focusing on the person committing the crime.”
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Irvine said his group is willing to speak to DeWine about gun regulations, “but we’re not going to support and advocate failed ideas because I care about people’s lives.”
Red flag laws, increased background checks and limits on high-capacity magazines don’t address the mental health of shooters who are carrying out attacks, he said.
“Most people don’t just snap. It’s not like one day they’re great and the next day they go off the rails and kill somebody,” he said.
Irvine said he personally does not like 100-round magazines, such as the one the shooter in Dayton used, but limiting magazines “to an artificially low number is not going to stop the crime either.”
August 5, 2019
Gongwer News Service - 'Red Flag' Proposal Stirs Debate In Wake Of Dayton Shooting
The governor previously signaled his support for a so-called "red flag" law that would allow for the temporary seizure of firearms from those deemed to pose a danger to themselves or others.
However, the Buckeye Firearms Association said most red flag laws do not protect due process rights.
August 5, 2019
WTVG (ABC Toledo)
Buckeye Firearms Director Joe Eaton was interviewed for this tv news segment.
August 4, 2019
WLW (700 AM) - "The Bill Cunningham Show"
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Joe Eaton appeared on WLW with Bill Cunningham.
August 4, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Dayton shooting: Many Ohioans have access to firearms
A dozen firearms bills are pending in the Ohio General Assembly -- evenly split between expanding gun rights and restricting them, according to the Buckeye Firearms Association, a pro-gun group. One bill calls for allowing people to carry concealed weapons without permits, background checks or training.
August 2, 2019
Portsmouth Daily Times - Gun proponents: background checks an attempt to limit legal gun possession
With their initial petition approved by the Ohio Attorney General’s office, a group known as Ohioans for Gun Safety are combing the state attempting to gather enough signatures to move forward a measure they say eliminates loopholes in state law governing background checks for gun purchases.
Executive Director of the Buckeye Firearms Association Dean Rieck described the measure as a backdoor step towards taking guns out of the hands of lawful gun owners.
“This idea of universal background checks is really not going to have any effect on crime or safety,” Rieck said.
Further, according to Rieck, Ohioans for Gun Safety is not the grassroots group they present themselves as, but part of a national organization known as Every Town for Gun Safety. He added the goal of Every Town for Gun Safety is and always has been to create a registry of gun owners so those guns can eventually be taken away.
“The endgame is confiscating your guns,” Rieck said, admitting his assertion carries a tinge of conspiratorial machinations. But he claimed it can and has happened in other countries, specifically citing what supposedly happened or is happening in New Zealand.
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There are numerous exemptions listed to the background check requirement, including such circumstances as firearms given as a gift between family members or temporary transfers to prevent death or physical injury. Rieck argues one highly intrusive requirement is contained in the proposal.
Let’s say, you want to sell an unwanted pistol to a neighbor, someone you might know quite well. Rieck claims under the proposed law, you would need to go through a federally licensed dealer and obtain a background check on your neighbor before you could legally sell the gun.
For his part, Rieck once more argued statistics and common-sense reveal background checks do not reduce crime or increase safety. He said most guns used in crimes are not bought legally. What about the idea of so-called “cooling-off periods,” that is, making someone wait before they purchase a gun and use it in a flash of anger? Rieck said statistics show cooling-off periods don’t really work, adding persons with long criminal histories almost always are behind instances of gun violence. He said the myth of an everyday citizen just grabbing a gun and “going postal” is just that, a myth.
Rieck declined comment on preventing instances of random mass shootings, for the record, saying only “it’s a complex problem.”
August 2, 2019
WOSU (Columbus NPR) - Appeals Court Tosses Lawsuit Against Columbus Bump Stock Ban
The lawsuit against bump stocks, a gun accessory that allows semiautomatic weapons to shoot like automatic weapons, came from the Buckeye Firearms Association and Ohioans for Concealed Carry.
July 26, 2019
Dayton Daily News - Should police take guns away after protection orders are issued?
[Micaela Deming, attorney for the Ohio Domestic Violence Network,] serves on a subcommittee of the Ohio Supreme Court that is tasked with updating the forms that domestic violence victims need to fill out for civil protection orders. Among the most recent updates was a new form for law enforcement to fill out specific to whether the target of a protection order has handed over firearms.
Deming said the public hearing was last August, and nearly a year later the Supreme Court justices have yet to approve the updated forms. Firearm advocates such as the Buckeye Firearms Association put out a call to action for members to testify as part of the public hearing process.
So many gun owners responded to the call, it shut down the court’s email system, according to an October 2018 article by Jim Irvine, BFA chairman.
Irvine wrote that the state’s highest court was considering amendments to the Rules of Superintendence for the Courts of Ohio “that would empower law enforcement to seize guns without due process of law.”
July 22, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Homemade semi-automatic weapons among thousands of guns Columbus police recover each year
Buckeye Firearms Association Executive Director Dean Rieck said his group opposes the proposal and does not believe it could apply to gun parts.
“It really depends on what definition of ‘firearm’ you’re talking about,” he said. “I don’t necessarily see a direct connection with the initiative.”
July 19, 2019
The (UK) Times - Will arming teachers help prevent school shootings?
This training course was a response to Sandy Hook. It grew out of a weapons safety course for armed school resource officers put on by the Buckeye Firearms Foundation, the charitable arm of an Ohio gun rights group. Buckeye contacted John Benner after a school board inquired whether a training course for teachers was possible. Benner had already drawn up a plan for one but had put it to one side because he did not think it would get past the politicians – or the school boards.
Guns are banned on school premises, but a loophole in Ohio state legislation allows boards to make certain exceptions. Jim Irvine of Buckeye announced the course at a public meeting in Columbus, the Ohio capital, on how to respond to Sandy Hook. Both the National Education Association and the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police, the police union, quickly came out against it. Nevertheless, the inaugural course went ahead with two dozen places. It received more than
1,000 applications.“All we’ve done is react to demand from schools wanting their kids to be safe,” says Irvine, 53, an airline pilot who helps run the courses as a volunteer. “Our children’s lives are more important than anybody’s political motivations. I have dealt with several school boards who say, ‘We never want guns in our schools.’ So does that mean if you have an active shooter you’re not going to call the police? Or that you want the police to come unarmed? These staff here get police firearms training, like the police who stood outside at Sandy Hook and Parkland.”
But isn’t this all about promoting guns in a country already awash with them? The course was originally provided free with funding from individual donors – not the National Rifle Association, the vociferous pro-gun group – but as demand has grown it now costs $1,500 (£1,200). “I get accused of pushing guns in schools but I am pushing safety,” says Irvine, a father of four. “A cop carries a gun for safety – for his safety and for the whole community. So can we have an honest conversation? We know the reality is that the vast majority of people in the school building want nothing to do with carrying guns and we don’t want to train them. But the reality is that every school has someone like Victoria Soto [a 27-year-old teacher killed at Sandy Hook trying to distract the gunman] who, on ‘event day’, is going to do whatever they can to save those kids. How about we give them some tools and training?”
July 9, 2019
WOSU (Columbus NPR) - Gun Safety Group Refiles Potential Ballot Issue Language
Groups against gun restrictions, such as the Buckeye Firearms Association, say expanding these background checks won’t reduce crime. The group cites a study that says 1% of guns used in crimes come from gun shows or personal transfers.
