Recruiting New Members

I hope you will consider joining ORPA, if you are not already a member, and recruiting new members, if you are. Now is a great time to join or renew, since dues are going up on April 1st. You can print out the form here, fill it out, and send it in to the address given.

When I and other ORPA officers communicate with officials, our membership level is very important to the level of influence we have. Also, a higher membership level makes for a financially healthier ORPA, enabling us to better support not just legislative efforts, but competitions, junior and disabled shooting, and our many other programs.

Important Election Year Information

We are in an important election year, and it’s vital to ensure that our elected officials keep our point of view in mind. It is too easy to just complain among ourselves about bad bills that are passed, good bills that don’t get passed, bad court decisions, or any other political developments we don’t like. We as law-abiding firearms owners need to effectively communicate our perspective to our elected officials.

Ohio has an interesting feature in its tax law whereby Ohio taxpayers can give money to candidates in Ohio races at effectively no cost to the taxpayer. Qualifying races are those for the Ohio Senate, the Ohio House, Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Auditor of State, Treasurer of State, Ohio Attorney General, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the Ohio Board of Education. If you give up to $50 as a single taxpayer or $100 as Married, Filing Jointly, to the campaign committees of candidates in these qualifying races, you can then claim a tax credit on your Ohio return for that tax year.

This is a tax credit and not just a deduction, which means that the entire amount of your contribution, up to the limits mentioned above, can be taken off of your tax liability when you file. Please note that this is for the state-level races named above only, not federal or local races. See the information concerning this tax credit for the 2007 tax year (entered on Line 55 of the tax form IT 1040) on page 24 of this. However, please note that any contributions made this year (2008) cannot be used for a tax credit until your 2008 tax return is filed early next year.

I urge you to take advantage of this Ohio tax feature during this important election year to support those Ohio candidates who support our rights. Please include a letter with your contribution expressing your support of the shooting sports, hunting, and firearms rights for law-abiding citizens and your membership in and support of the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association. This will help ORPA in our efforts to defend your rights and promote the shooting sports.

Phone Call From Congressman Latta

Recently, I received a phone call from Mr. Bob Latta, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the 5th Ohio District. Congressman Latta has been a member of ORPA for many years and has shot at Camp Perry. He indicated his continuing support of issues important to ORPA members and his strong support of Camp Perry while he served in Ohio Government. He stated that he fully intends to remain a strong supporter of issues important to Ohio shooters and hunters now that he is in Washington. Congressman Latta was one of the signers of the congressional amicus brief for DC v Heller, discussed below.

Right to Carry in National Parks

Our National Parks prohibit law-abiding, responsible citizens who have received a concealed-carry license in Ohio the means to defend themselves and others while enjoying the parks. The Bush administration and most of the U.S. Senate have asked the National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider this policy. Neither of Ohio's U.S. Senators signed a letter requesting this change in policy. You can read more about this here.

Phone Call from U.S. Representative Space's Office

I received a phone call today from Jillian Carroll, who is with the office of U.S. Representative Zack Space, 18th Ohio District. She indicated the Representative's support of issues important to ORPA members. Congressman Space was one of the signers of the congressional amicus brief for DC v Heller, discussed below. She specifically mentioned Representative Space's co-sponsorship of U.S. House H.R. 4900, which attempts to reform the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. More information on this bill can be found here.

Camp Perry in the Spring

We're having a very wintry day here in Ohio, so I thought folks might like a little taste of Camp Perry, Center of the Shooting Universe, in the Spring. Please note the spectactular Buckeye trees. Click on an image for a larger version.

Ohio House BIll 478

Ohio House Bill 478 will enable those Ohioans who obtain a concealed-carry license to claim the license fee as an Ohio income-tax credit. Therefore, assuming their Ohio income-tax liability is greater than the license fee, they will eventually be fully reimbursed for the cost of the license. This bill was introduced on 2/14/08 and has not yet been assigned to a committee. Further information on this bill can be found on the Buckeye Firearms Association web-site.

