Recognized as Ohio's most popular, reasonable, effective grassroots gun rights activist organization since 1999 http://www.ohioccw.org Fri, 09 May 2008 07:21:29 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.ohioccw.org/images/M_images/joomla_rss.png http://www.ohioccw.org Recognized as Ohio's most popular, reasonable, effective grassroots gun rights activist organization since 1999 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3969/83/ The Knox Report From the Firearms Coalition By Jeff Knox (May 6, 2008) When Steven Barber turned in his midterm creative writing assignment at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise (UVA-Wise), he was hoping for a good grade to complement his 3.9 grade point average. Instead, Barber was expelled from school, locked in a mental institution for three days, and had his concealed carry permit revoked. Barber’s fictional story was a first person narrative of a troubled college student consumed by depression, paranoia, drug addiction, and alcoholism as he struggles with one of tragedy’s recurrent themes, “To be or not to be.” The character progresses through fear, anger, and despair; sleeping with a gun under his pillow after the Virginia Tech massacre, contemplating the murder of an unpleasant professor, and finally deciding on suicide. The entire story is just contemplation – no characters, real or fictional were harmed in the telling of the story – and Barber himself is nothing like the character he described. But Barber’s professor, Christopher Scalia, son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, and some of the class members were uncomfortable with the story. No one complained about another student’s paper which included violent, bloody murder, but that carnage was carried out with a knife while Barber’s character had a gun. Perhaps someone in the class knew that Barber owned guns and feared that the character in the story represented its author’s secret desires. Whatever their motivation, their concerns were shared with the college administration who decided to involve the campus police. Within 24 hours of sharing his writing project, Barber was confronted by campus police who questioned him about his frame of mind, searched his person and his room, and asked him about weapons. Barber, believing he had Virginia law on his side, admitted that he did have three pistols locked in his car whereupon the police searched the car and confiscated the guns. News - The Knox Report Wed, 07 May 2008 18:45:16 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3968/83/ embroiled in a case (http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3956/83/) before the Ohio Supreme Court, fighting against the City of Clyde (and all anti-gun municipalities) who passed an ordinance banning firearms in their public parks (in violation of statewide preemption). The anti-gun crowd will have you believe that you don't need your gun in a park and that banning guns make people feel safe. Of course, feeling safe and being safe are actually two different things entirely. Today, the newscasts are rife with stories (http://www.chroniclet.com/2008/05/07/one-stranger-terrorizes-her-%e2%80%94-but-others-save-her/) about the woman who was abducted from the Lorain County Metro Parks’ Carlisle Reservation, shot in the back, and raped. News - Ohio Politics Wed, 07 May 2008 05:58:52 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3967/83/ The Virginia Citizens Defense League (http://www.vcdl.org) has issued a call for action in the efforts to overturn the ban on firearms in National Parks. OFCC was one of the signatories of the VCDL petition to overturn the ban, and we support their efforts. ************************************* As you know, the Department of the Interior (DOI) has finally published a proposed change to the National Park and National Wildlife Refuge rules. The question is -- Does this DOI change fairly address either the concerns expressed in a letter signed by 51 Senators or VCDL's Petition for Rule Making (PRM)? -- The letter signed by the 51 Senators states that they support "an exception...to allow law-abiding citizens to transport and carry firearms consistent with state law where the National Park Service's sites and the National Wildlife Refuges are located." -- The Petition for Rule Making (PRM) submitted by VCDL requested DOI regulations be modified to "permit citizens to carry operational handguns for personal protection in National Parks, consistent with the laws of the state in which the park is located". Does DOI's proposed change do either of the above? NO! News - National Politics Wed, 07 May 2008 05:35:24 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3966/83/ On May 1st, the House Criminal Justice Committee of eight Republicans and seven Democrats accepted Substitute House Bill (HB) 264. There was no discussion and no objection from any of the committee members prior to its acceptance. The bill’s language is now identical (except for one technical issue characterized by one legislator as "insignificant") to the language of Substitute Senate Bill (SB) 184. Substitute SB 184 passed the full Senate unanimously on April 16, 2008. Under the proposed legislation, an individual (or his legal representative) who was in the process of committing one or more of the violent crimes listed in the bill would not be able to bring a civil lawsuit against an individual who used deadly force to prevent death or serious bodily harm to himself