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Written by Daniel White
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Sunday, 17 February 2008 |
The return of the Firearms Freedom Podcast covers the upcoming OFCC-PAC Fun 'n Gun fundraiser, reminds about Ohio CHL renewals, updates the National Parks firearms ban, discusses the current status of OFCC's Ohio Supreme Court battle, and more! You can either click on the Firearms Freedom Podcast tab above, or click the "read more" link to listen online using a flash player integrated right into the rest of this website story...
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Written by Daniel White
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Wednesday, 13 February 2008 |
The Knox Report
From the Firearms Coalition
By Chris Knox
Richard Feldman, former lobbyist for NRA and various firearms industry groups in the 1980’s and 1990’s, has created a fair stir with his book Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist. The book has the appearance of a turncoat insider dishing up hot gossip from the bowels of the gun lobby. But despite its cover – and despite some angry reviews – Feldman has not joined the anti-gun side.
He has staked out a pro-gun, but anti-NRA position.
Feldman’s thesis is that the National Rifle Association’s High Command has cultivated “a cynical, mercenary political cult” that it is “obsessed with wielding power while relentlessly squeezing contributions from its members.” Those intemperate words appear on the second page. He expands on the theme over the next couple of hundred pages finally arriving at the conclusion that NRA has been co-opted by, and is run for the benefit of, its hired guns. He singles out in particular the advertising firm Ackerman McQueen.
Neal Knox said much the same thing some twenty years ago. Wanting to keep internal problems internal, Knox worked from the inside. In retrospect, maybe he should have gone public.
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Written by Jeff Garvas
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Tuesday, 29 January 2008 |
On Monday attorneys for Ohioans For Concealed Carry and the Ohio Attorney General's office filed Merit Briefs with the Ohio Supreme Court in our landmark case Ohioans For Concealed Carry v. City of Clyde. (Court of Appeals Case Nos. S-0-039, S-06-040) It's been nearly a decade since Ohioans For Concealed Carry has been a part of firearms litigation that has made it to the Ohio Supreme Court, last with Klein v. Leis, and we couldn't be more pleased with the merits of this case today.
(PDF Links to all six briefs at the very end of this article)
Last week the National Rifle Association filed a friend of the court brief co-authored by the very famous constitutional Attorney Stephen P. Halbrook, but the NRA's involvement in this specific litigation dates back to day one when Ohioans For Concealed Carry brought it to their attention and sought their involvement.
Just last year we succeeded in getting HB347 to become law after the Governor Bob Taft's failed attempt to veto that legislation, only to find that it would be the motivation for a court to reverse course and decide in our favor after the stunning decision in Beatty. Now, just months after Ohio's statewide preemption became law, the Ohio Supreme Court is poised to concur with the appellate court and test statewide preemption in Ohio. If we win, no local government may pass or enforce most gun related legislation as it will become a matter of statewide concern. If we lose, the places that local governments may try to ban concealed carry could eviscerate the purpose and viability of concealed carry, and the court has been duly advised of this dire potential.
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Written by Dave Milthaler
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Wednesday, 23 January 2008 |
On Jan. 8, 2004, former Ohio Governor Taft signed HB 12, authorizing Ohio sheriffs to issue licenses allowing private citizens to carry concealed handguns.
Four years have passed since the first of us obtained our concealed carry licenses, and we are approaching our first renewal. As you read through this, the process for renewal is almost identical as our initial application procedure. There are some things we need to keep in mind when we renew our licenses.
I am sure there will be many questions about the renewal process. All of the information contained below plus other specifics for new Ohio residents, active and retired Law Enforcement and Military personnel, can be found on several Sheriff’s Department web sites, along with other internet sources.
The Ohio Concealed Carry Handgun License can be renewed 90 days prior to the expiration date, and no later than 30 days after the expiration date that is printed on your license. If you fail to apply for renewal within this 120 day period, the Conceal Carry Handgun License will expire and will no longer be valid.
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Written by Daniel White
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Tuesday, 22 January 2008 |
The Ohioans For Concealed Carry Political Action Committee is very pleased to announce the Fourth Annual Original Fun 'n Gun Fundraiser!
This year, the Fun 'n Gun returns once again to Ohio's premier training school, the Tactical Defense Institute!!!
Join OFCC and OFCC-PAC staff for this fun day of shooting and camaraderie all the while helping to ensure pro-gun candidates get elected to the Ohio legislature.
UPDATE: SOLD OUT!!!
| When: |
Sunday, April 6th
8am-5pm |
| Where: |
Tactical Defense Institute
2174 Bethany Ridge
West Union, OH 45693 |
| Cost: |
$125 (includes membership!) |
Click here for more information and to sign up today!
(Don't delay, this event always sells out quickly!) |
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Written by Harry Bryan
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Monday, 21 January 2008 |
The Ohioans For Concealed Carry PAC continues to search for candidates to endorse in the coming elections. Recently, we interviewed Mr. Ron Maag, who is running for State Representative
in the 35th District. We were impressed with Mr. Maag’s candor and openness
during our interview. Mr. Maag strongly supports the 2nd Amendment and
concealed carry in Ohio. He has been an NRA Life Member for over 33 years.