June 30, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Ohio’s gun lobby groups: same goal, different tactics
The Buckeye Firearms Association appears to be somewhere between the two other groups. Unlike Ohio Gun Owners and Ohioans for Concealed Carry, it has not offered testimony on the concealed carry bill and has not put out any sort of affirmative statement besides a brief news release informing its members of one of the bill’s hearings. The group has been a consistent presence in the gun debate for more than a decade, so its absence from the conversation about the bill is notable.
President Jim Irvine said the Buckeye Firearms Association has engaged in its normal advocacy efforts in support of the bill, but it does not want to jump in yet because the bill still needs to clear the House Criminal Justice Committee, the House floor and the Senate floor.
“In our mind, there’s no cause for some big celebration at this point,” Irvine said. “We work to educate legislators on a topic that we feel is important so that when it comes time to vote on it, they understand the issue, they’ve thought about it, and they agree that this is a good policy for the people of Ohio. It’s not the talk that matters; it’s the result that matters.”
That approach has worked, too: The organization has seen 20 bills signed into law since 2001 that advance its agenda.
June 26, 2019
WOIO (Fox Cleveland) - House Bill 178 would eliminate the need for a permit to carry a gun in Ohio
The Buckeye Firearms Association has come out in favor of House Bill 178 writing, “If we have the right to keep {own} and bear {carry} arms, then why do we need permission?”
June 15, 2019
WKSU (NPR Kent) - Gun Sale Background Check Proposal Could Go Before Voters
Dean Rieck with the Buckeye Firearms Association said what backers call the gun show loophole is largely a myth. He said dealers at gun shows face prosecution if they don’t do background checks. And he cites a study showing 1 percent of guns used in crimes came from gun shows or personal transfers.
“I really think that these kind of proposals are misleading and they’re not going to have any effect on true crime," Rieck said.
June 14, 2019
Norwalk Reflector - Group mounts effort to expand background checks for gun purchases
According to the Buckeye Firearms Association, an Ohio group that supports gun rights, since November 1993, any commercial purchase of a gun in the U.S. requires a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check to be done by a federally licensed gun dealer.
Gun buyers must fill out a form providing information about themselves. Records must be stored for 20 years and are subject to inspection by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, according to a 2016 article on background checks written by Keith Coniglio and posted at the Buckeye Firearms Association website.
Coniglio’s piece argues that background checks, and the records they create, are essentially a form of gun registration and can wind up being used to confiscate guns from law-abiding owners who have never committed a crime.
Gun registration records in New York City were used to confiscate semiautomatic rifles, so-called “assault weapons,” from more than 2,000 people, Coniglio’s piece states.
“A Staten Island man who announced his refusal to comply was the subject of a police raid. He was arrested, and his guns were seized,” the article states.
June 13, 2019
Statehouse News Bureau - Gun Rights Group Says Background Check Proposal Won't Affect Crime
Gun rights advocates say a proposal to require nearly all gun sales and transfers to go through federally licensed dealers and to require buyers to undergo background checks won’t have much of an effect on crime.
Dean Rieck with the Buckeye Firearms Association said what backers call the gun show loophole is largely a myth.
Rieck said dealers at gun shows face prosecution if they don’t do background checks. And he cites a study showing 1% of guns used in crimes came from gun shows or personal transfers. “I really think that these kind of proposals are misleading and they’re not going to have any effect on true crime," Rieck said.
June 13, 2019
SpectrumNews1.com - Gun Safety Group Pushes to Change Gun Laws
Dean Rieck, with Buckeye Firearms Association, says serious gun crime is rarely caused by people who have passed a background check, and come instead from theft and the black market.
“People that we're worried about, truly violent criminals, they never go through background checks. So, this is yet another law that's going to target law-abiding gun owners who will go through the background checks,” said Rieck. “I think it’s sort of disingenuous for a group like this that really originates outside the state, to come in, pretend like they're grassroots, and try to get involved with Ohio law.”
June 12, 2019
WOWK (CBS Huntington) - Locals react to petition asking for universal background checks in Ohio
Others, like Tom Hall, a trainer with Buckeye Firearms Association and Foundation, disagree.
“You’re [going to] add additional requirements to law abiding citizens. A criminal is not [going to] go in and [buy a gun lawfully] if they require background checks,” said Hall. “A criminal is just going to go somewhere else. They’re going to transfer guns between criminals.”
June 11, 2019
Sandusky Register - Group mounts effort to expand background checks for gun purchases
According to the Buckeye Firearms Association, an Ohio group that supports gun rights, since November 1993, any commercial purchase of a gun in the U.S. requires a National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) check to be done by a federally licensed gun dealer.
Gun buyers must fill out a form providing information about themselves. Records must be stored for 20 years and are subject to inspection by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, according to a 2016 article on background checks written by Keith Coniglio and posted at the Buckeye Firearms Association website.
Coniglio’s piece argues that background checks, and the records they create, are essentially a form of gun registration and can wind up being used to confiscate guns from law-abiding owners who have never committed a crime.
Gun registration records in New York City were used to confiscate semiautomatic rifles, so-called “assault weapons,” from more than 2,000 people, Coniglio’s piece states.
“A Staten Island man who announced his refusal to comply was the subject of a police raid. He was arrested, and his guns were seized,” the article states.
Many people who have committed mass murders in recent years were able to pass background checks, including Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech murderer who killed 32 people, and James Holmes, who killed a dozen people in a movie theater in 2012, the article says.
June 10, 2019
WBNS (CBS Columbus) - Group pushes for background checks on all gun sales in Ohio
The Buckeye Firearms Association says "There is no gun show loophole. The rules don't change when you walk into a gun show. The same laws apply either way. This is a big to-do about nothing. It will not stop any criminal from getting a gun."
June 10, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Ohio voters could vote on gun background checks and president at same time
Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, is skeptical about the benefit the proposal, saying it addresses an issue that does not exist.
“There is no gun show loophole,” he said. “The rules to buying and selling guns at gun shows are the same to buy a gun at a gun store or out of the back of a car or a garage or anywhere else. The most common way criminals get their guns is stealing them. So what will this law do to stop those bad criminals from getting guns? Nothing.”
June 10, 2019
Gongwer News Service - Gun Safety Group Looks To The Ballot To Expand Background Checks
But at least one group of gun owners has its doubts that the proposal will reduce gun violence. Buckeye Firearms Association Executive Director Dan Rieck said the only people that will go through the background checks are law-abiding citizens.
"We don't believe it's really going to reduce crime. It's just going to be an additional burden on gun owners," he said.
The proposal would also require firearms dealers to maintain records on sales and transfers. Mr. Rieck likened that to a registry of gun owners.
"This proposal is really going to be problematic," he added.
While Ohioans for Gun Safety bills itself as a grassroots organization, Mr. Rieck sought to dispute that claim, saying it is backed by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety.
June 8, 2019
WCBE (NPR Columbus) - Cincinnati Joins Columbus In Suing State Over Local Gun Control Measures
The two cities are suing over the law that was backed by the National Rifle Association and the Buckeye Firearms Association.
June 6, 2019
Cleveland Jewish News - Pepper Pike Mayor Richard Bain: Removal of concealed carry training ‘bad idea’
Dean Rieck, executive director of Buckeye Firearms Association, which supports constitutional carry, said this proposal would not increase the danger to police officers or the general public. He said training is always good and the organization advocates for additional training but added if someone is going to be irresponsible with a gun, a permit will not change that.
