Post Election Action is Critical for Sportsmen

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Rob Sexton

The dust has only begun to settle on Tuesday night’s sweeping decision by Americans to re-make the face of our government once again. Both in the nation’s capitol and in the states, Republicans made gains that will substantially shape the future of the country and, of course, the lives of many sportsmen and women.

The difference this time will be all about priorities.

The vast majority of our elected officials will be headed to the capitols to try to address major economic concerns and serious budget shortfalls. In many races, victors were heard to say that anything and everything is on the table to balance budgets and jumpstart economies.

Given the length and depth of this recession I suspect that is true. And that means that sportsmen, perhaps more than ever before, must engage their state and national government.

Beginning in January a new pack of politicians will take office. And these are folks that are unlikely to have ever heard of the critical connection between our successful wildlife conservation history and American sportsmen and women.

They may not know that hunting and fishing are major economic drivers across the U.S. They may not understand that sportsmen pay the freight when it comes to habitat conservation, land acquisition and wildlife management through the licenses bought by hunters, anglers and trappers.

And unless we as a community take action, there will be many legislators tempted by the pots of money where our hunting and fishing license dollars are kept. This will be especially true as budget axes begin falling to address the sea of red ink. Once those funds are raided to pay for parks, or roads or prisons or education or any other laudable function of government, we will effectively be killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

Once sportsmen no longer see a connection between their licenses and beautiful wild places to hunt and fish, they will be much, much harder to convince to support license fees at all.

The Second Amendment’s Great Election Night

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by David Kopel

The Second Amendment had a great night on Tuesday. Across the nation, the right to arms is stronger than ever, and the stage has been set for constructive reforms in 2011.

U.S. Senate: The net result of Tuesday was a gain of +6 votes on Second Amendment issues.

In not a single U.S. Senate seat did the gun control lobby gain ground. Three open seats switched from anti-gun to pro-gun: Ohio (Rob Portman replacing George Voinovich), West Virginia (Joe Manchin taking the seat of the late Robert Byrd), North Dakota (John Hoeven replacing Byron Dorgan). In Arkansas, John Boozman’s victory over Blanche Lincoln is a significant gain.

Seats with a partial improvement were Indiana (Dan Coats usually-but-not-always good, replacing always-bad Evan Bayh), Wisconsin (NRA A-rated Ron Johnson defeating C-rated Russ Feingold), Pennsylvania (solid Pat Toomey replacing inconsistent Arlen Specter).

If Dino Rossi wins Washington (he currently trails by 14,000, with 62% of the vote in), that will be another important pickup.

There are now enough votes in the Senate to defeat a filibuster on pro-gun bills. Significantly, Harry Reid’s victory in Nevada means that pro-gun bills have a chance of being brought to floor, or offered as amendments to other bills. Had Reid been defeated, the Majority Leader would have been Charles Schumer or Richard Durbin, both of whom are highly-motivated and well-informed on the anti-gun side.

The Uninvited Ombudsman Report, No. 92 – Phoenix Censors “Gun-Safety Ads for Kids”

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

Taken from the most recent “Page Nine”, Alan Korwin’s “The Uninvited Ombudsman Report”

——–

Format Change For This Edition —

I need a break from dissecting the endless nonsense from the “news” media. It’s the same old same old — the global Muslim jihad is disguised as “terrorism,” political coverage is a horse race with little factual content allowed; abject silliness and fluff is presented as “news” virtually non-stop; statist (government) perspective permeates so much of the material.

Read all 90 prior “They said, but here’s what’s really up” reports:
http://www.gunlaws.com/PageNineIndex.htm

Remember — If you watch ABC or NBC you’ll C… BS.

One main subject in Page Nine this time —

Phoenix Censors “Gun Safety for Kids”

50 Ads Removed Without Notice

Firearms industry message torn down

The city of Phoenix, in an apparently arbitrary move and without formal legal process, has forced CBS Outdoors to tear down 50 illuminated bus-shelter billboards under contract to promote gun safety training for children and their parents.

American Hunters and Shooters: Another faux gun group bites the dust

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Chad D. Baus

In 2000, Monster.com billionaire Andrew McKelvey committed more than $12 million toward the creation of the “Americans for Gun Safety.” McKelvey had always donated to Handgun Control Inc., but eventually decided that the gun control movement’s best chance of success was going to come about by fooling Americans into thinking they were actually pro-gun.