or others. If the deadly force was used in ones home or vehicle, there is a presumption of self defense and the burden of proof otherwise is on the prosecutor. If the deadly force was used anywhere else the burden of proof is on the person who used deadly force to prove it was necessary. OFCC member Gary Witt attended the House committee meeting on behalf of OFCC. He was told by legislators that the House and Senate leadership will determine which bill moves forward. "It would seem", Witt said, "that having identical language in both bills will make the process easier." Committee schedules and their agendas are normally posted on Friday afternoons for the following week. Please visit this link (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/house_committee_schedule.cfm) for the Criminal Justice Committee. Full text of the Substitute SB 184 can be found here (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_SB_184). Substitute HB 264 is not available online as of this writing. News - Latest Thu, 01 May 2008 12:05:44 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3965/83/ OFCC Forum regulars are all too familiar with the rally cry “Meet and Greet!”, a term often used for members to get together and meet one another while breaking bread. On July 19, 2008 members will gather in Salem, Ohio for a new type of get together: Meet, Greet, Shoot and Eat! The Salem Hunting Club of Ohio will be the site for this OFCC hosted social gathering. Members will enjoy a day of camaraderie, various shooting events and then capping the day with a local meal. For more information, you can look here (http://ohioccwforums.org/viewtopic.php?p=231954#231954). Salem Hunting Club of Ohio 546 Indiana Ave. (off St. Rt. 62) Salem, Ohio 44460 www.salemhuntingclubofohio.com News - Latest Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:33:02 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3964/83/ The Wall Street Journal is not often a publication one would turn to for pro-gun reporting, but a recent opinion peace published entitled Trigger Happy (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120856454897828049.html) worked to dispel several gun myths pertaining to the character and happiness levels of those who choose to take responsibility for their own personal protection. Responding to a Barack Obama quote, "They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or antitrade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations", this piece pointed out that, in fact, gun owners from both of the major political parties reported higher levels of happiness than those who didn't own firearms. In 2006, 36% of gun owners said they were "very happy," while 9% were "not too happy." Meanwhile, only 30% of people without guns were very happy, and 16% were not too happy. In 1996, gun owners spent about 15% less of their time than nonowners feeling "outraged at something somebody had done." It's easy enough in certain precincts to caricature armed Americans as an angry and miserable fringe group. But it just isn't true. The data say that the people in the approximately 40 million American households with guns are generally happier than those people in households that don't have guns. News - National Politics Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:25:27 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3963/83/ The Knox Report From the Firearms Coalition By Jeff Knox (April 15, 2008) As the interminable presidential primary process drags on and on, with the media intently focused on the three remaining contenders, GunVoters need to look beyond the national media circus and to pay attention to matters closer to home: to the primary elections for the House, Senate, governor, and state legislatures. GunVoters’ chances to make a difference in the presidential primaries has come and gone with the result being no candidate that we can get excited about supporting. We must make sure the same thing doesn’t happen in congressional, state, and local races as well. If GunVoters fail to get involved in the primaries, there might well be no reason to get involved in the general. Left with the choice of voting for Tweedle-dumb or Tweedle-dumber up and down the ticket, many GunVoters could end up voting with their feet by going hunting or fishing on election day instead of going voting. The fact is that voters’ power and influence is much greater in a primary election than it ever is during the general election simply because fewer people participate. In most states, less than 30 percent of eligible voters will cast a ballot in a presidential primary while in others less than 10 percent vote. In most states the Congressional primaries are held on a different day than the presidential primaries and the voter turnout for the Congressional and legislative primaries is typically even less than it is for the presidential primaries. News - The Knox Report Mon, 21 Apr 2008 16:19:52 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3961/83/ Senator Keith Faber (R, District 12) introduced Senate Bill 318 (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/BillText127/127_SB_318_I_Y.pdf) (status page (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_SB_318)) before the Criminal Justice Committee; the bill is another in a series of incremental efforts to restore the proper recognition of the rights of Ohio’s citizens. Faber’s bill had been described as a “Firearms Modernization” package due to the number