Editor's Note: The following article was written in response to an op-ed by E.J. Dionne and published in The Washington Post under the title "Why the NRA pushes stand your ground." It was also published around the country in other publications, including the Greene County (OH) Dailies under the title "Stand ground against guns - Reckless politicians fail to act after Trayvon killing."

by Larry S. Moore

The Opinion piece by E.J. Dionne charges that "Reckless politicians fail to act after Trayvon killing." His byline says he offers "reasoned political analysis from an energetic progressive viewpoint. That's a lot of words to say "mainstream liberal who hates guns." Perhaps he gets paid by the word. His reasoned political analysis absolutely parrots the Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) to the point that Dionne barely had to type the words. Cut and paste would have saved him considerable effort.

The only people acting recklessly in the wake of this tragedy are those who seek to exploit it and the family for their gain. Largely this effort has been led by MAIG headed by New York City Mayor Bloomberg. The piece credits Boston's Mayor Tom Menino as the co-chair for these efforts. Columbus anti-gun Mayor Michael Coleman is certainly worthy of distinction for his efforts. He has been busy sending letters to mayors across the state and within Greene County imploring them to join MAIG. Mayor Coleman's letters proudly carry the seal of his office and the Mayor's address and urges anyone interested to contact personnel within his office. A private campaign against freedom and the right of self-defense is being conducted from offices funded by the taxpayers of Columbus. And he dares to speak about ethics. That's what I expect from a reasoned progressive; telling me how to conduct my life while they live off others' money.

MAIG and their friends in the mainstream liberal media would have us believe that the Castle Doctrine and Stand Your Ground laws are a menace to society. Perhaps they are something dreamed up by the NRA and foisted onto legislatures across the land. These legislatures must tremble at the mention of the NRA according to Dionne.

On Wednesday, April 25, WCPN/WVIZ-PBS took up the debate concerning self-defense laws on a panel show called The Sound of Ideas.

Included in the discussion were Kevin C. McMunigle, law professor, Case Western Reserve University; Lori O'Neill, O'Neill Marketing Strategies, Inc., firearms law consultant; Linda Walker, Central Ohio chair, Buckeye Firearms Association; and Mary Ann Kovach, chief legal counsel, Summit Co. Prosecutor's office.

Click here to view the video, or download an MP3 podcast.

Reports have been circulating regarding S. 1813--a highway bill recently passed by the U.S. Senate. The story goes that this bill would allow the IRS to seize your passport and your guns if you owe more than $50,000 in back taxes. The claims are totally bogus.

Although the bill is certainly long and complex, those who suggest that the bill is anti-gun are totally misreading it.

The only firearms-related language in this bill is part of a lengthy provision on hazardous material transportation. The language (see bottom of page 1320) makes clear that the personal transportation of firearms and ammunition isn't regulated or prohibited by the federal hazardous material transportation laws, and commercial transportation isn't prohibited by those laws. This is a pro-gun, rather than anti-gun, provision.

by Brian LaMaster

If there is anyplace you should feel secure, it's in your home. But statistically speaking, your home is the most dangerous place to be simply because you spend so much time there.

There are over 2 million reported home invasions every year, including burglaries, rapes, kidnappings, murders, and hostage situations. In a 10-year period, you face a 1 in 5 chance that your home will be invaded. Over a 20-year period, the odds are about 50/50 that you'll be the victim of some form of home invasion.

Many people plan for this by purchasing a firearm. Being armed is always a good idea, but a gun isn't the only answer. And it's certainly not a “plan.” Preparing for home defense is really about creating layers of deterrence to lower the odds that a bad guy will enter your home. Plus, you need to establish a specific set of actions to take if someone does break in and presents a threat to you or your family.

For the average home owner, here are 4 simple “layers” of defense to consider:

by Jeff Knox

[Less than] 200 days away from what will undoubtedly be one of the most important elections in US history, and most of the country still isn't even paying attention yet. Of course, those of you reading this have been paying attention for years, even decades, but that's because you're all freaks and oddballs like me. At least that's what the majority thinks of us.

