Ohio Democratic Party Chairman continues attacks on Ohio gun owners

Benedict Redfern Strikes Again; Chokes on Obama's Kool-Aid

By John Salyers

There's nothing like a good knock down, drag out Presidential race to bring out politicians' true colors, and the colors of Ohio Democratic Party Chairman and State Representative Chris Redfern are turning darker by the hour.

Earlier this week, Buckeye Firearms Association launched a campaign in support of our endorsee Ross McGregor in House District 72, in response to the blatant hypocrisy put forth in two anti-gun mailers paid for by the Ohio Democratic Party and Chairman Redfern. If you haven't read that story, please do so now and get involved. Keep reading to see why.

The Lima News is reporting that Redfern made a pit stop in Lima on Thursday, giving him yet another opportunity to further his recently-declared war on Ohio gun owners in his glassy-eyed quest for a majority in the Statehouse.

From the story:

During his second visit to the region this week, Chris Redfern predicted Democratic legislative pickups.

"We fully expect to win a majority. Keep in mind, that's with districts drawn by Republicans," Redfern said. "Just like Gov. Ted Strickland needs a friend in the White House in Barack Obama, he needs friends at the Statehouse to fully implement his agenda."

It's not surprising that Redfern wants a majority. What is surprising is that our "friend" Mr. Redfern has now thrown each and every gun owner in Ohio under his express bus and run us over a few times in the process to achieve his goal. He's also clearly been reading from the Andrew McKelvey/ Ray Schoenke Book of How to Deceive Gun Owners into Prostituting their Second Amendment Rights for a Paycheck.

Again from the story:

When met with questions about gun rights and uncertainty or mistrust of Obama, have answers ready about his record, said Redfern, who, along with Strickland, is supported by the National Rifle Association.

"Bob Taft and George Bush were supported by the NRA," Redfern said. "While George Bush has been president, we have lost 68 jobs a day in this state. While you're bowling, hunting, at your kids' soccer games, walk people through it. When the budget's been cut, when they're laid off, they'll wish they had voted on the economy and not guns."

Apparently in Redfern's world it is now the fault of gun owners that the economy is in the dumps. We won't talk about the fact that Governor Strickland said he would fix all of that two years ago on the campaign trail. We'll stick to gun rights and the hypocrisy of our "friend" Chris Redfern.

Chris Redfern is himself a former endorsee of this PAC and up until the last couple weeks of this election cycle he was considered a good friend to have. He has been on our side and voted with gun owners on many pieces of legislation over the years, including the recent Castle Doctrine and concealed carry reform bill, SB184, which became law in September.

It is quite shocking that he has now attacked a fellow representative for casting the same vote on SB184 and demonized law-abiding citizens to further his quest for a majority.

Redfern has also been my representative his entire time in Columbus and I have happily voted for him each election going back to his days as an Ottawa County Commissioner.

Not long after he became chairman of the Democratic Party in 2006, I met up with him at a fund raiser at a local winery and asked how he was doing in the new position. He told me it was going quite well and that one of his main objectives would be getting the people in the party to re-focus on the important issues, including the Second Amendment. He stated that he is a good Democrat and that there is absolutely no reason that Democrats cannot or should not defend the Constitution - Second Amendment included. I even told him that night that we were happy he was in that position and looked forward to working with him on gun issues in the future.

Little did I know at the time that it wasn't wine in his glass. It must have been Obama's kool-aid.

John Salyers is the Buckeye Firearms Association Northwest Ohio Chair.