By Jim Irvine

As we sit here enjoying the holiday season, we can’t help but reflect on the year past. It has been a fun and challenging one for Buckeye Firearms Association, filled with tremendous growth. But the overall feeling would have to be “satisfied.” HB347 will become law over the Governor’s imprudent veto.

The bill was voted on five times in the last six weeks, including override votes in the Ohio House and Ohio Senate. We stood by our friends leading up to the November elections, and our friends stood by us in completing the veto override, something that has not happened in Ohio for almost three decades.

Congratulations to all of us. Right and good prevailed over lies and fear mongering.

The success we had in December was the reward for a years worth of hard work. None of these accomplishments would have been possible were it not for the support, monetary donations, and volunteering of you – our grassroots supporters.

Here are a few highlights of Buckeye Firearms Association accomplishments from 2006:

Click on 'Read More' for the entire story.

For those who enjoy brushing up on their knowledge of hunting, writer Tom Behrens has written an extremely informative article in Ohio Fish and Game magazine.

From the article:

The single most important factor in waterfowl hunting is the weather.

Last year, waterfowl hunting in northeast Ohio started out great, but then fell off when the weather stayed unseasonably mild and no new birds migrated into the area.

Then on Thanksgiving weekend, an abrupt change in weather conditions brought heavy snows and cold temperatures. Everything locked up in snow and ice, putting an end to duck hunting.

Goose hunting, however, was better than normal because the weather brought migrating birds with it.

Migration of waterfowl through northeastern Ohio can be likened to a funnel. Birds from the Mississippi and Atlantic flyways merge with birds coming directly out of Ontario, providing a steady and diverse flow of waterfowl.

Click here to read the entire article from Ohio Fish and Game.

Buckeye Firearm Association's web site is seeing an amazing growth in visitors and new articles are being posted several times a week.

This week's "Friday Flashback" is....

Those who oppose self defense at it again, at home and abroad

By Tim Inwood

There are days after reading or watching news stories, that I am convinced a good chunk of the world has taken leave of their senses. In recent days I read an editorial in the Cincinnati Enquirer advocating the banning of handguns. The author of this tripe was a Cincinnati Lawyer named Robert B. Newman. Somehow he has gotten the notion that the solution to the crime problem in Cincinnati is for the city to ban handguns. Clearly one has lost their good senses and perhaps their touch with reality when they keep trying the same thing over and over again expecting a different result.

I responded to Mr. Newman's piece noting that I had lived just outside of Washington D.C. in the 1980s and saw first hand the folly of what he proposes. At that time Washington D.C. was known as the murder capitol of the United States. However, the homicide rates in the suburbs of Washington did not suffer the same high rate as our nation's capitol.

Why, you might ask? Well, in Washington D.C., in the midst of our bicentennial celebrations of 1976, the city fathers saw fit to celebrate the founding of the United States on one hand and violate the US Constitution on the other by banning the ownership of handguns. However, in the Virginia and Maryland suburbs of Washington this silly law did not apply. Since 1976 the criminals have ruled the streets of D.C. and thousands have died as a result. Other cities have also banned handgun ownership and it has been a failure as well.

Click on 'Read More' for the complete commentary.

Taft concern for Home Rule evaporates; HB9 signed into law

By Chad D. Baus

In a surprisingly brief article (especially given how hard the media has pushed for this bill for the past two years), the Cleveland Plain Dealer is reporting that Governor Taft has signed House Bill 9 into law.

From the story:

Substitute House Bill 9 requires that all public officials or their designees attend training programs and seminars about Ohio's public records law.

Additionally, all elected offices must adopt a public records policy and provide an explanation when a request for public records is denied.

...Another provision in the legislation allows journalists to view concealed-weapon permits granted by county sheriffs, but prohibits law enforcement officials from making photocopies of the records for reporters.

In a prepared statement, Gov. Taft said "I am pleased to sign House Bill 9, which will make state and local government officials more accountable, and I appreciate the work of the Ohio General Assembly for passing this important piece of legislation."

The following commentary was recently published in the Wilmington News Journal.

By Tim Inwood

Back in September I wrote a guest editorial about
the Sixth District Court ruling in the Bruce Beatty
case. The ruling concerned the city of Toledo
prosecuting Bruce Beatty for carrying a firearm in a
municipal
park. Toledo had prohibited carrying handguns in parks
despite the fact the State Attorney General, Jim
Petro, said it was perfectly legal to carry a handgun
in a park under Ohio law.