We prefer to think of ourselves as exceptional and concerned – responsible citizens, but they see us as demented political junkies lacking in real life. Any way you want to define us – those of us who pay attention to politics more than 60 days out from a major election are definitely a minority – about 20%. While that can be a bit disheartening, it also should be encouraging. Since 70% of potential voters are in the dark about politics, those of us in the 20% have an opportunity to leverage our knowledge to significantly influence the myopic majority. We have to understand that most of these people aren't ignorant because they don't care, but because they don't care enough to make it a priority in their daily lives. They want to vote for the best candidate, they just have been focused on other things and need someone to guide them to that candidate. You and I can be their guides.

by Jim Irvine

Buckeye Firearms Association has filed the post-primary report for the 2012 election year. We are near record levels of cash on hand, meaning we are in great shape for the huge battles that lie ahead this year.

We are ready, willing and able to be a factor in many elections. We are stronger in terms of numbers, outreach ability, and an organized grassroots network than we have ever been. All will be tested over the next six months.

NEWTOWN, Conn. -- Boy Scouts Councils, are you up for the challenge?

For the second year, the National Shooting Sports Foundation will make available a total of $100,000 in challenge grants to encourage developing and expanding shooting sports programs at local Boy Scouts of America Councils.

The challenge grants from NSSF, the trade association for the firearms, ammunition, hunting and shooting sports industry, are available to qualifying BSA Councils that plan to strengthen and increase their activities in the shooting sports. Such programs teach Scouts marksmanship skills, firearm and range safety, teamwork and fundraising.

"Our challenge grant program extends our longstanding partnership with the Boy Scouts of America and presents councils with a great opportunity to teach Scouts about the shooting sports and safe, responsible firearms ownership," said Melissa Schilling, NSSF's director of recruitment and retention. "Target shooting is one of the most popular Scouting activities, and NSSF hopes even more Scouts will gain knowledge of the shooting sports by taking advantage of these grants."

Representative Margaret Conditt (Butler County District 55) held a fundraiser at the Middletown Sportsmens Club on Saturday, May 12, 2012.

The plan was to invite a handful of supporters, spend a few hours shooting at targets, and raise a little money for her reelection campaign. But what actually happened took everyone by surprise.

Rather than hosting a typical fundraiser which would ordinarily draw a few dozen people, Rep. Conditt ended up hosting a major event that drew over 200 attendees and raised tens of thousands of dollars.

What happened? Rep. Conditt got an "accidental" assist from a group of anti-gun politicians and activists, including Ohio Representatives Ted Celeste and Tracy Maxwell Heard along with Toby Hoover of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence and Brian Rothenberg from Progress Ohio.

The April 2012 NSSF-adjusted National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) figure of 931,658 is an increase of 10.5 percent over the NSSF-adjusted NICS figure of 843,484 in April 2011. For comparison, the unadjusted April 2012 NICS figure of 1,416,074 reflects a 5.7 percent increase from the unadjusted NICS figure of 1,339,673 in April 2011.

This marks the 23rd straight month that NSSF-adjusted NICS figures have increased when compared to the same period the previous year.

The adjusted NICS data were derived by subtracting out NICS purpose code permit checks used by several states such as Kentucky, Iowa and Michigan for CCW permit application checks as well as checks on active CCW permit databases.

Though not a direct correlation to firearms sales, the NSSF-adjusted NICS data provide a more accurate picture of current market conditions. In addition to other purposes, NICS is used to check transactions of firearms sales and transfers on new and used handguns and long guns.

For additional information on NICS or to view a complete set of the current monthly reports, please visit the NICS website.

On Sunday, April 29, The Dayton Daily News published an extensive article documenting a roundtable discussion held in response to the massive nationwide media barrage on the Trayvon Martin/ George Zimmerman case in Florida, and on Stand Your Ground laws.

The DDN "assembled representatives of Ohioans for Concealed Carry, the Buckeye Firearms Association, the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence and the law enforcement community for a spirited conversation that began with the Martin-Zimmerman case and went on to other gun-related topics, such as whether Ohio needs its own stand your ground law."

Unfortunately, the paper does not publish articles from its Ideas & Voices section online, but we have archived the highlights here: