The Elyria Chronicle-Telegram reported recently that a spate of violence in the area, combined with law-enforcement cutbacks and culminating in the shooting of a sheriff’s deputy, is contributing to a boost in…
2011 – The Year In Review
By Chad D. Baus While there is far too much to cover in a single article, we reflect on some of the important events of 2011. January: The year begins with a…
Merry Christmas from Buckeye Firearms Association
Merry Christmas to one and all from all of us at Buckeye Firearms Association.
Our best gift is the friendship and support given by each of you throughout the year.
As we reflect on the year’s passing, we count our many blessings, remember our losses, and give thanks for those who helped us through it all.
We each need to take time to appreciate our friends and family during this special time of year. They are the reason we work so hard to make our world a better place to live.
From all of us to all of you – enjoy a great holiday season. Here’s hoping Santa brings each of you your very own “official Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time” (or the firearm of YOUR heart’s desire).
Editorial: ‘Is there no end to the irrational prejudice against Red Ryder and his peacemaker?’
THIS Canton police officer is extremely thankful for defense-minded citizens
by Chad D. Baus
The City of Canton made national news earlier this year after Officer Daniel Harless threatened to “execute” a concealed handgun license holder at a traffic stop. It was clear from Harless’ profanity-laced tirade, which was caught on dash cam video, that the officer doesn’t support citizens having the kind of mind-set that might lead them to obtain a concealed handgun license.
But this month, a different Canton police office is thanking a citizen for having just that type of mind-set – and for saving his life.
According to The Canton Repository, Police Officer Tim Marks was being severly beaten by an attacker wielding the officer’s own metal baton when a defense-minded citizen came to his aide:
From the article:
He kept swinging, blow after blow connecting with the officer’s body as blood flowed from Marks’ nose and mouth and his thoughts began to fade. Marks remembers feeling sleepy and his brain screaming, “I need help now! I need help now!”
His gun was out of reach, but Marks had the presence of mind to pull his assailant as close as possible to make the blows less intense, something he learned in self-defense training.
He figured he might wake up in the intensive care unit in a month.
“I’m praying for help,” Marks said of the moment. “I’ve got fear, anger, adrenaline. I’m seeing a hospital, a grave stone. This is how it ends for me.”
As he felt himself begin to fade, he said, “out of nowhere, someone tackles this dude. Out of nowhere!”
The article goes on to describe the reason Marks had detained his attacker in the first place, before giving details of the attack:
Wisconsin Carry and Madison Five awarded $10,000 judgment against City of Madison/Madison PD
MILWAUKEE, WI – On September 18, 2010 five law abiding Wisconsin residents were peacefully having dinner at a Culver’s Restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin. These five individuals, who were legally openly carrying as provided by Wisconsin law had finished their dinner and were preparing to leave the restaurant when they were unlawfully detained by a mass of Madison police officers.
Despite the absence of reasonable suspicion or probable cause of any crime or violation, Madison police illegally demanded identification from the men under the threat of arrest if they did not comply. Two individuals who chose not to comply with the illegal action of the Madison police were subsequently arrested and cited for obstruction. Two days later those unlawfully issued citations were rescinded and all five men, even those who complied with the officers illegal demands were issued citations for disorderly conduct.
Buckeye Firearms Foundation announced an effort to help the Wisconsin five pay for legal fees to fight the charges against them, to which BFF had already committed $2500 in matching funds.
Supporters responded immediately. By the end of the following day, more than twice the original goal of $2500 was raised, and on Wednesday Sept. 29, 2010 a check for $7,500 was mailed to Wisconsin Carry Inc.
On May 5th of 2011, the frivolous disorderly conduct charges against all five men were dropped.
Wisconsin Carry, Inc. a non-profit corporation dedicated to protecting and advancing the right of Wisconsinites to carry in the manner of their choosing, open or concealed, filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Madison and the five Madison Police officers who participated in the unlawful detainment and treatment of these five individuals. A copy of that lawsuit is available here:
http://www.wisconsincarry.org/pdf/Madison5/lawsuit.pdf
Yesterday, a judgment of $10,000 against the City of Madison and five Madison police officers was agreed to by Wisconsin Carry, Inc. and our five co-plaintiffs. This judgment will be entered into the record of the Federal District Court, Western Wisconsin.
Bloomberg’s latest stunt: Even local official admits push for new gun control legislation wouldn’t stop illegal gun sales
by Jim Irvine and Chad D. Baus
Last week, anti-gun New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Joyce Foundation-funded gun control group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), staged a press conference to hype the group’s latest effort to institute a new level of gun control on law-abiding citizens. But while he supports the gun control efforts, even the City of Cleveland’s Public Safety Director admits the proposed legislation wouldn’t stop illegal sales.
According to The Washington Post, billionaire Bloomberg spent $290,000 of New York City taxpayers’ money on yet another “undercover investigation” staged far beyond the borders of his city.
