Contrary to editoral opinion, the greatest threat to GOP candidates in November would be FAILING to pass needed pro-gun reforms

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Jim Irvine

On May 12, The Cleveland Plain Dealer published an editorial by Brent Larkin entitled “GOP state legislators’ zeal for guns could wound Romney.”

The editorial is wrong on so many levels that at first I didn’t even think it was worthy of a comment. I have since reconsidered, figuring that good men should not remain silent, lest others not have the opportunity to learn the truth.

Larkin’s main premise is that Republican legislators have a “preoccupation” with passing gun bills. This is an interesting take, considering that the only gun bills passed this session were clean-up bills left over from last session, when no gun bills passed. He lists all sorts of “scary” bills that would rescind some of the more onerous restrictions Ohio places on law-abiding gun owners, thus bringing Ohio more in line with the mainstream. Of course he fails to mention than none of them have actually passed. HB495 is the only bill to make it as far as a second hearing. If there is something Republican legislators should be scared about, it’s not passing more reforms to update Ohio’s gun laws.

The Toronto Mall Shooting- Four Tips for Surviving the Active Shooter

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Greg Ellifritz

Active shooter events are not strictly an American phenomenon. They happen worldwide. The most recent was last night in a Toronto Canada shopping mall. An unknown man in the food court shot approximately 15 bullets from a handgun, killing one person and injuring seven others.

There isn’t a whole lot of information available yet, but the best news article seems to be this one.

Below are a few quotes from the article and my comments on how to survive a similar event.

Attorney General announces First Quarter 2012 CHL statistics; New record set for first quarter applications

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Jim Irvine

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) has released the concealed handgun license (CHL) statistics for the first quarter of 2012. Building on the record setting fourth quarter of 2011, the first quarter of 2012 saw Ohio sheriffs issue 16,823 new licenses, a new record for the first quarter initial licenses issued. The two quarters combined for the highest two quarter combination since the first two quarters of 2009, which followed Governor Strickland’s signing of Castle Doctrine and enormous improvements of Ohio gun laws and the election of Barack Obama.

This period’s 27% increase over the prior year is the second quarter with double digit increases. This directly follows SB17 taking effect. Governor Kasich signed the important legislation improving restaurant and car carry rules last year. As we have seen many times in Ohio, when the law is improved, the demand for training and licenses increases.

At the end of the March, we set another all-time record of approximately 282,907 Ohio residents licensed to carry concealed firearms. The total of persons with Ohio concealed handgun licenses continues to climb above the quarter of a million mark set in the third quarter of last year and will likely approach 300,000 by the end of this year. (See chart)

There were 16,823 new CHLs, 45 temporary emergency licenses (TELs) issued and 1,300 licenses renewed in the January through March time frame.

Because of a change from a four to a five year license, only a few CHLs expired during the quarter. Many of the 1,300 CHLs renews, were either early or expired licenses. Licenses issued in the second quarter of 2007 expire in the current quarter. We will see another increase in expiring and renewed licenses in the next report. Over 70% of all licenses issued have been renewed.

There were 45 temporary emergency licenses (TEL) issued in the quarter, also a new record. TELs are only valid for 90 days and cannot be renewed. TELs are issued to persons who need to carry a firearm for protection, but don’t have time to obtain the required training. Applicants must apply with their sheriff, pay a fee and pass a background check. The 90 days allows them time to obtain training and apply for a regular license. After issuance, a person must wait four years before they qualify for another TEL.

Only 54 licenses were revoked during the quarter. That is lower than the same period in 2011 and about average for the past two years. The number of license holders has increased significantly while the number of revocations remains generally flat is a testament to how well the concealed carry program works.

Less than one-half of one percent of all CHLs have ever been revoked for any reason, including death or moving out of state. Big media loves to make a big deal about the exceptional cases where a CHL breaks the law, but say almost nothing about the more than 99.5% of law-abiding license holders, many of whom have used their gun to protect life.

Concealed carry works.

Op-Ed: What Zimmerman, Martin medical reports tell us and the media didn’t

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by John Lott

The new medical reports on the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case tell us a lot. And it is not just for what they find, but also what they don’t find.

First, the reports provide striking evidence that Zimmerman did not start the fight with Martin, and that Zimmerman shot Martin in self-defense. Martin’s injuries were two-fold: broken skin on his knuckles and the fatal gunshot wound.

Zimmerman’s injuries involved: a fractured nose, a pair of black eyes, two lacerations to the back of his head and a minor back injury.

It takes considerable force to break the skin on multiple knuckles. The large range of injuries on Zimmerman indicates that the Martin’s attack was prolonged. But here is what is missing: where are the injuries to Zimmerman’s hands? Where are the bruises on Martin’s face or other parts of his body? The evidence paints a picture where Martin was the only person landing blows.

The broken skin on Martin’s knuckles and Zimmerman’s wounds obviously provide some justification for self-defense. But if Zimmerman is to have justifiably used self-defense, he can’t have provoked Martin’s attack.

The affidavit filed by the prosecutor against Zimmerman was extremely weak and had many glaring omissions. It does not answer the most crucial question: Who attacked whom? All it states is: “Zimmerman confronted Martin and a struggle ensued.”

“Confronted” does not mean “provoked” or “assaulted.” It may mean that Zimmerman merely followed Martin and asked him what he was doing in the neighborhood.

Surely Zimmerman had the right to investigate a strange person in his neighborhood. But, in any case, Zimmerman simply asking Martin why he was in the neighborhood doesn’t give Martin the right to start striking him or pounding his head into the concrete sidewalk.