At the time I said it was
clear the ruling barring carrying in the parks would
not stand. As I predicted the ban has been stuck down
by the State legislature passing HB 347 which has
given us state wide preemption, among other things.
Sadly the ruling against Bruce Beatty still stands as
that is how the Court interpreted the law at the time.
The same will be true for Mr. Baskin in the recent
ruling from the State Supreme Court in Cincinnati vs.
Baskin. That case involved Cincinnati's "assault
weapons" ban, that went well beyond assault weapons.

Because of the frequent abuse of Ohio’s concealed
carry law by several cities, a move to reform the law
began. An excellent example that you all may well
recall was the many months that I did battle with
Mayor Dave Raizk of Wilmington for violating the
spirit of Ohio’s concealed carry law. His offense was
posting the Denver Williams Park and the Clinton
County Fairgrounds. It was only after Attorney General
Petro issued a written opinion on the subject that the
Mayor relented and obeyed the law by removing the
signs.

Click on 'Read More' for the entire commentary.

Buckeye Firearms Association Legislative Chair Ken Hanson recently attend Blackwater USA’s 5 day pistol/carbine class.

While attending class, Ken kept a blog of his experiences. Since most visitors to this site take training very seriously, we thought you would enjoy his ramblings.

Ken's five day experience has been published on this website on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of the month.

Click on 'Read More' for the fifth and final installment.

By Chris Chumita

It was not that long ago that the liberal media had total control. The anti-gun and anti-freedom organizations had free reign to use the radio and television to spew their propaganda. Pro-gun and freedom organizations were forced to use less effective means to communicate such as mass mailing and newsletters. During those dark times, pro-gun and pro-freedom editorials and stories were even rarer then they are today.

The winds of change started several years ago. Conservative talk radio was born and its popularity continues to grow. Finally, there was an outlet for conservatives, pro-gun, and pro-freedom people to have a voice. It did not stop there. As technology grew, so did opportunities to broadcast pro-gun and pro-freedom messages. Today, we have a growing number of pro-gun and pro-freedom radio shows, internet shows, and podcasts. Listed below you will find a list of the most notable shows.

Click on 'Read More' for the entire commentary.

...and in dire need of a history lesson

By Tim Inwood

Since the elections on November 7th I have been
watching the news coverage carefully and what I see
chills me. The forces that want to eventually ban gun
ownership have been very frustrated under Republican
rule in Washington D.C. since January 1995. The past two
years since the expiration of the Clinton
Semi-automatic Firearms ban has literally driven them
up the wall. Now. with a new Democrat majority in
Washington D.C., they are stirring. They think it is
time to move.
Sarah Brady and her minions have been
emboldened by the Democrat victory and are talking to
the electronic and print media about their plans. This
includes sending out articles to newspapers full of
lies that the Second Amendment is merely a collective
right to allow the states to have National Guard
units. The reason for this media blitz is to place
doubt about the true meaning of the Second Amendment
in the minds of the American public. This way when
legislation comes down from above to ban certain types
of guns, folks are confused as to whether they have
the right to own such things or not.

The problem is we the defenders of our Constitutional
rights never seem to get as much air time or the space
and ink necessary to debunk the balderdash spread by
these people in the major newspapers. Thank goodness
we have websites like this one to spread to truth.

Click on 'Read More' for the entire commentary.

Buckeye Firearms Association Legislative Chair Ken Hanson recently attend Blackwater USA’s 5 day pistol/carbine class.

While attending class, Ken kept a blog of his experiences. Since most visitors to this site take training very seriously, we thought you would enjoy his ramblings.

Ken's five day experience will be published on this website on Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of the month.

Click on 'Read More' for the fourth installment.

As the year draws to a close, may of us make year end donations. We donate to our church or charities that do good work throughout the year. For those who itemize their Federal tax return, it’s also a way to lower the tax bill.

We have compiled a few organizations that you might want to include in your year-end donations. Not all of these are deductible under IRS rules.

Click 'Read More' to continue reading.

At NRANews.org
Cam Edwards and Company do a great job bring sensible viewpoints to news about gun and hunting related stories. They expose the lies and mistruths so prevalent in the mainstream media, such as the “unbiased” CBS news anchor Mike Wallace partaking in a $250/plate fundraiser for the Brady Campaign. They also expound on all the positive gun related events other media refuses to acknowledge and have covered Ohio news extensively this year. https://membership.nrahq.org/forms/donate.asp?CampaignID=nranews " target="_blank"> Donate to NRANews.com

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