Stories

FLASH: Rep. Becker's DEFEND Act passed out of committee with 9-3 vote

by Chad D. Baus

5:38pm Wednesday, July 05, 2017

The House Federalism and Interstate Relations Committee, chaired Kristina Roegner (R-37), has passed Rep. John Becker's DEFEND Act: Decriminalization Effort for Ending Notorious Deaths. The bill seeks to decriminalize so-called “no-guns" victim zones for concealed handgun license (CHL) holders. The bill may receive attention by the entire House of Representatives as early as tomorrow. A fact...

2017 mid-year Ohio pro-gun rights legislative report

by Jim Irvine

7:00am Wednesday, July 05, 2017

Ohio, like the Federal government has two year legislative sessions. With six months now completed, it is a good time to give a progress report and see how we are doing. At the end of last session, we saw a flurry of activity in the "lame duck" session. Unfortunately, there were many loose ends left, and gun owners were frustrated. With a returning Speaker of the House and Governor, and a new...

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Independence Day 2017

by Rick Jones

7:00am Tuesday, July 04, 2017

(Image source: FreeImages.com/Matthew Williams) With the upcoming holiday, let's look at what it might mean to some people…a day off with pay, just a day off, family, friends, cookouts, reunions or just a day to lounge and watch the fireworks. As for me, I think of our Constitution, our founding fathers, our Bill of Rights, our military men and women who are performing their duties to protect our...

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Ohio Legislature Approves Non-Resident Hunting, Fishing Fee Increases

3:00pm Monday, July 03, 2017

In a move that will help address the looming funding crisis facing Ohio’s fish and wildlife management agency, the Ohio General Assembly sent a two-year budget to Gov. John Kasich that includes increases in non-resident hunting and fishing license fees. The increases, which will be phased in over three years, are estimated to produce $4 million per year in funding for the Ohio Division of...

Concealed Carry Goes Mainstream: Ohio Issuing 17 Licenses per Hour

by Jim Irvine

7:00am Monday, July 03, 2017

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) has released the Concealed Handgun License (CHL) statistics for the first quarter of 2017. It has been widely assumed that without President Obama, there would be a big drop in gun sales and demand for CHL’s. It has been also assumed that the big numbers were driven only by fear of Hillary Clinton and that President Donald Trump would eliminate that fear,...

Three self-defense bills scheduled for further hearings, possible amendments & vote in House committee

by Chad D. Baus

7:00am Friday, June 30, 2017

Chairwoman Kristina Roegner (R-37) has announced that the House Federalism and Interstate Relations Committee will be hearing testimony on three self-defense bills on Wednesday, July 5 at 1:00p.m. in Room 115. The committee will be taking up consideration of HB 142 (Repeal LEO notification). House Bill 142 seeks to repeal requirements that, when detained for a law-enforcement purpose, a concealed...

Op-Ed: The Weird Thing That Happened As Firearms Sales Surged

by Rich Duprey

7:00am Thursday, June 29, 2017

Firearm sales hit a record high last year as the FBI processed more than 27.5 million background checks on gun buyers. This year, sales have eased up a bit, but they're still on track to hit the second-highest number ever. Despite the dramatic increase in the number of guns in circulation, though, there was an interesting statistic that dropped. No, it wasn't the crime rate, which, although...

Rep. Rob Bishop Introduces the "Lawful Purpose and Self Defense Act"

7:00am Wednesday, June 28, 2017

On Wednesday, May 24, 2017, Chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources Rob Bishop (R-UT) introduced H.R. 2620, the "Lawful Purpose and Self Defense Act." This bill would remove ATF's authority to use the "sporting purposes" clauses in federal law in ways that could undermine the core purpose of the Second Amendment. Under Chairman Bishop’s legislation, all lawful purposes – including...