In local coverage, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, citing a MAIG press release, reported that “investigators” contacted 27 “unlicensed dealers” in Ohio and found that 10 agreed to sell guns to prospective buyers who said they would likely fail a background check.
Investigators reportedly asked to meet five of the 10 sellers in person, and bought four handguns and an “assault rifle” with cash.
MAIG is using the “investigation,” which was not conducted by law enforcement but rather by private investigators, to argue for passage of legislation which would require background checks for any firearms transaction, even those between private individuals, family members, etc.
Attention Lamestream Media…I Am the Gun Lobby
by Jeff Knox
To all of those “reporters” and pundits at ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN, The New York Times and all the other Times, The Boston Globe, The Spokane Spokesman-Review, the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Arizona Republic, all of the Tribunes, Stars, and Ledgers;
Let me make something perfectly clear: The NRA is not the Gun Lobby.
Neither is the NSSF, nor the GOA, nor even The Firearms Coalition, nor the hundreds of grassroots and activist organizations or the thousands of local gun clubs. I am the Gun Lobby.
Whenever you talk about the Gun Lobby, you are talking about me. All those groups and entities work for me, but they are not me, and they do not necessarily speak for me. My power does not derive from my personal wealth nor financial support from the industry that serves me. My power comes from the fact that I am one of tens of millions who understand that individuals have the right and the obligation to protect themselves from criminal assault, and that no one — not the government, not the media nor anyone else, has the right to decide what, when, where, or how I responsibly exercise that right and obligation. We – each of us – are the Gun Lobby, and we’re not going away, we’re not backing down, and we’re not giving in – not one little bit.
Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry: I will only appoint pro-gun justices to U.S. Supreme Court
Texas governor “the only candidate trying to connect with gun owners” by Chad D. Baus The only Republican presidential candidate to have made his support for gun rights a part of his…
Coshocton County Leads State in Weekend Deer-Gun Harvest Numbers
80 percent of Ohio’s Deer Hunters Choose the Phone or Internet for Checking Game
COLUMBUS, OH – Hunters harvested an additional 16,766 deer during the extra weekend of gun hunting, December 17-18, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
The extra weekend was first offered in 2006 in response to hunters’ request for an increase in the amount of weekend days to pursue white-tailed deer, the state’s number one big game animal. In 2010, hunters took 20,916 deer during the additional two days.
Counties leading the state in deer killed over the weekend included: Coshocton – 593; Tuscarawas – 541; Muskingum – 499; Licking – 483; Harrison – 477; Guernsey – 446; Carroll– 442; Belmont – 416; Ashtabula – 387; and Knox – 373.
Congress Packs Firearms Riders in “Minibus”
by Jeff Knox
Rather than pass a large, all-encompassing omnibus appropriations bill for the new fiscal year – which began on October 1 – Congress narrowed the scope of their first funding bill to cover only certain essential services and agencies in what they dubbed a “minibus” appropriations bill. Even so, the measure, which was finally passed in mid November and signed by the President on November 18, was massive and complex. Along with funding government agencies and specific programs, the Congress included numerous limitations on how the money can and cannot be spent, including over a dozen riders pertaining to firearms issues. Most were directly related to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), while others were aimed at the Justice Department and other agencies which deal with firearms law enforcement, record keeping, import, and export, etc. Such instructions, known as riders, are nothing new, in fact, most of the ATF provisions have been included in appropriations bills for years, some for decades. But this year’s unique “minibus” has some new tricks.
A permanent prohibition against the establishment of any sort of federal registration system of firearms and firearm owners, which has been included in appropriations bills since 1979, is among the more significant features of this bill. That provision was originally promulgated under the guidance of my father, Neal Knox, when he was Executive Director of NRA-ILA, the NRA’s lobbying division, and has been included in appropriations bill each year since. Dad would be pleased to see this protection finally made permanent.
Other provisions that attained permanent status in this bill include a prohibition against the computerization of records from out-of-business firearms dealers, a requirement that any identifying information obtained through the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) be destroyed within 24-hours of a transfer being approved, and restrictions on the release of firearms trace data.
An important new provision in this appropriation forbids the government from blocking the importation of shotguns based on a determination that they are not “suitable for sporting purposes,” if those shotguns were deemed suitable for importation in 2011. This was in response to last year’s “study” from the ATF suggesting that they were moving to use the “sporting purpose” clause of the Gun Control Act (GCA) to block importation of a variety of tactical-style shotguns which have been gaining popularity for home defense and action-shooting competition. Prices for these shotguns skyrocketed in the wake of the ATF “study” from the $300 – $400 range to the $1200 – $1300 range. The fact that this importability assurance is not permanent, requiring reauthorization every year, means that these shotguns should be more readily available, but their prices are likely to remain inflated based on fears of future import bans.
[UPDATE: Rumor Alert: Appropriations Bill Blocks New Shotgun Ban—Does Not Repeal “Sporting Purposes” Test]
However, not all of the firearms-related riders in this minibus are gun-friendly.