“The reality is the people who are responsible will continue to be responsible and the people who are irresponsible will continue to be irresponsible,” he said. “A license does not change someone’s fundamental nature.”
May 28, 2019
Cincinnati.com - Gun laws in Ohio: What's next for permitless carry, red flag and more?
"Gov. DeWine isn't a gun guy, so he's not like us in that," said Jim Irvine, president of Buckeye Firearms Association. "That sometimes creates problems."
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"(DeWine's) someone who takes pride in Ohio and making Ohio the best state in the country to live in," said Irvine with Buckeye Firearms. Anyone shocked that DeWine is considering all his options on guns "doesn’t know the man or doesn’t understand him."
May 22, 2019
WBNS (CBS Columbus) - House Democrats propose several 'common sense' measures to counter gun violence
Mandatory gun locks when guns are stored in the home where children are present:
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Dean Rieck of the Buckeye Firearms Association says the bill is unenforceable and won't solve anything.
"I think this bill will make no difference whatsoever if people want safety they should be teaching gun safety," Rieck says.
Red Flag Law:
This proposal would allow people to testify to have guns removed from a home where a person they know is a harm to themselves or others.
Opponents of the bill, like the Buckeye Firearms Association, say it takes away one's right to due process.
Block House Bill 178:
...
On the other hand, Rieck says if laws like these work in other places, Ohio should be no exception.
"We have 16 other states that have constitutional carry and it works there. I don't know what's so unusual about Ohio."
May 21, 2019
This Week Community News - Westerville council approves resolution opposing new concealed-carry bill
Prior to the resolution’s introduction, several residents addressed council, including Dean Rieck, a Westerville resident and executive director of pro-gun group Buckeye Firearms Association.
He said he didn’t like the proposed resolution because of the issue of home rule having been determined by the Ohio Supreme Court. He was referring to the court’s 5-2 ruling in 2010 that upholds as constitutional any state laws that displace local gun-control ordinances, as well as to a 2007 state law.
“I want to point out that there was a time when there was a patchwork of laws across the state,” he said. “It was a mess. You could literally be charged with status crimes just from moving from one city to another, going to the shooting range, going hunting or whatever.”
He said this was changed in March 2007, when one consistent law was approved at the state level.
“You’ve not had home rule on this for 12 years,” he said.
He said home rule has been well litigated, including by his own organization against the cities of Cincinnati, Columbus and Cleveland. He said all those cases were ruled in favor of his organization.
“This resolution, while well intended, is going to be a complete waste of time,” Rieck said.
May 15, 2019
WHIO (CBS Dayton) - Proposed law would bring constitutional carry to Ohio
The Buckeye Firearms Association refer to this as constitutional carry, and it’s already been passed in more than a dozen states.
May 15, 2019
WLW (700 AM) - "The Bill Cunningham Show"
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Joe Eaton appeared on WLW with Bill Cunningham. Click here to listen to the podcast. Joe's segment begins at 34:18.
May 14, 2019
NRATV.com - "Relentless" w/ Dana Loesch
Buckeye Firearms Association Executive Director Dean Rieck appeared on NRATV's "Relentless" with show host Dana Loesch. Click here to view the segment.
May 13, 2019
Toledo Blade - Coroner rules fatal shooting of 4-year-old an accident
Jim Irvine, president of Buckeye Firearms Association, said firearm safety is paramount for families who keep guns in the home. Children as young as 6 months old have the dexterity needed to pull a trigger, he said, and awareness can go a long way in preventing firearm accidents.
“Education really is key,” he said.
Guns should be stored unloaded and in a separate place from ammunition, he said. Concealed carry firearms are more complicated, he said, because those guns are loaded. But when concealed carry firearms are not in a holster on a person, they should be locked up as well, he said.
“You’ve got to come up with a safe way to store a legal gun,” he said.
Mr. Irvine added he owns guns, has children, and believes they must be taught progressing gun safety measures as they grow up. Babies who can’t yet crawl are not likely in danger of getting hold of a gun sitting on a table, but a teenager who knows their parents’ birthdays and anniversary could easily guess a simple password to a locked gun safe.
If someone is going to keep guns in the home, it’s important to introduce children to the guns through safety courses and education so they’ll know what to do if they see a firearm at someone else’s house, or at a party, or on the street, he said.
Mr. Irvine said he has met families who thought they were doing everything right about gun safety, and their children were still injured or killed by a gun shot in the home.
“Condolences to the family,” he said when he was told about Sunday’s incident in Toledo. “These events have a ripple effect that carries on forever.”
May 4, 2019
WKRC (CBS CIncinnati) - Faster Saves Lives training focuses on life-threatening injuries
Faster Saves Lives is a non-profit focused on active shooter training for schools, churches and businesses.
It was founded in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in 2012.
It also has a medical component, tactical first aid, that anyone can sign up for.
Kris Garren was one of the 30 people who signed up for a training session on Saturday.
"I want to be one of those people who can help," Garren said. "If the worst happens and somebody is injured, I want to be one of those people that's in there and able to help. I don't want to be someone on the sideline."
She was a little nervous about seeing some of the bloody images that are part of the training.
"I've had a response in the past to seeing my own blood, if I have a cut or something," Garren said. "I'm afraid that I might pass out because I have in the past, passed out. So, I'm a little leery about coming to a class like this. I have to play some mental tricks to make sure that response doesn't happen."
Public shootings with multiple victims are almost a weekly occurrence now. Most recently at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, two people were killed and four others were hurt. Many more could've been injured or killed had it not been for the bravery of one of the victims. Riley Howell tackled the shooter but not before being fatally shot.
Joe Eaton with Faster Saves Lives says the training goes well beyond just active shooter attacks and basic first aid.
"Not only for violent events, but for severe weather or sports injuries, kitchen, lab, car accidents," Eaton said. "This is a type of training that they can get easily and can keep themselves and their family members or others alive in tragic situations."
The class learns how to properly put on a tourniquet, which could keep someone from bleeding out. It is focused on hands-on emergency medical training for life-threatening injuries.
"People need to realize, [with very simple tools], inexpensive tools and a little bit of training they can be very effective to save lives," Eaton said.
Eaton says the group has received a great response from the public since offering the classes.
"Several of our classes have sold out within the first day or two that we've listed them. We limit the size to only 30 people so they can get good, hands-on training with all the skills we want them to have," Eaton said.
They have already heard stories of folks saving lives with it.
"He had to use this training on his mother's farm. She fell and ran a stake up into her leg. He had to apply a tourniquet and rush her to the hospital to save her from bleeding at that point," Eaton said.
Click here if you would like to learn more about the training and Faster Saves Lives.
May 3, 2019
NRAILA.org - Grassroots Leadership Conference Wrap-Up
Sean Maloney, who is a member of the NRA’s Board of Directors and Co-Director of Faculty Administrator Safety Training Emergency Response (F.A.S.T.E.R.) in Ohio—a program launched by Buckeye Firearms Foundation to provide "active killer" threat stopping training to teachers and administrators, discussed how he educates and engages students in the gun debate via firearm training.
May 2, 2019
Ammoland.com - Knife Rights’ Ohio Knife Law Reform Bill Introduced
We sincerely appreciate the support we have received from our good friends at Buckeye Firearms Association in our efforts to get this bill introduced.