Ohio House Bill 450

Presently, Ohioans must be 21 years of age to purchase handguns. The only exception to this is for those 18 or older who are sworn police officers. Ohio House Bill 450 would make a similar exception for military servicemembers. The bill would permit active or reserve members of the armed services or Ohio National Guard, who have received firearms training, to purchase handguns for personal use, such as target and recreational shooting, hunting, and self-defense.

Camp Perry Opportunities

There are a couple of ORPA-related opportunities I wanted to let people know about. First, the Friends of Camp Perry have a program where you can purchase an engraved paver brick that will be placed in the Shooters Memorial Plaza at Camp Perry. Details are here.

Also, the same group and ORPA co-sponsor a series of very enjoyable matches at Camp Perry, where you can shoot at pop-up targets. There's a pistol match in the Spring and a rifle match in the Fall. The next pistol match is on Saturday, March 29th. Details are here.

Some pictures from the last pop-up match for rifles are here, and some from the last pistol match are here.

OSU Rifle Athlete on LiveChat

Feb. 18, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Emily Meyer (meyer.504@osu.edu/614.292.1389)

Chat Live with Rifle’s Sam Ohlinger at 11 a.m. Friday

X’ Marks the Spot: Buckeye Student-Athlete Tutors U.S. Army in Marksmanship

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sam Ohlinger, a senior captain on the Ohio State rifle team, will hold a live online chat from 11-11:30 a.m. Friday to answer fans’ questions. Fans can submit their questions in advance or may participate live through the website at OhioStateBuckeyes.com. To submit questions on the live events page, click on the ‘blue people’ icon on the right side of the screen. Online chats with Ohio State student-athletes are free events and do not require participants to register for Buckeye Vision.This past December, Ohlinger instructed the U.S. Army’s Army’s 3rd Ranger Battalion in advanced marksmanship principles. The senior is on track to graduate in June with a degree in political science and plans on attending law school next year. Click here to post a question for Sam Ohlinger

Emily Meyer
Ohio State Athletics CommunicationsRoom
124 St. John Arena
410 Woody Hayes Drive
Columbus, OH 43210
Phone: 614.292.1389
Fax: 614.292.8547
E-mail: meyere@buckeyes.ath.ohio-state.edu
ohiostatebuckeyes.com

Briefs filed for DC v. Heller

Most of the NRA-affiliated State Associations have collaborated on an amicus brief for DC v. Heller. Here is a Washington Post story on this case and the case's Wikipedia entry. The Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association has assisted with this brief for what will probably be the most important Second Amendment ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in our lifetimes. The brief can be found here.

Members of the U.S. House and Senate have also signed an amicus brief for DC v. Heller. 55 Senators and 250 Representatives signed the brief. The list of signers is here. The following Ohio legislators signed this amicus brief: Representatives Boehner, Chabot, Hobson, Jordan, LaTourette, Latta, Pryce, Ryan, Schmidt, Space, Tiberi, Turner, and Wilson and Senator Voinovich. In addition, 31 states, including Ohio, have filed a separate amicus brief in support of overturning the DC gun ban. Attorney General Marc Dann represented Ohio as co-counsel for this brief.

Ohio's own Buckeye Firearms Association has also filed an amicus brief, as has the NRA. All briefs and a great deal of other information about this case can be found here.

Akron/OSU Rifle Match

I went up to the University of Akron on February 2nd to see the match between the rifle teams of Akron and Ohio State. I found it very interesting and enjoyable, and I think the shooters are a fine group of young men and women in whom Ohioans should take a lot of pride. Also, both coaches are involved with ORPA: Newt Engle of Akron is a Trustee and the Collegiate Director, and Pat Cherry of OSU is a Past President. I plan to write an article for "Gunsmoke" about this and include team photos, but I thought folks might enjoy seeing the team photos in full color, so here they are. Here are some related web-sites:

University of Akron Rifle Team

Ohio State University Rifle Team

OSU Rifle Team Boosters

ORPA Testimony on SB 184

I testified on behalf of Ohio Senate Bill 184 at a hearing on Wednesday, January 30th. Instead of a long post, I'll point you to a few related links, including the bill itself. Please note the bill's sponsor and co-sponsors. The hearing was for the Judiciary - Criminal Justice committee, chaired by Senator Grendell. The corresponding bill in the Ohio House of Representatives is House Bill 264.