Simple words do not justify hitting someone.

Cleveland Plain Dealer: “Whatever happened to concerns about patrons carrying guns in bars…?”

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Chad D. Baus

The Cleveland Plain Dealer publishes a weekly column entitled “Whatever happened to . . .?”, updating some of the most newsworthy and interesting local stories covered in that newspaper.

On Sunday, May 27, they tackled the following question:

Whatever happened to concerns about patrons carrying guns in bars after Ohio legislators adopted a new law last year?

Hmmm…yeah, what did happen with the wild predictions made by opponents, such as the following?:

  • John Gilchrist, legislative counsel for the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police – “The association believes that allowing guns in barrooms, stadiums, taverns, restaurants and other businesses that sell alcohol will result in more gun violence.”
  • John Murphy, executive director of the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association – “On balance, we believe that this bill will most certainly result in more tragedies, rather than less, resulting in the killing and injuring of more innocent people than will be saved by permitting the carrying of concealed and loaded firearms in bars and restaurants.”
  • Mark Drum, legislative chairman for the state branch of the Fraternal Order of Police – “Even if (permit holders) are not drunk, it’s not a good idea to mix alcohol and guns.”
  • Toby Hoover, who fronts what often appears to be a one-woman show at the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence – “I am sure those who want to do this will claim they will never drink and they won’t when they are carrying their guns. But people who carry guns everyday say they will never misuse them, and they do. And then there’s always the fact that someone next to them can even take their gun and use it.”

HB495 (Reciprocity & Concealed Carry Modernization) scheduled for hearing in House

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

Chairman Ron Maag as announced that there will be hearing proponent/opponent/interested party testimony on Representative Terry Johnson’s (R-McDermott) HB495 next Tuesday, June 5 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 116 in the Statehouse.

HB495, also known as the reciprocity & concealed carry modernization bill makes three changes to current law:

  • Changes to automatically honor other states licenses, similar to a driver’s license
  • Eliminates the “demonstrated competency” requirement for 2nd and future CHL renewals, making CHL training similar to a hunting license
  • Fixes the definition of a “loaded gun” to match the commonly accepted definition

This will be the second hearing for this important bill. This hearing is an opportunity for people and groups to speak in support or against the legislation. If you are interested in speaking, your testimony should be 3-5 minutes in length. You should submit 50 copies of your testimony in written form to Chairman Maag’s office by noon on Monday, June 4.

Any persons who are interested in testifying are welcome to contact Jim Irvine @ jirvine@BuckeyeFirearms.org for help in preparing and coordinating your testimony.

It is also important for citizens to show support for the legislation by attending the hearing. You do not need to speak to attend, watch and listen. A strong presence shows support for the bill which is important. In a government of the people, it is important that people participate. This is the time to show up and be involved in your government and your rights.

Latest Violence Policy Center press release debunked: Comparing motor vehicle and firearm deaths is ridiculous

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by Ken Hanson, Esq.

The Violence Policy Center, an anti-gun group funded almost exclusively by the anti-gun Joyce Foundation, issued a May 22, 2012 press release entitled “Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in 10 States in 2009 New Analysis Shows.”

This press release attempts to make the argument that consumer safety regulations have reduced motor vehicle deaths, and the lack of firearm consumer safety regulations are the reason that firearms now outpace motor vehicles as killers. As always, VPC’s claims do not withstand any degree of scrutiny.

The press release cherry-picks 2009 Center for Disease Control statistics on the grounds they are “the most recent year for which state data is available.” VPC also chooses only “deaths” versus any subset of “deaths.” Even this stacking of the deck does not make the claims anywhere near accurate.

Inherent in any VPC claim is including, and excluding, deaths that are convenient/inconvenient to their narrative. Also included in inherent bias is the fact that they use CDC statistics and not FBI/UCR statistics. Finally, VPC is comparing apples to oranges, as almost 100% of firearm deaths are deliberate versus almost 100% of motor vehicle deaths being accidental.

VPC claims that in 2009 there were 31,236 firearm deaths and 36,361 motor vehicle deaths in the United States. Visiting http://webappa.cdc.gov/cgi-bin/broker.exe, we cannot come up with any permutation that matches their claims. Selecting all motor vehicle related deaths, the CDC reports there were 36,399 motor vehicle deaths nationwide, and, selecting all firearm deaths, the CDC reports there were 31,347 firearm deaths nationwide. But let us not quibble over a difference of less than 200 deaths between the CDC data and the VPC press release.

When we search and sort the nationwide data, we find that 18,735 of the firearm deaths are classified as suicides. Clicking on another radio button, we find that 11,826 of the firearm deaths are classified as homicides/legal intervention. Only 554 firearm of these deaths are classified as unintentional and 232 as undetermined.

In contrast, 104 of the nationwide motor vehicle accidents were classified as suicides, 36,216 were classified as unintentional, 60 as homicide and 19 as undetermined. We can likely agree that suicides and homicides are intentional acts beyond the control of third parties. Within that framework, the statistics from the Centers for Disease Control establish that 97.9% more people die as a victim of unintentional/undetermined motor vehicle accidents than from unintentional/undetermined firearm accidents.

Stated another way, 2.5% of firearm deaths were accidental and more than 99.6% of motor vehicle deaths were accidental. (Counting undetermined deaths in both categories as accidental.) VPC is advancing this as an argument that consumer safety regulations have reduced accidental motor vehicle deaths so the same laws should apply to firearms, in order to reduce accidental firearm deaths.

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