May 2, 2019
NRATV.com - "Relentless" w/ Dana Loesch
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Sean Maloney appeared on NRATV's "Relentless" with show host Dana Loesch.
May 2, 2019
WLW (700 AM) - "The Scott Sloan Show"
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Joe Eaton appeared on WLW with Scott Sloan. Click here to listen to the podcast.
May 2, 2019
Watchdog.org - DeWine ‘red flag’ gun law proposal draws ire from some pro-gun groups
The Buckeye Firearms Association approached the issue differently and informed its members that the governor misspoke when he used the term “red flag,” suggesting that this legislation would be different than other states, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
The association wrote in a news release that it would work with the governor to find an alternative to red flag legislation, but that it would oppose a red flag law that violates due process rights.
May 1, 2019
Associated Press - Ohio governor to pursue law taking guns from people at risk
DeWine's comments prompted pushback by the pro-gun group Buckeye Firearms Association, which said officials of the organization were told that DeWine misspoke when he used the "red flag" phrase.
Tierney told The Dispatch that wasn't true.
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Dean Rieck, executive director of Buckeye Firearms Association, on Wednesday pointed to a statement posted on the organization's website that said existing state laws "deal with violence and mental concerns" and counter "all the needless calls for 'Red Flag' laws." Rieck declined to be interviewed.
Jim Irvine, Buckeye Firearms' board president, said Wednesday that red flag laws in other states are used to unjustly seize firearms.
"That's why it's a nerve button for gun owners," Irvine said.
He said the group would be willing to listen if problems are found in Ohio's current laws that need to be addressed.
"No one has brought one to me, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist," he said.
May 1, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Ohio gun group falsely reports DeWine misspoke about ‘red flag’ legislation
A leading Ohio gun-rights group falsely informed its members that Gov. Mike DeWine “misspoke” when he said his office is working to draft “red flag” legislation.
Expressing alarm over recent fatal shootings in houses of worship, DeWine said Monday that he is working to come up with a bill that would permit judges to order the seizure of guns from people found to be a danger to themselves or others.
In a Tuesday email to members, Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said the group contacted administration officials to express their alarm. “We have been told that the governor misspoke when pressed by the media about red flag laws,” he wrote.
“And we have been assured that there is NO red flag bill under consideration by this administration and there will NOT be one.”
DeWine did not misspeak and his staff is indeed working to draft a “red flag” bill, said Dan Tierney, the first-year Republican’s press secretary.
“There is not a bill currently drafted. As Gov. DeWine stated, he has asked his team to work on this issue, and that is ongoing. Since the governor’s goal is to eventually draft a bill that can pass the Ohio General Assembly, we will continue to talk to and work with relevant interested parties, including the Buckeye Firearms Association, on this issue,” Tierney said.
Rieck did not respond Monday to a request for comment.
Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said he had not talked with Rieck, but attributed his statement to members to apparent “miscommunication and imprecise use of the words ‘red flag.’”
“We need to use better words ... the governor and the media,” Irvine said. “That phrase means different things to different people ... ‘red flag’ is not a legal term, it’s a media term,” Irvine said, suggesting DeWine is not out to seek a law of the type enacted in California, which allows any family member or law-enforcement officer to request guns to be taken away from people believed to be at risk of hurting themselves or others.
A statement by Rieck on the group’s website differed from the email sent to its members. “We have been assured that there is NO current red flag bill drafted and we have been helping the governor explore options for safety and due process,” the website says.
The Buckeye Firearms Association fought former Gov. John Kasich’s proposal for a “red flag” law and other measures designed to reduce gun violence last year. The Republican-controlled General Assembly did not act on any of the proposals, to the governor’s dismay.
The group and other gun-rights organizations oppose such legislation.
Buckeye Firearms President Jim Irvine said last year, “No sane person wants evil or dangerous persons to have access to firearms to kill innocent people.
“Many people think confiscating guns from people who have not done anything wrong will somehow stop criminals from killing. That is an insane idea that must be confronted at every turn,” Irvine said.
May 1, 2019
WTVN (610 AM) - "The Mark Blazor Show"
Buckeye Firearms Association President Jim Irvine appeared on WTVN with Mark Blazor. Click here to listen to the podcast.
May 1, 2019
KRC (550 AM) - "The Brian Thomas Morning Show"
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Joe Eaton appeared on KRC's "The Brian Thomas Morning Show" with host Brian Thomas. Click here to listen to the podcast.
April 30, 2019
NRATV.com
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Sean Maloney appeared on NRATV's "Relentless" with show host Dana Loesch. Sean's segment begins at 14:54.
April 29, 2019
Gongwer News Service - Governor Plans Push For 'Red Flag' Gun Law
At least one guns rights group is likely to oppose any effort to take another stab at pushing for a red flag law.
"As a rule, we do not support red flag laws because every one that we've ever seen does not respect due process," Buckeye Firearms Association Executive Director Dean Rieck said in an interview.
Although he said he understand what the governor is hoping to accomplish, Mr. Rieck said he believes there are already means for law enforcement to seize firearms in certain cases.
"We really don't see the point of new laws," he said.
April 17, 2019
WOSU (Columbus NPR) - How Easy Is It To Buy A Gun In Ohio? Depends Where You're Shopping
Perhaps on the opposite end of the debate is Dean Rieck. He’s the executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, a pro-gun group that wants private gun transactions to follow the pattern of any other online sale.
“I have a mower that I want to get rid of,” Rieck says. “I’ll probably post that somewhere. If someone is interested, I’ll give them the mower. They’ll give me money. And that’s it. It’s the same with guns. The difference is that if you’re going to do this on a regular basis you’re considered a dealer and you have to have licensed.”
At what point does a person who is selling guns privately become a dealer? It's complicated.
“Well,” Rieck says. “There’s nothing in the law that says at X number of guns or over X number of weeks that that happens.”
Buckeye Firearms supports measures to roll back concealed-carry laws. Right now, Ohioans who want to carry a concealed weapon have to take classes and be licensed. But that’s only if a person want to conceal a firearm.
Ohio is a so-called open-carry state, which means person who can legally own a gun in Ohio is legally allowed to march down the street with that gun. They just can’t hide it.
“But if I pick my shirt and cover up that gun, now suddenly I must be dangerous because I have to be licensed,” Rieck says. “I have to do a background check. I have to do training, and I have to go through all the hoops to put my shirt over that gun. That makes no sense.”
Rieck says that a “constitutional carry” policy, which would allow people to carry concealed weapons without classes or licensing, would be more sensible.
April 16, 2019
NRATV.com
Buckeye Firearms Association Vice President Linda Walker appeared on NRATV.com.
April 13, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Sportsmen’s groups back fee increases
Organizations onboard include Ducks Unlimited, National Wild Turkey Federation — Ohio Chapter, Ohio State Trappers Association, Ohio Conservation Federation, League of Ohio Sportsmen, Ohio Pheasants Forever, Ohio Quail Forever, Ohio Bass Federation, Ohio Husky Musky Club, Buckeye Firearms Association, Safari Club International Ohio, Headhunters Club and numerous local chapters and county groups.
April 13, 2019
Toledo Blade - Bump stocks illegal now, but few, if any, local owners have turned theirs in
The Buckeye Firearms Association disagrees with the federal ban and takes issue with the lack of a buy-back program.
“We don’t think the ban is constitutional,” spokesman Joe Eaton said. “The taking of private property without compensation should not happen. But we do ask our users and supporters to follow the federal law.”