Mr. Maag is aware of some of the difficulties with the Ohio Concealed Carry law
and looks forward to making changes that will remove criminal penalties for dining in restaurants with Class D licenses. He also supports “Stand Your Ground” legislation, which will allow a law-abiding citizen to meet force with force anywhere they are legally allowed to be.
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Written by Harry Bryan
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Thursday, 17 January 2008 |
The Ohioans for Concealed Carry PAC is pleased to announce our endorsement of Dr.
Patrick Johnston, who is running in the 94th District for State
Representative.
Dr. Johnston is a strong proponent for the 2nd Amendment and concealed
carry. He is a physician in private family practice in Zanesville. Patrick
is an avid shooter, hunter, and fisherman. He is married with six children
(and has another on the way).
Dr. Johnston has been a concealed carrier for ten years and both he and his
wife hold concealed handgun licenses from Ohio. They enjoy shooting together
and teaching gun safety to their children. |
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Written by Dave Milthaler
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Friday, 11 January 2008 |
Until late this week, San Francisco CA had one of the most restrictive
gun bans in the nation. Since 2005, this ban prohibited residents from
selling or distributing firearms and ammunition. In addition, this ban
also barred residents from possessing handguns unless they were
government employees or security guards.
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear a similar case when attorneys from
Washington will defend their 31-year-old law banning private possession
of handguns.
The following is a release from the National Rifle Association:
*NRA Wins Big in California State Court of Appeals *
Fairfax, VA - The California State Court of Appeals announced today
their decision to overturn one of the most restrictive gun bans in the
country, following a legal battle by attorneys for the National Rifle
Association (NRA) and a previous court order against the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors.
"Today's decision by the California State Court of Appeals is a big win
for the law-abiding citizens and NRA Members of San Francisco," declared
Chris W. Cox, NRA's chief lobbyist.
In 2005, NRA sought an injunction against the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors to prevent them from enacting one of the nation's most
restrictive gun bans. NRA won the injunction, but the City's mayor and
Board of Supervisors ignored the court order and approved a set of
penalties, including a $1,000 fine and a jail term of between 90 days
and six months, for city residents who own firearms for lawful purposes
in their own homes.
"We promised our California NRA members in 2005 that we would fight any
gun ban instituted by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, and we
haven't given up that fight," continued Cox. "Today we see our second
win for the Second Amendment against the San Francisco gun ban. We beat
them once in court and the City's attorney appealed based on his
personal disagreement with the court's first decision to overturn the
ban. Now we've beaten them again. The California State Court of Appeals
has upheld the state preemption law."
Today's decision came in the form of a 3-0 opinion in favor of the lower
court ruling overturning the gun ban.
"This decision is a thoughtful and well-reasoned legal opinion,"
concluded Cox. "I'd like to thank our approximately 4 million members,
including the hundreds of thousands of members in California, for their
continued commitment to protecting our cherished freedoms."
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Written by Daniel White
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Thursday, 10 January 2008 |
The Knox Report
From the Firearms Coalition
By Jeff Knox
(January 7, 2008) In the last moments of the 2007 congressional session both the Senate and the House passed a revised version of the “NICS Improvement Act” H.R.2640 and the President has now signed it into law.
The source of much rancor and gnashing of teeth for the better part of 2007, H.R.2640 was a modified version of a perennial bill from avid anti-gun Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and was the result of negotiations with NRA. With NRA support it flew through the House on a voice vote and seemed destined to pass through the Senate in similar fashion until Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) halted its momentum. Again NRA went to the bargaining tables to negotiate modifications that would satisfy Coburn without offending bill sponsors like Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY). The end result was the original bill with some extra verbiage to narrow and more precisely define its exact purpose and intent.
Any reasonable analysis of this bill must begin with the recognition that NICS exists and is not going away any time soon. It is supposed to prevent criminals and the “mentally defective” from acquiring firearms through legal channels. Setting aside debate about the existence of this program – it is unconstitutional and should be repealed – the issue at hand is whether it is better to leave the system as it is or make some changes to “improve” it.
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Written by Daniel White
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Saturday, 05 January 2008 |
The Knox Report
From the Firearms Coalition
By Chris Knox
(Phoenix, Arizona) At least twice this December, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents have held press conferences here in Phoenix to announce seizure of a “cache” – or maybe caches – of “assault-type weapons.” According to the latest reports, agents now have one man in custody on felon-in-possession charges. The guns, which have so far only been displayed on tables for television cameras, have not been described in detail, but appear to include AK-47 and AR-15 type rifles, as well as several handguns, ammo for each, and .50 caliber ammunition, although no mention has been made of a corresponding rifle. Numbers of guns involved in the seizure(s) range from 42 to 62, and it’s so far unclear even whether the most recent stories refer to two separate incidents or the same one. At the time of this writing no agents were available for comment or clarification.
Beyond the most basic facts, the reporting quickly degenerates into press release journalism. In a December 27 Associated Press story, 42 guns were assigned a value of $250,000 yielding an average value of $6,000 apiece. The media have also unquestioningly published ATF agents’ speculation that the guns are bound for Mexican or Los Angeles gangsters, that the guns were purchased at gun shows or in straw sales, as well as solemn intonations that the guns are “weapons of war” and “the weapon of choice” for drug dealers and gangsters.
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