The office of the bill's sponsor, Senator Buehrer, 1st Senate District in the NW corner of Ohio (Ohio Senate district map), was extremely helpful to me.

The Buckeye Firearms Association has coverage of the hearings which has a positive mention of ORPA. Also, The Ready Line has coverage.

Here is a relatively short story from a Cleveland television station (no mention of ORPA, sorry).

I'll be writing a short article about this for the next "Gunsmoke."

President's Statement in February/March 2008 "Gunsmoke"

My name is David Johnson, and I am the new President of the Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association. ORPA is made up of people who give generously of their time and money to support the shooting sports and our fundamental rights as Americans and Ohioans, and it is an honor and a privilege to be elected to head this fine organization, which is preparing to celebrate its 75th anniversary.

Most of you do not know me, so I wanted to give a bit of my background and interests. I am a Silver-Level ORPA Life Member, an Endowment Life Member of the National Rifle Association, a Life Member of the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association, and a member of the Greene County Fish and Game Association. I am a native Ohioan from the Dayton area and have been a resident of Ohio my entire life. I am a materials-behavior researcher, an adjunct professor at a major private university, and a Marine veteran. I am interested in all shooting sports and am an avid firearms collector, hunter, and highpower-rifle competitor.

As ORPA President, I certainly plan to help continue the high-quality competitive activities in the various shooting disciplines for which ORPA is justly famous. However, I do have three primary focus areas which I see as helping to broaden our membership and increase our visibility.

The first focus area is in technology. In today’s world, an organization’s web-site is its face to the world. I want to make sure that we are taking full advantage of this opportunity of reaching millions of people at a relatively small cost. Also, we hope to introduce the opportunity of paying and renewing membership on-line with a credit card, and we have other ideas in the area of technology that we shall pursue. To further this goal, my immediate predecessor initiated a Technology Committee, for which I am the chair. Any suggestions or offers to help would be greatly appreciated.

The second focus area is in reaching out to the hunting community. We in Ohio are privileged to have hunting opportunities second to nowhere in the world, and we have hundreds of thousands of hunters that take advantage of this bounty. I am one of these Ohio hunters, and I hope that hunters can become more aware of ORPA and that we can encourage them to become active OPRA members and supporters.

The third and last focus area is more active involvement in government at the state level. Our model in this regard is the National Rifle Association at the national level. Many or possibly even most NRA members join the NRA because the NRA is seen as fighting for our Second Amendment rights at the national level, and ORPA should be seen in a similar light, working at the state level. Our status as a non-profit does limit our ability to support individual candidates, but we can certainly support issues of importance to shooters, hunters, and all people interested in the outdoors. The success in passing the concealed-carry law is a good example of such an effort, and, as a concealed-carry-permit holder, I see the benefit of such efforts. There are many other such state-level issues which ORPA can support, and there will be many more in the future. ORPA will firmly stand for the rights of law-abiding firearm owners in the discussion and resolution of these issues.

I would like to thank my immediate predecessor, G. Martin Capito, for all of his hard work in leading this organization for three years. Marty has agreed to continue to serve ORPA as its Secretary, and I know that, along with his work in this new position, his experience and advice will be a great help to me and to ORPA.

In conclusion, as ORPA prepares to celebrate its 75th year, I hope you will become more involved in the organization, even if it is by just recruiting a few new members. If you have any suggestions or comments, please send them to me via US Mail or e-mail. Even more important than supporting ORPA, I hope you will work to get more people involved in the shooting sports and in hunting. Each person that participates, even one time, is one less person susceptible to the arguments of those who would portray shooters and hunters in a negative light and who would attempt to take away those rights which have been secured at such a high cost to many Americans, including many Ohioans.

David Johnson, Ph.D.
President, Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association