April 10, 2019
WYSO (NPR Dayton) - Buying A Gun In Ohio: WYSO Explores The Debate, The Law
Perhaps on the opposite end of the debate is Dean Rieck. He’s the executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, a pro-gun group that wants private gun transactions to follow the pattern of any other online sale.
“I have a mower that I want to get rid of,” Rieck says. “I’ll probably post that somewhere. If someone is interested, I’ll give them the mower. They’ll give me money. And that’s it. It’s the same with guns. The difference is that if you’re going to do this on a regular basis you’re considered a dealer and you have to have licensed.”
At what point does a person who is selling guns privately become a dealer? It's complicated.
“Well,” Rieck says. “There’s nothing in the law that says at X number of guns or over X number of weeks that that happens.”
Buckeye Firearms supports measures to roll back concealed-carry laws. Right now, Ohioans who want to carry a concealed weapon have to take classes and be licensed. But that’s only if a person want to conceal a firearm.
Ohio is a so-called open-carry state, which means person who can legally own a gun in Ohio is legally allowed to march down the street with that gun. They just can’t hide it.
“But if I pick my shirt and cover up that gun, now suddenly I must be dangerous because I have to be licensed,” Rieck says. “I have to do a background check. I have to do training, and I have to go through all the hoops to put my shirt over that gun. That makes no sense.”
Rieck says that a “constitutional carry” policy, which would allow people to carry concealed weapons without classes or licensing, would be more sensible.
April 6, 2019
WLW (AM 700) - Big Outdoors
Buckeye Firearms Association's Larry Moore was a guest on WLW's Big Outdoors. Click here to listen to the podcast.
April 1, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Capitol Letter - Shoot Me a Message
Looks like Attorney General Dave Yost’s office and the Buckeye Firearms Association are still staying in touch following news reports that Yost’s office privately notified the pro-gun group about briefs it was filing in two gun lawsuits. According to the Columbus Dispatch’s Darrel Rowland, the AG’s office alerted Buckeye Firearms to gun-related state legislation and – at the group’s request -- sent a letter to the National Rifle Association suggesting that a Columbus gun instructor’s certification be revoked after losing his conceal-carry license.
March 31, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Year after ‘March for our Lives’ to end gun violence, Parkland students see progress
Where Patrick sees progress, Jim Irvine, president of the Buckeye Firearms Association, sees setback. His organization has argued for arming teachers as a solution to school shootings, and he said that last year’s gun-control march was a political propaganda campaign spearheaded by gun-control groups and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg rather than the Parkland survivors.
“They put out a lot of bad information,” he said of the march, saying, “I think in a sense it’s made our schools less safe because good people were given bad information. Their agenda is driven by a political ideology to ban guns. It’s not driven by an ideology to make schools safe.”
Irvine calls the march “yesterday’s news.”
“Making drugs illegal has not solved our drug problem, and it’s not going to,” he said. “And banning guns isn’t going to solve the gun-violence problems.”
March 29, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Capitol Insider: Yost keeps pro-gun groups up to speed, records reveal
Who ya gonna call?
If you’re Attorney General Dave Yost and his senior staff, the answer is the Buckeye Firearms Association, reporter Randy Ludlow discovered.
Yost raised eyebrows last month when his office distributed a news release about his office filing friend-of-the-court briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review two out-of-state lower court rulings restricting access to guns.
The release was given only to the Buckeye Firearms Association, not to reporters.
A public records request to Yost’s office for its correspondence with the pro-gun group shows the two stay in contact.
For example, Yost’s lieutenants flagged the organization to gun-related legislation at the Statehouse and apparently sent a letter to the National Rifle Association at the group’s request.
The Buckeye Firearms Association apparently was out to revoke the NRA certification of a Columbus gun instructor who lost his concealed carry license when convicted of a misdemeanor involving a gun.
The group forwarded the name of NRA training officials to Yost’s office, and it wrote a letter suggesting the NRA revoke the man’s stamp of approval, which it did.
March 29, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Ohio is closer than ever to allowing concealed weapons without a permit, supporters say
“I never expected it to pass during prior sessions,” said Jim Irvine, president of the pro-gun rights Buckeye Firearms Association. “But I think this session it is likely to.”
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“It’s not something that’s like this ‘holy cow’ controversial thing,” Irvine said of conceal-carry without a permit. “It’s like, well this is ‘common-sense, let’s knock this out of the way quick and easy’ type stuff.”
March 29, 2019
WBNS (CBS Columbus) - Bill introduced to allow Ohioans to carry guns without permit, background checks
“It would allow, anyone who is legally able to carry a firearm, to carry that firearm,” said Ken Hanson, attorney for Buckeye Association.
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“The licensing classes take time and it is somewhat a bar to entry. There's certainly a segment of people,” Hanson said.
March 26, 2019
WRGT (Fox Dayton) - Miami Valley responds to ban on bump stocks that just went into effect
Buckeye Firearms Association said it strongly disagrees with the ruling by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) "clarifying" that bump stocks are "machine guns."
"This was a purely political act," Executive Director of Buckeye Firearms Association Dean Rieck said. "Like other gun-related bans, it will not reduce violence and will only have the effect of infringing on the rights of gun owners nationwide."
Buckeye Firearms Association said as of Tuesday, a bump stock is now considered a machine gun under federal law and the penalty for illegal possession of a machine gun is imprisonment of up to 10 years, a fine of up to $250,000, or both.
"In our view, this is absurd in the extreme," Rieck said.
March 26, 2019
WLWT (NBC Cincinnati) - It is now illegal to buy, sell or own a bump stock in the United States
"Banning bump stocks does not solve all of our problems relative to gun violence, to mass shootings, the scourge that this is in our society, but I think there's moral obligation and a safety obligation to do everything that we can do. So every step we can take, let's take it," said Cincinnati Council member P.G. Sittenfeld.
Sittenfeld sponsored legislation to ban bumps stocks in Cincinnati last year.
It was met with a legal challenge by Buckeye Firearms Association.
Sean Maloney represents that group.
"I'm always cognizant and troubled by the fact, when things like bump stocks, components of firearms or magazines are banned, because it takes the focus away from what I think to be the true problem in America, and that's mental health," said Maloney.
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Maloney says gun owners must abide by the ban, but it has created a stir in the firearm community.
"Kind of troublesome because did the ATF have the authority to do what really only Congress should do? And then, it's taking without compensation. Everybody who has them has to destroy them or divest themselves of those," said Maloney.
March 22, 2019
Ideastream.org- With No National Standards, Policies For Arming Teachers Are Often Left To Local School Districts
Some school districts in Ohio have decided to allow armed teachers. It is unclear how many because there is no official statewide tracking mechanism. In 2013, a gun rights lobbying group called the Buckeye Firearms Association stepped in and began offering training for teachers and staff who would carry firearms.
Buckeye’s three-day training session shows teachers how to stop an active shooter. It includes role-playing and a crash course in police tactics.
According to Buckeye Firearms executive director Dean Rieck, nearly 200 districts across Ohio have attended. Rieck said training sessions were carefully chosen to fit school shooting scenarios.
“We went to the trainers who train police and train SWAT and train military,” Rieck said. “So we went to the people who are at the top of the food chain for this type of training.”
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Ohio districts are free to rely on Buckeye’s training.