of corrections it contains to some of the more technical areas of the Ohio Revised Code. Areas addressed by the bill include: (be sure to follow the jump)The documentation to be destroyed by the Sheriff after the completion of the application process is more concisely defined. The remaining documentation is explicitly considered to be not a matter of public record, except for the narrow journalist exception defined in SB 347 (2007).Firearms carried in a motor vehicle in compliance with 2923.16 (and not on the person) would not need to be declared to law enforcement in the event of a stop. The prior affirmative defense would be replaced with a complete exception to the notification requirement.Concealed carry in non-liquor-dispensing D permit locations would be specifically allowed. Although most commentators have argued that the original language in this area was sufficient, this revision would make it virtually impossible to misinterpret. This exception would be, unfortunately, limited to concealed carry only. This section would also add the very clear statement that “beer, wine, and intoxicating liquor have the same meanings as they do in 4301.01,” leaving one less possible trap for the law-abiding citizen.An exception to the prohibition against carry on school premises would be established for school drop-offs. This addition includes language that protects holders of licenses from reciprocal states, which was a major deficit in the original text. News - Latest Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:53:35 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3962/83/ The Senate Judiciary Committee today voted Substitute SB 184 out of committee. the full Senate heard the bill this afternoon where it was passed 31 to 0. The bill analysis is up on the legislature web site here (http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/analysis.cfm?ID=127_SB_184 ACT=As%20Introduced hf=analyses127/s0184-rs-127.htm). Senator Grendell's office advised OFCC that the actual text of the bill should be posted by the end of the day Thursday.The bill provides relief from tort when a justifyable use of deaadly force occurs wherever that happens. If the use of force happens in the home or vehicle, there is a rebutable presumtion of self defense and the burden of proof otherwise is on the prosecution. If the use of force happens anywhere else the burden of proof of self defense is on the accused (person who used self defense0 to prove it. Senator Grendell, on the Senate floor, said this bill sends 3 messages. #1 - A home is a castle, if you break into someone's home you do it at your own peril, #2 - you're not going to be able to collect damage if something happens to you, and #3 - if you use a gun you won't get a volume discount . Ohio law currently allows only one gun specification if more than one felony occurs. Sub SB 184 allows multiple gun specifications thus increasing prison time. The bill now heads to the Ohio House to be assigned to a committee for consideration. News - Latest Wed, 16 Apr 2008 21:02:53 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3960/83/ Wal-Mart has agreed to be part of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership. Wal-Mart is planning on video taping all guns sales, and setting up a system to find out if any of the guns purchased there are involved in a crime. They will also be checking the background of any employees that handle guns. Wal-Mart has also agreed to “keep certain records”, although it is unclear at this time what these records will be and who will have access to them. I find this disturbing. Mayor Bloomberg, who has been denied access to the personal information of lawful gun owners, may be trying to get around the system by building a database of gun crimes, and the guns they are linked to, through a partnership with retailers. Mayor Bloomberg is a gun control advocate that founded the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. The group’s main objective is to crack down on the unlawful trafficking of weapons that are used in crimes. They must not realize that criminals do not buy guns from a retailer where they would be subject to a background check. Therefore, the group insists on monitoring the law-abiding citizens, which will do nothing to help stop crime. You can find more information on this in an article (http://www.examiner.com/a-1339698~Wal_Mart_agrees_with_NYC_mayor_Bloomberg_to_toughen_gun_policies.html) at the Examiner.com. News - Latest Tue, 15 Apr 2008 05:47:01 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3959/83/ Ohio Governor Ted Strickland presented the Ohio Cross award to Staff. Sgt. Robert Bragg during a ceremony at the Springfield Ohio Air National Guard base on April 6, 2008. This is the highest honor awarded by the Ohio Air National Guard. The Ohio Cross may be awarded to any member of the State of Ohio military forces (National Guard or Reserves) who distinguishes himself/herself by gallantry and selfless service at the risk of his/her life. The Ohio Cross is the only award that must be presented by the Governor or the Adjutant General, in the name of the Governor. News - Latest Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:53:41 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3958/83/ Today the Senate Judiciary Committee held the fifth hearing on Senate Bill 184 (Castle Doctrine) and revealed a substitute bill. OFCC Member Gary Witt was in attendance and Jeff Garvas arrived following the