Both chambers of the Wisconsin state legislature have voted to approve one of the nation’s strongest Right-to-Carry license bills, by solid bipartisan margins. Senate Bill 93, which was strongly backed by the National Rifle Association, now goes to Governor Scott Walker for his expected signature. When signed, it will leave Illinois as the only state that provides no way for citizens to carry concealed firearms for self-protection outside their homes or places of business.
Ohio concealed handgun license-holder defends own life when attacked by two men at gas station
Dayton Police say a man who was being robbed at a local gas station turned the table on his two attackers, shooting one of them.
According to WRGT, Dayton’s Fox affiliate, the attack happened late Friday, June 17 at the Sunoco station.
Police said the robbery victim, a concealed handgun license-holder, was being beaten by two men when he drew his gun and fired. The injured robber, Brandon Turner, was shot in the stomach with two .45 caliber rounds. He was originally listed in critical condition, but has been stabilized and is cooperating with police.
Police say he admits that he and his accomplice, Billy Blackburn Jr., had no real reason for the assault, other than being “hopped up on drugs.” Turner reportedly had both crack cocaine and alcohol in his system.
Police say the shooting was clearly self-defense, and that the CHL-holder will not face charges.
The entire incident was caught on store’s surveillance video system.
Watch the video and listen to police narrative by clicking here.
A complete list of known incidents involving Ohio CHL-holders defending themselves is available here.
Fast and Furious Heating Up “The Hill”
by Jim Shepherd
Seems nothing gets administration members trips under the bus quicker than being caught doing something questionable. Heavy emphasis, unfortunately, is on the “caught” portion of the sentence. Seems it’s anything goes when it comes to operating in the shadows.
As Congressman Darrell Issa’s scathing report and equally damning hearings last week pointed to a massive operational screwup by the ATF, the administration moved quickly to begin the process of appointing a sacrificial lamb in hopes of heading off any further action. In fact, this week could be the final week for ATF Acting Director Kenneth Melson. Since 2009, Melson, is the most senior official named as having full knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious.
The administration’s moves to distance itself from a crisis that has to be the worst political and operational mistake since the ATF’s raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas in 1993 might be titled “Fast and Furious: We Don’t Know Nothin'”.
Those political headaches might continue if the administration tries to once again force-feed the firearms industry Andrew Traver as the new ATF director-designee. Traver’s nomination stalled after the firearms industry put on a full-court press to head off his approval.
It is widely reported that Mr. Traver will be leaving his Chicago ATF post…for meetings in Washington with Attorney General Eric Holder. Having spoken with industry figures over the weekend, Traver’s possible designation as nominee or even as acting director in place of Melson would quickly mobilize industry efforts to once again block the man described by the National Rifle Association as having a “demonstrated hostility” to the rights of gun owners.
SB17 (Restaurant & Car Carry Rules Fix) and HB54 (Restoration of Rights) – Just what do they do?
by Jim Irvine and Ken Hanson
It has been a long wait, but critical legislation for gun owners has finally been passed by the Ohio legislature. It is important to note that the law will remain unchanged for several months and citizens are reminded to comply with existing restrictions until the new law becomes effective.
After the bills passed the House and Senate, it was necessary that SB17 and HB54 be officially signed by Speaker of the House Bill Batchelder and Senate President Tom Niehaus. That process was completed yesterday, Tuesday, June 21. Each are now considered an “Act,” and will be presented to the Governor for his consideration.
Governor Kasich has 10 days from receipt of the Acts to either sign or veto them. Kasich has indicated that he will sign the bills. If he takes no action within 10 days of receiving the Act, it becomes law without his signature.
The new laws will become effective 90 days after Kasich signs them. During this time, updates are prepared for law books and online tools used by attorneys, judges and others who enforce our laws. We will have information on our site about the effective date of the new laws after the Governor signs them and the date has been determined.
Law enforcement officers (LEOs) should receive updates on the changes. It is important to note that laws are continually changing and there will be some officers who are not properly briefed on the changes or will simply not digest the changes. There will inevitably be a few issues that arise. It will go a long way toward educating an officer if CHL’s remain calm and professional while LEOs deal with learning the new law. Courtesy is a two way street.
The following is provided in response to the readers of our website, who have submitted numerous requests for a primer on SB17 and HB54.
CCRKBA calls for special prosecutor in ATF debacle
BELLEVUE, WA – Following more than four hours of testimony before a House committee [June 15] by a U.S. Senator, government whistleblowers and relatives of a slain Border Patrol agent, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is calling for the immediate suspension, without pay, of all supervisors involved in a controversial gunrunning sting operation, including the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and his deputies, and the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate and determine who initiated this project and who approved it.
Operation Fast and Furious was the ATF’s botched gun trafficking investigation in Arizona that allowed more than 2,000 guns to be moved into a criminal pipeline leading straight to Mexico. [Wednesday’s] stunning revelations under oath by ATF agents before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform suggest there were willful violations of ATF policy and procedures that were allegedly ordered by supervisors in Phoenix with the knowledge of the agency hierarchy in Washington, D.C.
Buckeye Firearms Foundation joins SAF-led coalition in amicus re: Colorado carry case
BELLEVUE, WA – The Second Amendment Foundation has been joined by 17 other firearms rights groups in an amicus brief filed in a case now before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, challenging laws that prohibit the carrying of firearms by law-abiding non-resident U.S. citizens in Denver, Colorado.