March 20, 2019
NRATV's "Relentless" with host Dana Loesch - Dean Rieck: City of Columbus Suing Ohio over Anti-Gun Bill
Buckeye Firearms Association Executive Director Dean Rieck was a guest on NRATV's "Relentless" with host Dana Loesch. Click here to view the interview.
March 12, 2019
WCBE (NPR Columbus) - City Of Columbus Suing Ohio Over Gun Legislation
On December 28, the Ohio General Assembly voted to override then Governor John Kasich’s veto of House Bill 228. The bill, which takes effect March 28, also shifts the burden of proof in self-defense cases to the prosecution. The legislation had strong support from pro-gun groups, including the Buckeye Firearms Association.
March 12, 2019
Guns.com - Ohio governor signs 'fix' to prevent accidental gun control
The emergency bill, HB 86, becomes law on March 28, the same date as HB 228. As noted by the Buckeye Firearms Association, “No firearms were ever banned as a result of this swift action by the Ohio General Assembly.”
March 11, 2019
Akron Beacon-Journal - Medical marijuana, concealed-carry applicants caught in crossfire
Like oil and water, a concealed-carry license and a medical marijuana card don’t blend together, says Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, a statewide gun rights advocacy group.
“We estimate there are 4 million gun owners in Ohio in some form,” Rieck said. “And some of those are probably going to use medical marijuana.”
Federal law makes no provision for the use of marijuana for medical reasons, Rieck said. In fact, it is still considered a Schedule 1 substance by the U.S. government — one without an accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.
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“I think a lot of people don’t understand federal law and state law can conflict,” Rieck said. With about 667,000 concealed-carry license holders in the state and the rapid expansion of the state marijuana registry, there’s going to be overlap. When that happens, Rieck said, “You have to choose between guns and marijuana.”
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Buckeye Firearms supports the idea of “constitutional carry,” which allows any legal gun owner to conceal-carry without a permit or license. Several states have adopted the approach and haven’t had significant issues arising from it, Rieck said.
Unless Ohio decides to go in that direction, concealed-carry applicants who are seeking pain relief from medical marijuana are in a quandary.
March 11, 2019
Akron Beacon-Journal - Ohio issues record number of concealed-carry licenses
The number of license holders has expanded steadily statewide since the law’s introduction in 2004. Currently, about 667,000 Ohio residents possess a concealed-carry license, according to the Buckeye Firearms Association. The licenses must be renewed every five years.
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Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said that about 1 in 13 Ohio residents has a concealed-carry license, and that the holders represent a good cross-section of society.
“They are everywhere,” he said. “They are sitting next to you in restaurants. They are your neighbors.”
March 11, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - New Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signs first bill into law - on guns
The new law corrects inadvertent wording that included firearms with an overall length of at least 26 inches — taking in many rifles and shotguns — as “dangerous ordnance.”
Groups such as the Buckeye Firearms Association, Ohioans for Concealed Carry and the Ohio Gun Collectors Association, whose leaders attended the bill-signing ceremony, lobbied lawmakers to swiftly correct the mistake.
March 9, 2019
Americas1stFreedom.org - Armed Teacher Decision Survives Challenge in Ohio
An Ohio county’s decision to let educators carry on campus, provided they had been through the FASTER Saves Lives training program, has survived a legal challenge from a group of parents pushing to require police-level training for any school employee to carry on campus.
Not long after a school shooting a few years ago, the Madison County school system wrestled with the question of whether to allow teachers and administrators to carry at school as a way to provide an additional line of defense in an active-shooter incident. The school board voted to allow armed staff, then considered what kind of training would be required. They soon determined that if a teacher went through Ohio’s FASTER program, that teacher could carry on campus.
A group of parents contended that the FASTER training wasn’t enough. Instead, they wanted to require full training for peace officers—some 700 hours of coursework—as a condition for staff to carry. But a Butler County Common Pleas Court judge saw no need to mandate such extensive instruction and determined that the FASTER program—which has attracted teachers from other states—was sufficient.
"This ruling is a victory for school safety in Ohio,” said Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association. “While I won’t disparage the motives of the parents who brought the suit, this was really a case of well-funded, out-of-state political activists coming to Ohio with an agenda.”
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“Given that no school employee could ever be expected to complete over 700 hours of training, and given the expense of hiring security or police officers, a loss by Madison Local Schools in this case could create precedent that could potentially prevent anyone from being armed in Ohio schools and making them completely defenseless from active killers looking for easy targets,” Rieck said.
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As school districts debate the merits of allowing teachers to carry, programs like FASTER have been devised to give educators defensive training and first aid skills. For a glimpse at how much of a draw the concept is, consider that when FASTER announced a class in 2012, it was looking for 24 students; more than 1,000 applicants filed for the positions.
The training has since spread to other states, and over the last past six years, more than 2,000 school employees from 250 school districts have taken the course.
March 1, 2019
WKRC (CBS Cincinnati) - Local school district wins court battle, will allow arming teachers, personnel
A lawyer for the school tells Local 12 that personnel are not required to carry a weapon but can whenever they want. District policy allows for up to 10 staff members to get training. It’s being done through the FASTER program that’s connected to the Buckeye Firearms Association.
March 1, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Editorial: These briefs should not be hidden from public view
Yost’s office prepared a press release explaining that he had signed on to friend-of-the-court briefs in two lawsuits asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review lower court rulings upholding laws that restrict access to guns. But, unlike his usual blast out to reporters and others on an email list, the release went only to the Buckeye Firearms Association, a pro-gun group sure to approve of the challenge to the laws.
February 28, 2019
WCPO (ABC Cincinnati) - Judge rules teachers don’t need police-level training to carry guns in Madison schools
In a news release, a pro-gun advocacy group called the Buckeye Firearms Association praised the ruling and accused a gun control advocacy group of using the parents to advance its agenda. The plaintiffs had been supported by Everytown for Gun Safety, which works nationwide to implement what its members call common-sense gun reform.
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According to a motion filed by the Buckeye Firearms Foundation asking to intervene in the case — the judge denied the request — they provided the 27-hour training.
“Certain teachers and staff members of the Madison Local Schools have been approved by their board of education and have participated in the FASTER program,” the motion reads. “Participation in the program has provided educators practical violence response training, including response with handguns and to provide emergency first aide to victims of violence.”
February 26, 2019
Columbus Dispatch - Yost quietly joins pro-gun legal fights - and only tells firearms group
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has quietly joined two friend-of-the-court briefs asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a pair of lower-court rulings restricting access to guns.
How quietly? A Feb. 20 release from Yost’s office about the legal moves led by Republican officials only was given to the pro-gun Buckeye Firearms Association, which published it verbatim on its website.
The document, marked for “immediate release” and identical to other public statements issued by Yost’s office, was not shared with reporters and thus, the general public.
Asked why the 12-paragraph release was not issued publicly, Yost spokesman Dave O’Neil replied, “We submitted content for their newsletter in a release format ... The (court) briefs mentioned in the (Buckeye Firearms) newsletter article are public and have been public since Jan. 18 and Feb. 4, respectively.”
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The Buckeye Firearms Association, the only group to receive Yost’s release, endorsed the Republican for election as attorney general last year, as did the National Rifle Association and Ohioans for Concealed Carry.
