Letter supportive of restaurant carry legislation yields death threat from anti-gun reader

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Chad D. Baus

A letter to the editor of The Columbus Dispatch, written in response to that newspaper’s negative take on Ohio’s restaurant carry legislation (SB239) has earned the man who wrote it a death threat.

After Mark McGlone’s letter, entitled “Editorial off-base about guns in bars,” was published on December 15, his family received a startling phone call.

In correspondence with BFA, McGlone said that at 9:30AM on the same morning his letter was published, “I received a phone call at my home. The caller asked if this was Mark and if I wrote the editorial. I replied yes. Than the caller said ‘well I hope someone shoots you and your family’!”

McGlone promptly contacted the police, who came out and made a report.

“I must say the responding officer was fantastic and very supportive,” McGlone told BFA. “He said I did the right thing by getting it on record. In addition, he told me that if I saw anything that was out of the ordinary to call and they would return. He also promised to read my editorial on his break!”

McGlone summarized his thoughts on the threatening phone call by saying “I guess emotions are running high!”

Emotions indeed run high among anti-gun individuals. In fact, several years ago, psychiatrist Sarah Thompson, M.D wrote an article which examined the anti-gun mentality, with a particular focus on the emotional bent of anti-gun people, and the defense mechanisms they use to protect themselves from feelings that they cannot consciously accept.

Marietta city council members hear from citizens concerned about proposed gun range

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The Marietta Times is reporting that plans for an open gun range at Washington State Community College met with some neighborhood resistance during a public meeting about the proposed facility earlier this month.

According to the article, many expressed concern about the safety of a firing range in proximity to their homes and properties, and it appears members of Marietta’s City Council would agree with those neighbors, some of whom are circulating a petition asking council to block the development of a shooting range on the college campus. Council would have to repeal the current city code prohibiting such facilities in the city and enact new legislation.

Giving Up Rights for Security in Chicago: A Total Failure

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Gerard Valentino

Chicago is known world-wide for having everything a world class city has to offer. From a great nightlife, to the arts, to ethnic cuisine, championship caliber professional sports teams, great universities and an excellent public transportation network, the city has something to offer just about everyone.

What many don’t realize, however, is that Chicago also boasts one of the most intrusive government surveillance systems in the United States.

But, even with the Chicago police using nearly 10,000 cameras to spy on all aspects of life in the city, it is still better known around the world for violence than for being in the same class as New York, London, Tokyo or Paris. Year after year, hundreds of Chicagoans are slaughtered on the city’s killing fields, making it one of the most violent places in the United States.

The truth is that bad public policy and anti-gun laws that empower criminals can’t be overcome by using cameras to watch every move people make. Anywhere honest citizens are disarmed and criminals can pick a victim at will, there will always be a powerful criminal element. Only by enacting policies that turn the tables in favor of law-abiding citizens can Chicago make headway in the battle against violent crime.

Cameras only serve to give people a false sense of security because many law-abiding citizens think criminals won’t commit crimes while under surveillance. Just watching the local news blows that theory out of the water, since there always seems to be a story showing someone robbing a convenience store in full view of the cameras. To be completely honest, there is some evidence that criminals will shift the location of their activity away from electronic surveillance, but there is no evidence that they give up their life of crime when cities employ such networks.

All the cameras in the world can’t overcome Mayor Richard Daley’s ridiculous decision to cling to the false hope of gun control. Only by returning the right to bear arms to the citizens of Chicago can there be any expectation that the needed culture change will occur, and that Chicagoans will finally realize they have to take back their city from the criminal element.

One tool alone shifts the balance of power in a violent encounter from the criminal to the honest citizen – a firearm.

BOOK REVIEW: After You Shoot: Your gun’s hot. The perp’s not, Now What? – By Alan Korwin

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

Reviewed by Chris Knox

During a typical state-mandated defensive firearms class there comes an hour – usually during that sleepy time after lunch – where the instructor gives some obligatory advice on what to do should you ever be forced to use the skills you’re learning. Generally the advice comes down to two points:

  • Call 911.
  • Don’t say anything.

The reason you call 911 is to demonstrate your human concern and compassion for the dirtbag whose chest you just ventilated as he threatened you or your family with death or grievous injury, and so that you can get police officers on-site to investigate a homicide or physical assault – an act that you just carried out. So as a potential felony defendant, you are now expected (if not strictly legally required) to call the police and speak into the police recorder, ever keeping in your adrenalin-charged mind that “anything you say will be used against you.”

Alan Korwin, principle author of the indispensable Gun Owner’s Guide series of books, has earned a reputation as a guy who thinks creatively and speaks his mind. In his latest project, After You Shoot, he tackles the issue of how, after defending yourself with lethal force against a criminal attack, you need to be prepared to defend yourself against the criminal justice system, starting with how you notify the authorities. According to Korwin’s sources, about half of the convictions arising out of self-defense incidents stem from unwise statements made in a frantic 911 call. With sometimes startling insight, and a sharp sense of the ironic, Korwin explores different paths through the treacherous legal terrain that can face anyone who uses deadly force in self-defense.

Editorials opposing restaurant carry expose coordinated anti-gun bias

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Gerard Valentino

By running nearly identical anti-gun editorials on the same day, The Columbus Dispatch and The Toledo Blade have finally given up their longtime charade that coverage of the gun issue is unbiased and independent. The Dayton Daily News joined the party about a week later by running an equally one-sided editorial that relied on similar mistruths, misquotes and outright fabrications to make the case against allowing legal concealed carry in establishments that serve alcohol for consumption.