Ohio Supreme Court hearing in time to hear the final witness testify against the legislation.It is expected that the committee will hold another hearing to vote on the substitute bill next week or in the coming weeks. Senators Grendell and Seitz aggressively defended the legislation against opposition testimony.Ohioans For Concealed Carry has received a copy of the substitute bill that can be found here (files/SB184-SubBill.pdf) . It should be noted that this draft language may not represent the final results of the committee when the substitute is adopted. News - Latest Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:04:22 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3956/83/ Live Video Stream Wednesday (http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/videostream/default.asp) @ 9:00am (OFCC Scheduled 9:30am) Requires Real Player!The seven justices that fill these seats will soon hear oral arguments in Ohioans For Concealed Carry v. City of Clyde. On Wednesday April 9th at 9:30am attorneys from Attorney General Marc Dann's office and Ohioans For Concealed Carry will take sides on behalf of Ohio's law abiding gun owners.This case began in 2004 when the City of Clyde passed an emergency ordinance and enacted a gun ban against concealed handgun license holders in their city parks. After the city flat out ignored our requests to discuss the situation OFCC was forced to sue. Due to another criminal case (Beatty) in the same district our judge held our case back before oral arguments ever began. When Beatty lost his case and the appeals court ruled against him our judge ruled against us based on Beatty precedent. We appealed, and thanks to HB347 becoming law, we advised the court of relevant changes to Ohio law in HB347 that impacted our case. They concurred and ruled in our favor, prompting Clyde to appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.In a rare move Ohioans For Concealed Carry agreed that the Ohio Supreme Court should take up the case and decide the issue on a statewide basis. Since we started this case the issue was about park bans, but it has evolved into a much greater issue. We believe that the issue of firearms laws are so significant and must be so consistent that they have become an issue of statewide concern. News - Latest Mon, 07 Apr 2008 12:22:18 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3955/83/ The weather couldn't have been nicer at 70 degrees with no noticeable humidity and the very rare breeze in the late afternoon. John Benner's staff at the Tactical Defense Institute (http://tdiohio.com) and the IDPA volunteers couldn't have been more prepared for what was about to take place either. All told about 90 people converged on the facility Sunday and shot in excess of 20,000 rounds in IDPA styled self-defense scenarios as well as TDI designed shooting instruction involving steel plates. To top the live fire courses off TDI instructors put participants through a live fire house with soft air pistols and simulated two real-work shooting situations, leaving the student to react with no prior guidance. Many people continue to comment on how well this taught them how much more training they wish to pursue. All proceeds went to OFCC's Political Action Committee. In our discussion forums, at OhioCCWForums.org (http://ohioccwforums.org), the discussion continues and participants seemed to have a great time. Numerous photos of the event can be found at http://gallery.ohioccw.org (http://gallery.ohioccw.org) -- and if you took some you'd like to contribute to our gallery please get in touch with us. News - Latest Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:32:09 +0100 http://www.ohioccw.org/content/view/3954/83/ The Knox Report From the Firearms Coalition By Jeff Knox (25 March, 2008) Now that people have had an opportunity to hear and read the transcript of the oral arguments in the DC gun ban case (links are available at FirearmsCoalition.org,) there is much righteous indignation about some of the comments of Alan Gura, lead council for the pro-rights side. During his thirty minute presentation, Mr. Gura made a number of excellent points and generally handled himself admirably, but under questioning by Justice Breyer, Gura stated that, “the government can ban arms that are not appropriate for civilian use. There is no question of that.” He went on to defend that position as being consistent with the Court’s holding in the Miller case because in that case the Court stated, speaking of the militia, that, “when called for service these men were expected to appear bearing arms supplied by themselves and of the kind in common use at the time.” Both Gura and Justice Scalia used the phrase, “common use at the time,” to support a position that machineguns, such as the selective fire M16’s that have been standard issue for the U.S. military and National Guard for the past three decades, would not be “protected” by the Second Amendment because such weapons are not very “common” among civilians. This argument is clearly specious because the only reason these guns are not much more common is that the government instituted a ban on any new guns being allowed to be privately sold. Since the semi-auto version of the M16, the AR-15, is the most popular rifle in the country, it is not a stretch to suggest that the selective fire version would also find a broad market – if government regulations did not forbid their sale. News - Latest Sun, 06 Apr 2008 17:45:35 +0100