“I told them that Handgun Control was the wrong name. I thought what they were doing was great but I thought it could be done differently,” McKelvey once told Reuters News Service.[1] (Handgun Control Inc. did eventually take McKelvey’s advice, and changed its name to The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.)

McKelvey’s AGS lasted just a few years, having failed in its mission to disguise its gun control agenda in poll-tested language.

But other gun control outfits decided to try McKelvey’s strategy.

The anti-gun Joyce Foundation, which once counted Barack Obama among its board of directors, began funding the “Freedom States Alliance,” a network of state level gun-control groups which promoted a blog under the equally misleading name “Gun Guys.”[2] The once active blog has gone from several posts a week to having not had even one post since August 5, 2010, and FSA itself has also disappeared.[3]

Now, much like the now-defunct AGS and FSA, as well as the inactive GunGuys blog, it appears yet another faux gun group has disappeared into the ether.

Election 2010: Pro-gun rights voters play major roll in statewide contests

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Chad D. Baus & Jim Irvine

The voters have spoken.

While a lot can and will be said about this election, as a non-partisan, one-issue PAC, our post-election analysis will stay focused on observations regarding how the outcome will affect gun rights issues in the months and years to come.

U.S. Senate:

In a must win race for gun owners, Rob Portman (R) defeated anti-gun and F-rated Lee Fisher (D) by 18%. Portman will replace a retiring George Voinovich. On a night when many are focusing on seats changing parties, some may overlook that Portman will be a much stronger advocate for sportsmen and gun owners. The next Senate will not only be more Republican, but also more gun-friendly. With Harry Reid winning in Nevada, and John Boehner expected to become the new Speaker of the House, gun owner have a strong firewall against President Obama’s anti-gun agenda. (more on the U.S. Congress below)

Governor & Attorney General:

In the days leading up to the election, the fact that these two races were polling much, much closer than the other statewide races had out-of-state pundits scratching their heads.

“Why isn’t John Kasich (R) blowing out Ted Strickland (D) like Rob Portman (R) is Lee Fisher (D)?” they wondered again and again. “Why, in the political climate we are in, was Strickland able to pull even with Kasich in the final week of the election?”

The answer was simple: Gun rights.

“How John Kasich lost my vote only days before the election” and other letters from gun owners voting freedom first

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

Buckeye Firearms Association has taken its share of criticism from partisans who don’t like our one-issue, non-partisan approach to evaluating, grading and endorsing candidates. But we’ve also heard from many people who are voting freedom first.

It’s Election Day, and we’ve said all we need to say until the polls close and the results are known. So here are a few examples from what YOU, our members and supporters, have been saying this week:

Election Day 2010: Vote TODAY in the Buckeye State!

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Jim Irvine

Election Day is finally here. Candidates are exhausted. Relationships are stressed. We are all emotionally ready to put this bitter election season behind us.

Tonight we will know the political landscape that will shape the future of our local communities, our state, and our nation. It bears repeating, elections matter. If you have not already done so, get out and vote today.

Buckeye Firearms Association prides itself on always taking the high road. Many readers have noticed a different tone in our stories in the final days of this campaign. Some may have thought it was emotional or “knee jerk” reactions to events. It was neither.

We take our endorsement process very seriously. In every race, a team examined surveys, voting records, and when available, comments from the candidates and any other information to help us form an accurate picture of their support for our issues. The job was much larger this year because of the grading process we employed. The extra work was worth it because it allowed us to give the voter a better picture of the choice before them.

Because gun owners are educated and active in the political process, our endorsement and that of the NRA are highly sought after by candidates of all parties. It is incumbent on us to protect and defend all our endorsed candidates.

Mudslinging during political campaigns is nothing new, and in the heat of an election, many things are said and done that would not normally happen. It is good that people are so passionate about elections, and thus the future of our great nation.

What was unusual this election cycle is the number of attacks on our endorsed candidates and the number of people falsely claiming the endorsement of the NRA or the Buckeye Firearms Association.