February 26, 2019
Gongwer News Service - Senate Approves Firearm Correction Bill
The corrective measure was supported by firearm groups, including the Buckeye Firearms Association. Sean Maloney, an attorney who testified on behalf of the group before the committee, said the legislation was a "common-sense fix" to an unintended consequence.
February 25, 2019
NRATV's "Relentless" with host Dana Loesch - Dean Rieck: Ohio Lawmakers Studying Error That Could Ban Some Guns
Buckeye Firearms Association Executive Director Dean Rieck was a guest on NRATV's "Relentless" with host Dana Loesch. Click here to view the interview.
February 19, 2019
Gongwer News Service - GOP Fast-Tracks Legislative Fix To Recent Gun Law
"Notwithstanding this misclassification, upon consultation with the attorneys at (Legislative Service Commission) it appears that the amended language would not affect the legality of any existing firearms," she said.
Gun advocates aren't so certain. The Buckeye Firearms Association and Ohioans for Concealed Carry in recent weeks have sounded the alarm to lawmakers hoping for a quick fix.
February 18, 2019
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Ohio guns-rights groups up in arms over law change
Dean Rieck, executive director of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said while it’s unclear whether the law will affect gun owners in “real world terms” once it takes effect in March, it’s still causing concern among gun owners.
February 18, 2019
Associated Press - Error in Ohio bill could ban some guns
It’s unclear if the mistake would cause gun owners problems in “real-world terms,” said Dean Rieck, executive director of the gun rights group Buckeye Firearms, who said he’s consulted with lawyers for the National Rifle Association and Ohio’s Legislative Services Commission, among others.
Nevertheless, “We would prefer they deal with it immediately because it is causing a lot of concern and confusion among gun owners in Ohio,” Rieck said.
February 13, 2019
NRATV.com
Buckeye Firearms Association Vice President Linda Walker appeared on NRATV.com.
February 12, 2019
Guns.com - Court shoots down city bump stock ban
The lawsuit, brought by the Buckeye Firearms Foundation and Ohioans for Concealed Carry, argued the local ban was illegal considering state laws.
“This ban was completely unjustified and a great concern for gun owners,” said Dean Rieck, executive director of Buckeye Firearms Foundation. “Under Ohio law, local municipalities are not permitted to enact firearms laws that conflict with state law. And clearly, outlawing guns or gun parts is a clear violation of state law.”
February 12, 2019
Pacific Standard Magazine - Should teachers carry guns? In many rural school districts, they already are.
According to Joe Eaton, the program director of an Ohio-based program called FASTER (Faculty/Administrator Safety Training & Emergency Response) Saves Lives, which provides first-aid and firearm training to school staff, more and more school boards are coming around to his view that violence in schools should be treated like any other school emergency. "If you have a kid that falls into a swimming pool, are you going to stand at the side of the pool and dial 911? That's ridiculous. You're going to jump in the pool, you're going to pull the kid out, you're going to start saving lives while you're still waiting for the professionals to get there," Eaton says. "That's where the biggest mindset has changed, is that schools realize, no matter how much they prepare ahead of time, if violence starts there is always going to be a certain period of time when they are 100 percent on their own, because until that first 911 call is made, nobody is coming to help."
That's just the kind of preparation that FASTER provides: not just practice time on a range, but first aid for traumatic injuries, tactical exercises, role playing—a crash course in the kind of training that law enforcement officers get. FASTER is meant to prepare teachers not to replace first responders, but just to hold their own until law enforcement can get there.
"Firearms are the last resort to stop these situations," Eaton says. "We teach the staff how to safely remove themselves and groups of kids from an area of danger; how to barricade in a room; how to deal with large chaotic crowds, and all the trauma and medical training to provide compression bandages, chest seals, airway management, to start immediately rendering the medical aid. That way when the professionals get there you actually have patients to transfer to them instead of victims"
The Ohio superintendent credits the FASTER program with giving administrators in his district the tools to prepare for the worst-case scenario, should it ever arrive. The district's armed response team conducts active shooter drills with key school staff and the sheriff's department after hours, and once a year all staff and students participate in a lockdown drill, which is mandated by Ohio law.
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When asked how often FASTER-trained school employees have used their training to avert an incident, only a couple examples come to Eaton's mind: in one, a school principal in eastern Ohio allegedly drew his firearm on a student off school grounds, prompting the student to immediately drop a weapon he was carrying. But Eaton takes the rarity of such incidents as a sign the program may be working as a school-violence deterrent: "We hope that we never have any additional stories beyond that because one thing that we encourage schools to do is that, if they adopt this program, to be public about it," he says, "because announcing publicly should have a certain deterrent effect."
February 11, 2019
Cincinnati.com - Hamilton County judge strikes down city's bump stock ban
Two groups, Buckeye Firearms Foundation and Ohioans for Concealed Carry, sued the city in June 2018.
“This ban was completely unjustified and a great concern for gun owners,” Dean Rieck, executive director of Buckeye Firearms Foundation, said in a statement. “Under Ohio law, local municipalities are not permitted to enact firearms laws that conflict with state law. And clearly, outlawing guns or gun parts, is a clear violation of state law.”
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Buckeye Firearms Foundation said other municipalities, including Columbus, “have attempted to defy state law in this manner, only to lose in court.” A Franklin County judge last year said the Columbus ban was unconstitutional.
“These bans are not about public safety,” Rieck said. “They are merely political theater and an excuse for city councils to 'virtue signal' for publicity and personal aggrandizement.”
February 11, 2019
WCPO (Cincinnati) - Judge sides with gun owners' groups, overrules Cincinnati's ban on bump stocks
The Buckeye Firearms Association and Ohioans for Concealed Carry filed suit June 21, 2018, arguing that the ordinance violated a state law preventing individual cities and counties from creating policies that conflict with their state and federal counterparts. A judge granted their motion for a temporary injunction preventing the ordinance from taking effect.
Court records indicate the case persisted through the rest of 2018, the city continuing to argue that bump stocks were firearm accessories and could therefore be regulated without infringing on state law or gun owners’ rights.
In November, both the city and the gun owners’ groups filed motions for summary judgment in their favor. Ruehlman granted the latter Monday.
“This ban was completely unjustified and a great concern for gun owners,” Buckeye Firearms Foundation executive director Dean Rieck wrote in a news release, adding later: “These bans are not about public safety. They are merely political theater and an excuse for City Councils to 'virtue signal' for publicity and personal aggrandizement.”
The local victory is likely to be overwhelmed by a national loss by the start of summer. On Dec. 18, 2018, the Trump administration announced a federal ban on bump stocks set to take effect the following March.
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Gun owners’ organizations such as Gun Owners of America promised a lawsuit as soon as the policy was announced, meaning members of the Buckeye Firearms Association could soon see their fight reenacted on a national stage.
February 5, 2019
WLWT (NBC Cincinnati) - Shooting death of Clermont County deputy reignites interest in red flag law
Gun rights activist Joe Eaton, who's with Buckeye Firearms Association, is skeptical.
"You cannot strip people of their rights and their property ahead of time," Eaton said. "This young man had troubles, and there are already laws out there that people can be either voluntarily or involuntarily committed for diagnosis of this type of treatment."
February 4, 2019
WXIX (Fox Cincinnati) - Ohio lawmakers look to re-introduce ‘red flag law’ after deputy’s death in standoff
Those who oppose the idea, like the Buckeye Firearms Association, believe that the current laws are already designed to prevent those kinds of tragedies.