They also took an unenlightened stance on proposed changes to Ohio law that will allow people with misdemeanor drug convictions to own guns and then twisted the truth to fit their position.

104,100 Pounds of Venison Donated During Hunting Season so far

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Venison donations to be taken though February 6, 2011

Ohio deer hunters have donated more than 104,100 pounds of venison to local food banks so far this deer season, according to Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry (FHFH) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), Division of Wildlife.

“I am happy to see this program continue to grow each year. Ohio hunters once again have shown their generosity so Ohio’s food pantries will receive the nutritious red meat they so desperately need,” said David M. Graham, chief of the Division of Wildlife.

The 104,100 pounds equals approximately 416,400 meals for needy Ohioans. To date, 2,082 deer have been donated with plenty of deer hunting opportunity left in the 2010-11 season. Last year at this time, 1,910 deer had been donated representing 95,500 pounds of venison.

BATFE Requests “Emergency” Authority To Track Semi-Automatic Rifle Sales

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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has proposed that it be given emergency authority for six months, beginning January 5, to require about 8,500 firearms dealers along the border with Mexico “to alert authorities when they sell within five consecutive business days two or more semiautomatic rifles greater than .22 caliber with detachable magazines.” A Washington Post story reporting on the BATFE proposal described that definition as being applicable to “so-called assault weapons,” but it would also apply to many rifles that have never been labeled with that term.

The reporting requirement will apparently be imposed under the “authority” the BATFE has used in the past to demand reporting of other types of transactions from certain limited groups of dealers over the past 10 years, but the new proposal is far broader than any previous use of this authority. Of course, there’s no law today that prevents dealers from reporting suspicious transactions (or attempted transactions) to the BATFE, and dealers often do so. The BATFE is also free to inspect dealers’ sales records—either for annual compliance inspections or during a criminal investigation.

NRA-ILA’s chief lobbyist, Chris Cox, denounced the attempt to establish a registry of Americans who purchase semi-automatic rifles that gun control supporters ultimately want to see banned. “This administration does not have the guts to build a wall, but they do have the audacity to blame and register gun owners for Mexico’s problems,” Cox told the Post. “NRA supports legitimate efforts to stop criminal activity, but we will not stand idle while our Second Amendment is sacrificed for politics.”

President Obama and Gun Rights: Beware the Cornered and Quiet Politician

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Gerard Valentino

President Barack Obama has a long and undistinguished record of infringing on the rights of law-abiding gun owners. When he was elected that record made him the darling of the anti-gun movement which expected to ride his coattails back to prominence in the marketplace of ideas.

The expected road back to relevance hasn’t materialized as they expected, and the anti-gun crowd blames Obama’s unwillingness to take action against the powerful gun lobby.

That decision isn’t playing well in the anti-gun community or with many of his cronies from his old days as part of the anti-gun Democratic machine in Chicago. The anti-gun leadership in America expected a return to power upon Obama’s ascendancy to the White House, and instead they got a president doing almost everything to distance himself from his anti-gun roots.

Because of his lack of action on the issue, The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence continues to claim President Obama isn’t doing enough to reward his earnest anti-gun supporters. They claim he has abandoned his anti-gun base and hasn’t lifted a finger to further the cause of gun control in America. After his first year in office the Brady campaign actually gave the Obama administration an “F” grade.

Anti-gun leaders are incensed that President Obama refuses to respond to their calls for renewing the assault weapons ban and bringing about an end to gun shows. Oddly enough, during the campaign President Obama was routinely rated as the most anti-gun presidential candidate in American history by pro-gun groups.

Clearly his willingness to be all things to all people has sowed confusion among the players in the gun debate, and among the electorate.

But, make no mistake – President Obama is an enemy of gun owners.

Gavel still has not fallen on 128th General Assembly: Pro-gun bills’ fate still not sealed

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The Ohio House of Representatives adjourned yesterday without holding a voting session, but Speaker Armond Budish has still not declared the 128th session of the Ohio House of Representatives to be officially over.

Until and unless that happens, there is still a chance that two pro-gun bills, SB239 and SB247, could receive a vote.

Yesterday, the House adjourned “until Tuesday, December 21, 2010 at 9:00 o’clock a.m.”
[UPDATE: a voting session was not held on the 21st, but the House Speaker still did not close the session, and the House adjourned “until Monday, December 27, 2010 at 9:00 o’clock a.m.”]
[UPDATE #2: a voting session was not held on the 27th, but the House Speaker still did not close the session, and the House adjourned “until Wednesday, December 29, 2010 at 9:00 o’clock a.m.”]
[UPDATE #3: a voting session was not held on the 29th, but the House Speaker still did not close the session, and the House adjourned “until Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 9:00 o’clock a.m.”]
[UPDATE #4: a voting session was not held on the 30th, but the House Speaker still did not close the session, and the House adjourned “until Friday, December 31, 2010 at 9:00 o’clock a.m.”]
[UPDATE #5: a voting session was not held on the 31st, and the House adjourned for the year without acting on this important pro-gun legislation.]

Will Speaker Budish schedule a voting session, so that these important pro-gun bills, which has the support of a strong majority in the House, can receive a vote?

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