Final round: Mythbusting gubernatorial campaign claims

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association
“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” – Ecclesiastes 1:9

By Chad D. Baus & Jim Irvine

While it may seem that the events of the past week, involving misleading attacks against candidates endorsed by Buckeye Firearms Association, are something new and unprecedented, in fact we’ve seen it all before.

In 2004, a mailer was sent to voters in Senate District 24 attacking a Democrat candidate for his support of concealed carry. The mailer, paid for by the Ohio Republican Party, attacked the Democrat for a position which the majority of the party’s caucus in both chambers of the General Assembly supported and voted for. Ohio gun owners rightly called the ORP to account for its partisan hypocrisy.

In 2008, political mailers were sent to voters in House District 72, attacking a Republican candidate for his support of Ohio’s Castle Doctrine bill. The mailer, paid for by the Ohio Democrat Party, attacked the Republican for a position which the majority of the party’s caucus in the House supported and voted for. Buckeye Firearms Association rightly called the ODP to account for its partisan hypocrisy.

And so, in 2010, we once again find ourselves on the eve of yet another election in which pro-gun voters look to play a decisive roll. And once again, in the final days of the campaign, misleading messages have surfaced attacking our endorsees. We must and have responded to defend our endorsees, just as we’ve done in the past. (See here and here and here and here and here.)

The main thrust of attacks against the pro-gun record of our endorsee, Governor Ted Strickland, and attempts to prop up his opponent John Kasich’s weak gun rights record, focus on the perpetuation of three myths.

Anti-Gun DeWine Throws ‘Hail Mary’ Gun Mailers

Posted on by Buckeye Firearms Association

by Chad D. Baus & Ken Hanson

They haven’t come right out and said it, but judging by two election eve mailers, anti-gun Attorney General candidate Mike DeWine and his cousin Kevin, who chairs the Ohio Republican Party, hope and believe gun owners are idiots.

Conspicuously absent from almost all DeWine for Attorney General general election campaigning to date is any mention of firearm/hunting/sporting rights. There is a simple explanation for this: DeWine’s record on firearm rights is beyond horrible.

He stands alone as the only Republican Senator ever to be endorsed by the Brady Campaign (formerly Handgun Control Inc.), because his record “really wowed the group.” He was named among the Top 10 anti-gun U.S. Senators by Human Events, which noted that he was “consistently the only Republican to speak in favor of anti-2nd Amendment legislation on the Senate floor.”

DeWine has earned, many times over, the ire of every state-based firearm group and the NRA. Meanwhile, Attorney General Cordray has earned the endorsement of EVERY state-based firearm group and the NRA, based upon his vibrant history of defending your firearm rights.

But don’t take it just from us. Consider the words of Dave Yost, the ORP’s endorsed candidate for Treasurer of State:

“No one would expect you to sit through a waiting period or get a government permit in order to join a church. After all, the right of every American to freedom of religion is clearly stated in the First Amendment. Yet to many lawmakers – including Mike DeWine – those very same restrictions on your 2nd Amendment rights are just fine.”

Mike DeWine’s anti-gun history does not deserve any further examination, it is far too well established in the public record to merit any other discussion. (see links below for review)

On the other hand, EVERY SINGLE OFFICIAL ACT Richard Cordray has ever taken has been consistent with a vibrant support of your Second Amendment rights.

But apparently the DeWines and the ORP can’t be trusted to tell the truth. Consider page 3 of a campaign mailer attacking Cordray as a “fake”:

“Ohio Gun Owners can’t trust Richard Cordray. Liberal Richard Cordray has an anti-gun record. Cordray has a long history of supporting additional gun control laws.”

The flyer also provides a couple of Cordray quotes from the 1990’s, saying, among other things, that he once supported the Brady Bill.

So at the same time the Ohio Republican Party’s gubernatorial candidate, John Kasich, is complaining that the “F” rating he earned from the NRA in 1994 shouldn’t be relevant in 2010, the Ohio Republican Party is arguing that a couple of equally old Richard Cordray quotes are relevant. Talk about hypocritical.

At least Richard Cordray has had several years in office to prove via his actions that he has changed his opinion. All Mike DeWine and John Kasich have are words.

Attorney General Cordray’s history in support of your firearm rights is unquestionable, and shame on the Ohio Republican Party, home of Bob Taft, for questioning something a candidate says versus something a candidate does.

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