“There are already laws in place where somebody can be involuntarily committed for psychological evaluation and have a court determine if they are competent or not competent," said Joe Eaton with the Buckeye Firearms Association.
Opponents also argue that it is important for Ohioans to have the right to self-defense.
“They totally strip the citizens of Ohio of their due process," said Eaton. "Everyone in Ohio should be innocent until they’ve been proven guilty of committing a crime.”
Thomas said they plan to re-introduce the red flag law and other gun bills as early as this week.
Leaders of the Buckeye Firearm Association expect they will fight it.
February 4, 2019
Good Morning Britain - Should School Teachers Carry Guns?
Buckeye Firearms Association Director and FASTER Saves Lives Program Director Joe Eaton was a guest on Good Morning Britain with host Piers Morgan.
February 4, 2019
Evening Standard - Teachers Training To Kill: A new Channel 4 documentary explores a special camp arming US teachers
The training camp in question is FASTER which teaches high school teachers to wield and, if necessary, use guns to deal with potential shooting situations.
February 4, 2019
TheGuardian.com - Examination of Teachers Training to Kill- The Struggle to Arm Elementary Schools
Perhaps the greatest achievement of the film was to find two women at a weapons training camp run by a National Rifle Association (NRA)-funded charity, Faster, and let them be the sympathetic faces of those who do want teachers armed. They both teach young special needs children, and often buy their struggling students clothes and food, too. They see gun training as an extension of the extra care they are already willing to give. The daughter of one has had a shooting at her school. They are tearful, not gung ho, and their feeling of helplessness is almost palpable. “I want to take care of who I’m responsible for,” says one. “They’re babies!” says the other, desperately. “That’s why we’re here.”
The camp involves all the kinds of tuition you’d expect – shooting practice, role play, full-scale enactments of various situations. Much of it looks enough like boys rushing round with toys to make you wonder about the purity of everyone’s motives. But then a whole other field of WTF opens up when the Vietnam veteran in charge of “mindset training” plays a video to show his adult students what they “could be” dealing with. It purports to be of the “Cubs of Allah”, and shows children training to be, you presume, jihadists. “How many people are coming into this country, and you don’t know how they’ve been trained?” he asks. His Faster colleagues hit the remaining NRA markers quicker than you can say “libtard”
February 4, 2019
RealityTitBit.com - Inside the 'gun summer school' in C4's Teachers Training to Kill
The summer school was featured in Teachers Training to Kill is called Faster.
Gun’s right group, Faster, offer free gun training, where teachers learn how to use guns, deal with potential school shooting scenarios and even kill.
February 4, 2019
Channel4.com - Teachers Training to Kill
This documentary meets teachers in Ohio who are learning to shoot and - if necessary - kill; and explores the heated debate in America around how best to protect pupils from gun attacks.
February 1, 2019
NRATV.com
Buckeye Firearms Association Director Sean Maloney appeared on NRATV.com.
February 1, 2019
The Ledger-Independent - MLSD Superintendent addresses arming staff
Rau said in the newsletter that staff members will undergo training by the Tactical Defense Institute using the Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response Program, or FASTER, in West Union, Ohio, and that the program itself is strictly voluntary. According to Rau, the trainers, trainees and weapons will be identical to law enforcement.
“Those individuals will train for several hours over the course of several days, and must pass this course; not everyone passes this course,” he said. “The training is extremely rigorous and is mentally and physically difficult.”
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Training through TDI will be free, Rau said, with the Buckeye Firearms Association paying for five people to undergo the training. Despite the possibility for five people to take the training for free, Rau said he wants to be thorough in determining who is fit for the program.
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To further supplement the information posted in the newsletter, Rau also said he will also be putting additional information about the FASTER program in the March newsletter.
February 1, 2019
Financial Times - Training Teachers to Kill, Channel 4 — guns to solve the problem of guns
A gun rights group, Faster, offers free training. “You find me somebody who wants more dead kids,” says a spokesman for the cause of getting more guns to solve the problem of guns. In a Faster video, Jim Irvine declares that arming civilians has “worked wonderfully well throughout our country for decades”. That’s one way of putting it. Jim’s own kids are homeschooled, but lest you think him hypocritical, it’s because he believes gun-free zones are an active invitation to shooters.
January 17, 2019
Portsmouth Daily Times - Sheriff’s office hands prosecutor case against Lucasville weapons instructor
Rick Jones is a local firearms instructor as well as the south-central Ohio spokesperson for the Buckeye Firearms Association. He said should problems be found with the firearm instruction classes given by any instructor, persons who used that instructor to gain a concealed carry permit likely will lose that permit.
In December, Jones talked about another case currently underway against an instructor in Akron. He said several years ago an Ohio instructor was convicted of selling course completion certificates without actually requiring buyers take any training. Persons who had used the instructor lost any money they paid to that person and any who had gained a permit through that instructor, lost their permit.
January 15, 2019
America's 1st Freedom - Buckeye Firearms [Association] Praises Override of Gun Veto
Members of the Ohio General Assembly stood firm in their fight to protect the rights of Ohioans to use firearms to protect themselves. That dedication to the rights of everyday citizens won praise from the Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA).
And while we can chalk up a point for our Second Amendment rights in the Buckeye State, those who want to exercise their constitutional rights know the fight is not over.
At question was House Bill (H.B.) 228 that, among other things, contained a provision related to the Castle Doctrine, granting law-abiding citizens the right to protect themselves and others without fear of being prosecuted.
Then-Gov. John Kasich went out of his way not only to veto the bill, but to introduce less-than-savory amendments—and he waited until the last minute to reject the bill, no doubt hoping that lawmakers would rather spend time with their families than to worry about an override.
But the legislators got the last word, coming back during the recess and convincingly beating the veto with a House vote of 67-22 and a Senate vote of 21-11.
“The key with H.B. 228 was that it shifted the burden of proof to the prosecution,” BFA Executive Director Dean Rieck said.
The news wasn’t 100 percent favorable. In overriding the veto, lawmakers had to remove some provisions and had to keep the “duty to retreat” in the bill. Rieck said the new governor and Legislature will undoubtedly have to deal with the “duty to retreat” matter soon. Still, gun owners in Ohio will enjoy “innocent until proven guilty” protection, a stronger preemption law and other broader rights.
It was an uphill battle not simply because an override is generally a challenge, but because anti-gun groups like Moms Demand Action spent millions trying to water down the bill—and they did win in terms of defeating the push for a true Stand Your Ground option.
“In the end, gun owners won and did so without big power or big money to back them up,” Rieck said.
The Ohio case is another piece of evidence that grassroots efforts—a cornerstone of the NRA’s strategy—can work. But, as Rieck acknowledged, the fight to protect our Second Amendment right never ends.
January 11, 2019
Firearms Policy Coalition's Morning Coffee with Craig - Ohio Legislature Tells Anti-Gun Governor to Shove it!
Buckeye Firearms Association Executive Director Dean Rieck was interviewed on the Firearms Policy Coalition's Morning Coffee with Craig. Click here to listen to the episode.
January 8, 2019
GQ Magazine - When You Give a Teacher a Gun
This entire lengthy article is about Buckeye Firearms Foundation's FASTER Saves Lives program.
January 2, 2019
Guns.com - Ohio Lawmakers Override Kasich Veto on Pro-Gun Bill
The bill and its subsequent override were supported by the National Rifle Association and the Buckeye Firearms Association.
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