The case, Peterson v. Garcia, was filed by Washington state resident Gray Peterson, who cannot exercise his right to bear arms because Colorado statute prohibits the issuance of a concealed carry permit to non-residents, and does not recognize Peterson’s Washington license or his Florida carry permit because he is not a Florida resident. Denver bans the open carry of firearms, leaving Peterson – who visits Colorado frequently – without any legal means of carrying a firearm for his personal protection.
“This is a case that affects citizens in at least 20 states and the District of Columbia,” noted Miko Tempski, SAF legal affairs director. “We’ve been joined by organizations from 16 of those states in this brief, because they all have members who may travel to Colorado and face the same problem if they enter the City of Denver.”
Joining SAF are the Buckeye Firearms Foundation (Ohio), Citizens’ Rights Action League (Rhode Island), Commonwealth Second Amendment (Massachusetts), Connecticut Citizens Defense League, Calguns Foundation, Inc. (California), Gun Owners Civil Rights Alliance (Minnesota), Hawaii Defense Foundation, Illinois Carry, Illinois State Rifle Association, Maine Open Carry Association, Maryland Shall Issue, Oregon Firearms Educational Foundation, Wisconsin Carry, Inc., SCOPE, Inc. (New York), Stillwater Firearms Association (Nevada), Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. and West Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. All are state-focused non-profit organizations dedicated to preserving, defending and promoting firearms rights.
Ohio Oil and Gas Bill Amended To Protect Sportsmen and Conservation Dollars
Last week the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) alerted sportsmen of a threat to their federal conservation dollars in House Bill 133, sponsored by Representative John Adams (R- Sidney). On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources voted to amend the bill to include necessary protections for Ohio sportsmen.
Before the amendment, language in the bill could have required the Division of Wildlife to refuse to take federal sportsmen’s dollars returned to the state through the Pittman-Robertson Act. These funds are derived from hunting and fishing license dollars and excise taxes paid by sportsmen that are returned to the states each year.
Strategically-timed, Joyce Foundation-funded “study” conveniently links gun ownership and carrying a gun to heavy alcohol use
by Chad D. Baus
One day before Ohio’s Restaurant Carry legislation came to a final vote, and after more than two years of debate and countless media articles and editorials repeating the mantra that “guns and alcohol don’t mix,” the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) released a “study” which they claimed proves that “gun owners who carry concealed weapons or have confronted another person with a gun are more than twice as likely to drink heavily as people who do not own guns.”[1]
Further, the UC Davis “study” claims that “binge drinking, chronic heavy alcohol use, and drinking and driving were all more common among gun owners generally than among non-owners,” and that “alcohol abuse was most common among firearm owners who participated in gun-related behaviors that carry a risk of violence, which also included having a loaded, unlocked firearm in the home and driving or riding in a vehicle with a loaded firearm.”[2]
From the UC Davis News Service:
The highest levels of alcohol abuse were reported by gun owners who engaged in dangerous behavior with their weapons. For example, gun owners who also drove or rode in motor vehicles with loaded guns were more than four times as likely to drink and drive as were people who did not own guns. But gun owners who did not travel with loaded guns were still more than twice as likely to drink and drive as were people who did not own guns.
“It’s not surprising that risky behaviors go together,” said Garen J. Wintemute, author of the study and director of the UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program. “This is of particular concern given that alcohol intoxication also impairs a gun user’s accuracy as well as his judgment on whether to shoot.”
Among the eight states the UC Davis “study” analyzed? Ohio, of course.[3]
This all sounds quite damning, doesn’t it? In fact, it sounds as though Ohio legislators should not only have reconsidered their support for “guns in bars” legislation when they voted, but that they should have also immediately acted to ban concealed carry in the state, right?
It may sound that way, which is what we now know was the UC Davis’ intent from the outset, before they took the first step toward analyzing any data.
SB17 will allow CHL-holder to obtain expungement of prior conviction of improper firearm handling in motor vehicle
by Chad D. Baus More than two months after it was amended into Senate Bill 17, The Columbus Dispatch is finally reporting on an amendment contained in the legislation which will allow…
Buckeye Firearms Chair Jim Irvine to Speak at the “We the People Convention” in Columbus
by Jason Mihalick
Buckeye Firearms Chairman, Jim Irvine, will be conducting a breakout session entitled “How to Run an Effective Volunteer Political Action Committee” at the first annual “We The People Convention,” which runs from July 1st to July 2nd at the Columbus Convention Center.
Mr. Irvine is scheduled to speak first thing Saturday morning, July 2nd, at 8AM. His speech will cover many of the experiences of Buckeye Firearms Association over the last several years in working to restore the Second Amendment rights of Ohio citizens. He will be sharing with the audience what’s worked to make Buckeye Firearms the most effective gun rights group in Ohio and, likewise, the pitfalls for groups to avoid when working with public officials and political issues.
Irvine will also be discussing politics, how laws are made and changed and the basics of moving a bill through the legislature and overcoming obstacles that arise. He will give specific advice for individuals to allow them to effectively communicate thoughts and ideas with legislators and have a positive impact on individual voting records and the content of legislation.
We encourage you to attend the convention, participate in Jim Irvine’s session on Saturday, July 2nd, and support the liberty movement in Ohio. In the process, you’ll learn a lot about how you can be an active participant in our nation’s system of self-government, which is critical not only for the upcoming election season, but also for the long-term preservation of our republic.