When it came time to cover a Second Amendment story, this reporter decided it was time to face her fear of guns

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I had a good time learning about guns and I had an even better time using them, but I knew I hadn’t yet conquered all my fears. …It may take me years to understand that fear, but I know now that I am not afraid of guns. – Anne Adoryan, Real Law Radio

By Chad D. Baus

All too often, it is apparent in news articles involving the Second Amendment, guns, concealed carry, hunting and shooting rights, gun control, etc. that the writer is completely unfamiliar with the subject.

When an Ohio radio show producer began working on a story about the U.S. Supreme Court case McDonald v. City of Chicago, she decided that she would not only use the suit as an opportunity to learn more about Ohio’s firearm laws, but also as an opportunity to overcome her fear of guns.

Ohio’s lone gun ban lobbyist says “this whole fear thing” is to blame for record increase in CCW licenses

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By Gerard Valentino & Chad D. Baus

Despite suffering legislative loss after legislative loss over the past several years, Toby Hoover, seemingly the lone voice of Ohio’s anti-gun movement, continues her crusade to destroy gun rights in Ohio.

In her most recent comments, published by the Mansfield News, Hoover accused the pro-gun movement of using a culture of fear to foist concealed carry on Ohioans. She also singled out Buckeye Firearms Association as having attacked her unfairly.

Bill introduced to allow guns in restaurants and fix car carry rules

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Buckeye Firearms Association (BFA) today announced that a bill refining concealed carry statutes has been introduced in the Ohio Senate. The bill is designed to update Ohio’s current concealed carry laws to make them more consistent with those in other states.

Senator Shannon Jones (R-Springboro) and Senator Tim Schaffer (R- Lancaster) introduced SB239 which will allow citizens who hold a valid concealed handgun license (CHL) to carry a firearm in restaurants. To do so, license holders may not consume any alcohol and must not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs. According to OpenCarry.org, 42 states (including every state that borders Ohio) allow non-drinking license holders to carry firearms in restaurants.

The Jones/Schaffer bill also reduces burdensome restrictions regarding how a license holder must transport a firearm in a car. Currently, Ohio is the only state to place such complex limitations on license holders. Violation of these restrictions can result in felony charges that are mostly of an “administrative” nature and do not involve any intent to do harm. Still, violation of these complex rules can result in costly court proceedings and incarceration for the license holder.

This OSU student understands what too few state legislators do: It’s time to allow CCW on campus

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A recent spate of crime on the campus The Ohio State University has brought the question of campus security once again to the forefront. And a letter to the editor of the OSU Lantern reveals that at least one college student has a better grasp on the problem than many legislators who spend their time just down the road from his campus.

A Self-Evident Truth: All Rights Are Equal

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By Dave Yost

It will be a long time before Second Amendment rights are finally treated with the same respect as the rest of the Bill of Rights. But we continue to tip-toe toward intellectual consistency, and the Ohio General Assembly will soon have an opportunity to take another small step.

The issue is called restoration, and I’m told a bill will soon be introduced to address it. The specifics of that bill should be debated vigorously, but the problem it’s designed to fix should be fixed.

Under Ohio law, you lose certain rights when you’re convicted of a crime – for example, felony prisoners cannot vote, and even a non-violent conviction can keep you from owning a gun. You’re supposed to be able to get your rights back if a judge says it’s OK – but in Ohio, that doesn’t include your Second Amendment rights.

Another Ohio concealed handgun license-holder protects lives during criminals’ attack

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“The bad guy got it and the good guys didn’t.” – Mark Bilger, Toledo store owner

By Chad D. Baus

Toledo media are reporting that another Ohio concealed handgun license-holder has defeated an armed criminal and protected lives.

Police say that at 12:30 PM on Friday afternoon, the owner of Allied Music in Toledo, who has an Ohio concealed handgun license, was forced to shoot a man who entered the store, waived a gun around and then held it to a clerk’s head.

February second highest all-time for background checks on firearm sales

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Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,243,211 checks in February 2010, ranking the month the second highest February (eighth highest month overall) for most NICS checks.

This figure, while being a 1.3 percent decrease from the 1,259,078 checks conducted in February 2009 — the early stage of an ongoing surge in firearms and ammunition sales — is an increase of 21.7 percent over checks in February 2008.

The total number of background checks reported since the beginning of NICS is 112,380,272.

McDonald v. Chicago: What constitutes a win?

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By Jim Shepherd

Most of the conversational around the industry since [last] Tuesday’s Supreme Court oral arguments in the McDonald v. Chicago case has been pretty optimistic. It seems a foregone conclusion that the Supreme Court will vacate both firearms restriction ordinances in Chicago and its suburb, Oak Park, lllinois.

But there’s been very little said about Otis McDonald, the 76-year old retired maintenance engineer who’s the primary name on a lawsuit that may become yet another fundamental rib in American jurisprudence.

McDonald and his wife live in the far South side of Chicago where they’ve watched their neighborhood deteriorate from familial to downright dangerous. Despite having his home wired with burglar alarms “wired right into the police station” and owning a legal firearm (a shotgun), McDonald said he felt he would be better protected if he also had a handgun. His rationale was simple: a handgun would be easier for an aging husband or wife to handle.

Despite the fact that Chicago police point out the fact that it’s mainly property crimes in his neighborhood, they can’t deny the fact they’ve gotten worse. Burglaries and thefts in McDonald’s area risen from 881 in 2006 to 1,215 in 2008 (the latest figures available). Murders have remained steady at 17 per year.

So, Otis McDonald joined the Illinois State Rifle Association, hoping to find an answer. What he found was attorney Alan Gura, looking for Chicago residents to bring a challenge to the city’s handgun ban – and a broader interpretation to the Heller decision.

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