President's Statement in April/May 2008 "Gunsmoke"

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 development we don’t like. We as law-abiding firearms owners need to effectively communicate our perspective to our elected officials. I have a few suggestions for accomplishing this that vary in difficulty from very easy to a little more time-consuming.

1) Educate yourself. This is essential to all of the following suggestions. Find out who your officials are. An excellent resource for this is here. You can enter your Zip Code and find your officials. If you have problems with this or need help identifying your elected officials, please contact me. Also, find out how your officials are actually voting on important issues. You can’t always be sure that their actions match their campaign promises. I am instituting a “Legislative Corner” in each issue of “Gunsmoke” that will give an update on firearms-related issues, focusing on Ohio issues.

2) Vote. This is an obvious suggestion, but it’s surprising how many people do not vote, especially in off-year elections. Not only does your vote obviously count directly in electing firearms-friendly officials, but, by voting in every election, you make the actions suggested below even more effective. Although how you vote is secret, how often you vote is public knowledge, and you will be taken much more seriously if you vote in every election than if you never or rarely vote.

3) Contact your officials. It is a fact that letters, phone calls, and other communications are extremely effective in influencing public policy, especially at the state and local level. Politely, respectfully, and firmly express your opinion on specific legislation. You can find out bill numbers and other information from “Gunsmoke” and other resources. You can also express your general support of firearms-related rights and of ORPA’s efforts in defending those rights.

4) Renew your ORPA membership and recruit new members for ORPA. 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.

5) Contribute to campaigns. 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. I urge you to take advantage of this Ohio tax feature during this important election year. 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.

6) Take someone shooting or hunting. The more people involved in the shooting sports, the stronger our sports and the greater our influence. Juniors are particularly important in this regard, since they represent the future of our sports. Also, make new participants feel welcome at your competitions, so they continue to be involved.

If you have any questions on any of the above suggestions, please contact me. Although all voters influence the political process, it is a fact that those who are most involved have the most influence. We as shooters, hunters, and collectors need to effectively participate in the political process to defend the principles we all hold dear. Your Ohio Rifle and Pistol Association is working hard to defend these principles, but we need the help of every one of our members.